I recently scored on eBay a pair of Stanton 500AL Mk II cartridges, with Stanton headshells, for a mere $30. They had practically no use, so it was a terrific deal. I mainly bought them for use with mono 45s, since many 45 collectors prefer this model (with conical stylus) for that purpose. Since I had two, I bridged the pins on one for mono output.

Indeed, the 500AL sounds beautiful with 45s! Punchy 'n' tight, with greatly reduced surface noise, and surprisingly rich, full sound for such a cheap cart. I'm tracking it a 3.75 grams on my SL-1200MK2.

In the past week, I've been using it with vintage mono LPs too. My mono "Meet the Beatles" sounds HUGE with the 500, and my '50s 10" jazz LPs literally jump out of the speakers. With the "right" records, the lowly Stanton 500 smokes my AT440MLa. Wow.

My second 500, still wired for stereo, is disappointing on stereo records. Kinda dull sounding.

I'm curious about how good the 500 sounds with an elliptical stylus (D71EE), and am considering picking one up for the stereo cart. I would be interested to know what you all think.

Here's a review of the 500 I found:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?ranlg&1081543772&read&3&4

Stanton 500s were a mainstay in nearly every radio station turntable I've maintained. They were fitted to every tonearm imaginable...from ye olde Rek-O-Kut to Shure 232s to you name it. The AL, as you've found out, works quite well with 45s...and it's quite tolerant of backcueing. I've run EE versions in various turntables at home and have found them to be quite competent. I usually ran them at about 2.5 grams with good results. Stations that aired mostly LPs got the E or EE versions since the cueing was much more gentle. Your post makes me want to dig one out and mount it up in a spare headshell and do some A/B comparos on my SL3200 (currently fitted with an M91ED).

The 500 sounds good with the elliptical stylus. It will still not compete with the best MM cartridges, but it won't shame itself either. I ran one of these for a number of years when money was tight. I'm glad I had it when I did, but I wouldn't today replace my Stanton 681, 881 or Shure M97HE with it.

Now, that said, the LP Gear (Jico?) stylus looks interesting. I think the original OEM eliptical stylus was a 4 x 7 ml. The LP Gear is 3 x 7. This could kick things up a notch in the performance arena for the venerable 500.

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=STNS500EE

The Stanton 500 is a great performer. I use it for 78 rpm playback, using a variety of six different stylii.

I also have the .7 mil conical stylus for it and use it when I need to transfer customer's trashed LPs or 45s to WAV/CDR. In this scenario, the results are better than using my high-end Ortofon with it's Fritz-Geiger stylus.

The Stanton 500 is a good all-around performer as you have found out.

Your cartridge will sound better with an elliptical stylus on your stereo records. The D71EE will work fine on the 500. KABUSA.com recommends the D71EE as the elliptical replacement for the discontinued D50E stylus.

The .3x.7 mil LPGear replacement recommend by whell by even do better.

Have Fun!:music:

Thanks! Good info.

The 500 sounds good with the elliptical stylus. It will still not compete with the best MM cartridges, but it won't shame itself either. I ran one of these for a number of years when money was tight. I'm glad I had it when I did, but I wouldn't today replace my Stanton 681, 881 or Shure M97HE with it.

Now, that said, the LP Gear (Jico?) stylus looks interesting. I think the original OEM eliptical stylus was a 4 x 7 ml. The LP Gear is 3 x 7. This could kick things up a notch in the performance arena for the venerable 500.

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=STNS500EE

How does your 681 (EEE?) compare to the 881?? I had a 681EEE 25 + years ago with an AR TT and loved it. Daughter took my records and the TT when we moved and I had no room for audio. The records survived and I have them back, but the TT got lost. :tears: Been looking for an affordable 681EEE or 881 for the last 2 years.

Ditto on the 500 series being the workhorse of radio, back in the day. Great sounding cart...for some reason, records sounded 'quieter' with the old 500 than some of the supposed hi fi carts I had back then.

I always thought that the 681 was the "standard" radio cart. I guess I was wrong!

I am certainly very impressed by the 500. I've been having a ball spinning scratchy old mono LPs for the past few days. Night and day compared to the AT440MLa on those records. The AT is still king (in my house), but the 500 does amazing things with beater mono records.

Hi, I have one "Stanton 500" and I need a replacement stylus. What stylus is the correct one? I'm using it for stereo records 33rpm and 45rpm. AND it is JUST "stanton 500" not "stanton 500 A or something". I've searched the whole web throught and I can't find any information. :( The cartridge colour is gold and there is a little "golden square" upside the needle on the black plastic. If this helps someone to remember that old cartridge.

thanks.

with best regards, laika-

How does your 681 (EEE?) compare to the 881?? I had a 681EEE 25 + years ago with an AR TT and loved it. Daughter took my records and the TT when we moved and I had no room for audio. The records survived and I have them back, but the TT got lost. :tears: Been looking for an affordable 681EEE or 881 for the last 2 years.

Don't want to hijack this thread, but I can respond to you here:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2315031&posted=1#post2315031

I just got a pair of new 500 AL IIs on the bay for $21 with free shipping and I am quite pleased how quiet my old Doo Wop 45s from the early and mid 50s sound. I had been researching more expensive cartridges but decided to take a chance on the Stanton. Thoses records sounded poor with my Shure V15 IV and a SAS stylus and I virtually haven't played them in over 30 years. I have a small collection of similar 78s and it looks like I will get a 78 stylus for the second cartridge and have an extra 45 stylus to boot. I can't imagine getting a better sound out of these old 45s than what I hear from the 500.

The Stanton 500 is much more common in AM-FM broadcasting station use than the 600/680/681 family. Those 600 series were used commonly in production rooms and for classical/EZ formats a lot.