I need some new needles and I just went to a local store and they only had Stantons. They were about $85AUS each (about $45US). Are Stanton's any good?

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Well in my view, you can't really go wring with a good pair of Stanton’s. Loads of clubs use Stanton’s because they give a good pay off between sound quality and durability. I find for general use they are top notch. They last a good while, obviously depending on how heavy you use them, and provide a nice sound quality. Granted, yes there are more expensive, and better quality carts out there, but Stanton’s will do you fine!

I have some Stanton Trackmaster II SKs. They were $300 CAD, with 2 extra stylii, and a carrying case. They don't seem to burn out my records at all, and they sound pretty good. However, i am having a problem with them right now, i posted a new thread about it here.

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=62958

you might want to wait and see what is said there first.

Last edited by JohnSmith on Sep-02-2002 at 17:43

I take it you meen the 500al II sets. These are fine. They give good sound and last for ages. I've got one concord and one stanton and the stanton needle lasted twice the length of the concord. Some people bag em out cos they're cheap(ish), but they are fine

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1 out of every 4 people in this country are mentally disturbed. Look at your 3 closest friends. If they seem okay, then you're the one.

My friend uses 500AL II's on his 1200's and they work fine.. but under bumping conditions, they skip like crazy.. happened about 10-15 times last Sat when we had a gig... people were giving us looks.. haha
should have used my Trackmasters..

Are the 500ALII's $90 in the eastern states?? Does that include cart + stylus? The stylus is only $50 here in Perth. There is also the 520sk which tracks better and has a better stylus... around $100

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I've got a pair of Stanton Trackmaster II series. I believe they are quality for the money spent. I've picked up a pair of those with two extra styli for 130.00 US $.
I wanted to get some Ortofons, but they would send me back about 250 US $.

If I think about it, they are cheap, cause they are a total of four styli for 130.00 bucks, ends up being about 32.50 bucks a cart/needle. Not bad, considering the sound quality is great.
I dont recommend getting the Stanton Al500 IIs. That's what I started with, but I was dissapointed in how they handled the bass in some of the bassier, louder tracks. At times, it sounded buzzy, distorted.

As far as the Trackmasters, the only thing I noticed is some feed back, but it could be cause I got my monitor speakers setup right behind the turntable tonearm, so it faces me. In addition, I expected a bit better skipping resistance.

Overall, for the money, I recommend getting them. You get what you pay for, that's all I can say.