KAB-sourced Stanton 681/D11S.(COMPONENTS)(Product/service evaluation)

Manufacturer: KAB Electro Acoustics, P.O.Box 2922, Plainfield, NJ 07062: 908-754-1479 www.kabusa.com

 
Standard Mount: 1/2" centers 
Moving Iron Design 
Long Hair Brush 
Output 3.5mV at 1 kHz : 5 cm/sec 
Channel balance at 1 kHz: 2dB 
Channel separation at 1 kHz : >30 dB 
Frequency response :10Hz-22kHz 
Stylus type: Hi Polish 0.3 x 2.8 Stereohedron 
Stylus construction: Epoxy mount 
Cantilever: aluminum 
Tracking force: 0.75-1.75 Gr 
Recommended load resistance: 47kOhm 
Cartridge weight: 6.3 Gram 
Price: $139.95 
Stylus: Pickering D11-S 

This and the cartridge that follows are an amalgamation of styluses and cartridge bodies by KAB (the folks that did the aforementioned Technics turntable modifications). The Pickering stylus transplant (Pickering and Stanton are different trade names of the same company) works around the lack of availability of the Stanton Stereohedron Stylus. KAB purchased about one hundred of the last available lot of Stereohedron styluses designed for the Pickering version of the 681EEE-S MK 2, named the XV15/ 757S. The stylus is called a Pickering D11S.

The Stereohedron stylus was derived from the Stanton Quadrahedron stylus designed for playback of recordings at frequencies approaching 50kHz to enable an early version of discrete four-channel sound to be encoded on a compatible vinyl disc. I do not have the exact shape of the Stereohedron, but it may be similar to the Shibata (patent 3774918 November 1973) developed by JVC although I understand the stylus proved problematic and is not used today. The Quadrahedron had a minor radius of 0.1 to track 50kHz in the inner grove while Stereohedron has a larger minor radius of 0.3 This Stereohedron early design is not as radical as the Namiki Micro Line stylus (shown above).

Owners of Stanton 100/981/881 need not run out and order a D11S. It will not work in these cartridges. The 681 and older series are moving iron cartridges in which the magnet and the coils reside in the cartridge. The 881 and newer cartridges use moving magnet designs. Stanton switched when newer magnet materials allowed for lower tip mass. (Note: some other shops on the internet claim they can source the style, at high prices, but I am skeptical whether they are all new).

My tests between my older 681 EEE MK 1 and the KAB/Stanton 681/D11S identified the D11S stylus as the better tracker, with slightly enhanced detail and reduced harshness (reduced distortion?). Given the $10 price difference between the new Stanton 681EEE MKIII and the KAB cartridge, the KAB is the way to go but I repeat from my introduction that Stanton did not supply me with test samples of its current 681 MK 3 model.

Why be interested in a cartridge of 1978 vintage compared to the newer designs reviewed in this issue? The Stanton has a warmer sound with a richer bass. It sounds more like the vinyl standards that listeners covet. Kevin Barrett, the guru of KAB, claims the moving iron design adds warmth to the mid-bass registers owing to microphonics that reside in the moving iron system. When the cartridge body is tapped, the internal magnet moves slightly and the fixed coils are energized.