Audio Technica 440MLa review

Even if it's a stereo 45???

 

I've played some styrene 45s with the 440 and don't recall any issues of accelerated wear. I will do come checking and report back.

I'll bet the 440 stylus just needs to be brand new when in contact with styrene, as just a shade of wear will chisel out the groove. But with new one, and with light weight, problems would be minimal.

 

You mean, at least with medium pressure, don't you? Tracking light will damage a record for sure.

 

Yes. Conical tips are the only safe thing for styrene 45's.

 

Won't they do just as much damage (or more) on high frequency sections?

 

Don't jump to any conclusions!

There are a variety of styli that will fit on the 440 body. The ATN120E and ATN130E are .3 x .7 and .2 x .7 mil elliptical styli, respectively. In fact, the ATN130E is the same size and shape as the stylus fitted on the Shure M97xE.

 

It was probably just a bad stylus to begin with. Any stylus shape, from conical to microline, will destroy a record if the diamond has any sharp or cracked edges.

 

More critical, yes, but it's really no more difficult to set up a microline stylus than it is an elliptical. No matter what the stylus, if you hear any distortion you should check all of your setup parameters. A mistracking conical or elliptical is not much better if it is at all. The only thing with a microline stylus is that if you screw it up, you'll damage more of the groove wall because of its extra length. Of course, I have some records that were damaged with conical and elliptical styli and even with a microline stylus they still sound bad. So there's really no "good" way to damage a groove. You either set it up right or you probably have to live with the results no matter what. A properly set up microline stylus with its lower distortion and tracing error and (usually) better tracking ability means less wear and tear in the long run.

 

But, it only ate this one album. It was fine on on any other piece of vinyl I threw at it. I still think it might have had something to do with the profile being a little too close to the original cut. In effect, this was what it was doing, with the shavings flying all over the place.

When I mentioned it to Audio Technica, they noted that only one other person (a record dealer) had contacted them with the same problem.

They did discontinue this particular model, that year, for what it's worth.

 

Wow, I hope they've revised the design slightly since then!

 

Nope.

 

Why not? Wouldn't mistracking cause more damage with styrene?

 

I am not sure why, but this is what Steve recommends.

 

I never thought a cartridge review thread could become four pages long.

 

Yes, but this is a very special cart. I called it a bargan under a hunderd, but it might be the best thing going under $200.00.

For needle drops as well as for listening you need that perfect tracking and a stylus that misses some of the noise from previous wear. It's an amazing thing.

 

That's good to know.

 

You haven't been here long, have you?

 

I think I found the thread in question. Is it only a problem if you miss the groove? Or is there a difference in groove width as well that allows the stylus to bottom out?

 

I use the AT 440ML for CD-4 w/ very good results.

 

The brightness is system dependent. Mine tends to be euphonic. I do not have a problem using the AT 440ML.

 

QUOTE: Also, NEVER use a line contact stylus to play styrene 45's. It will damage them.


Joe, are you absolutely certain about this? Its been awhile,but I remember being told that the AT 440ML would not damage these. Please let us know what info you have to back this up. I have some rare 45s
Thanks

 

Yes. Unfortunately, I have damaged a few.

 

Before I ever realized that line contact styli were potentially damaging, I had this one particular 45 that was making a noise as if it was stylus damaged. When I played it on a different turntable which was set-up with a Signet AM20 (standard nude elliptical stylus), it sounded perfectly fine. I wonder if standard elliptical styli can be damaging as well? Hopefully very soon, I should have one of my turntables specifically set-up for playing 45s (complete with correct stylus), and possibly yet another with a 1.0mil microgroove stylus for earlier vintage mono LPs. Of course I'm also working on a dedicated turntable - probably my spare Linn Axis modified - for 78 playback (might as well be able to enjoy all types of records). ......Of course I only mention this because it'd be a great idea if Audio Technica could offer different type styli for their cartridges(though nowadays, a cartridge/stylus manufacturer is reluctant to try such a limited demand product).

 

They have an eliptical version of the 440MLa, the 120E/T. Audio Technica is one of the few companies that has a full line of cartridges, from budget all the way on up.

http://www.audio-technica.com/cgi-bin/product_search/cartridges/cartridges.pl

 

With the V15?