Replacement stylus for Audio-Technica AT14Sa

jimbo1421

Hello,

It is time to replace the Shibata stylus on my Audio-Technica AT14Sa. Its runtime must be near 1000 hours. I have found three replacements online; none of them seem to be original or new old stock. I wonder what you all think of them.

TurntableNeedles.com has one that is for a matching Akai stylus and claims:

Meets the same top of the line shibata specs as the Audio Technica ATN14.

Does this sound right? http://www.turntableneedles.com/AT14-Audio-Technica-ATN14-AKAI-RS-180-Needle-202-DQX_p_924.html

JICO has one here: http://stylus.export-japan.com/product_info.php?products_id=105
No AT logo or much description. Do they make these themselves? JICO seems to be well regarded maker of styli.

The cheapest at $89.95 is from LP Gear. However the description doesn't mention Shibata. It says,

The LP Gear replacement for the Audio-Technica ATN-14 ATN14 needle stylus features a super polished ViVid Line diamond mounted on a thin-wall aluminum alloy cantilever for superior tracing accuracy and fidelity.

What's a ViVid Line diamond? http://www.lpgear.com/product/ATN14.html

Can anyone here offer any insights into these replacements? I am OK with the higher prices if it makes a difference. Are there other suppliers I should look at?

Thanks,

Jim

Fongolio

I purchased a Jico replacement shibata for my AT20sla and I was happy with it's sound. Needed some time to break in but when it did it was almost indistinguishable from the original AT. One difference though, the Jico was not a nude diamond. Shibata shape but not nude.

jimbo1421

Thanks for the heads up about the Jico, Fongolio. I am starting to lean towards the Akai version.

Jim

jimbo1421

Just to finish off this thread, I finally settled on the Akai equivalent (ATN14) stylus. I have had it installed for a week now and it has turned out to be an excellent choice. Very clean sounding, a bit brighter than the ATN14 it replaced. Much less noise also. Perhaps it rides higher or lower in the groove than its predecessors.

Jim