I started out with a pair of Stanton 500AL's... they were an ok "starter" cartridge, basically a bargain buy for the buck. I never encountered any tracking problems with them, although they were a little fussy on cueing some records. A lot of people that experience problems with tracking and cueing probably don't have their cartridges and tonearms set up correctly, in regards to weight and angle and height. Incorrect settings will make ANY needle perform poorly regardless of how good or bad it's supposed to be.
I had upgraded to Trackmaster II-SK's, they were a significant improvement over the 500's (no surprise there)... I used them for about 2 or 3 years with out any "contact" trouble, and I'm a DJ who's a bit rough with equipment. However, on my second set of replacement needles a while back, I got some real garbage replacement needles (via mail order)... out of the box they wouldn't play right. It took some close examination and comparing to the old needles to determine that faulty manufacturing had set the stylus at an angle that was impossible for it to play correctly on vinyl. With no time to spare and needing immediate replacement, I bought Shure M44's... they've been absolutely wonderful so far. I got a better price on them than I did on the Trackmasters, as well. A couple of guys that I know who have used Ortofon (Concordes) have nothing but praise for them. They're pricey (and trendy, of course), so definitely worth a look if money's not too tight for you. > > > > I have some Stanton 500 cartridges on my SL1200's. I'm thinking of getting > > me a nice new set..... what are you guys using or what would you recommend?? > > >
