Home > Consumer Reviews > Stanton 500 AL II Phono Cartridge

Those who are going to purchase this need to pay close attention to the fact that this is for studio-club standard or club DJ and scratching purposes. This is something to play records loud at a venue where the crowd is not going to be analyzing whether you used a mid-end or hi-end set up---who will care as long as the music is going.This also indicates that the Stanton 500 is not for audiophile casual listening purposes to play your favorite classical or jazz records for it's frequency range is somewhat limited and will not track very complex passages, especially loaded with high frequencies. Most low-burn cartridges will have a round stylus tip and not an elliptical or a costlier linear one. For those would not be DJ standard cartridges but your expensive in-home listening grades...The Stanton will get the job done, but it will not perform high end or audiophile quality sound or groundbreaking sonic miracles !

This cartridge has a spherical stylus, which gives low record burn. The other review has it wrong. I have two on my 1210s and they work fine. I am going to upgrade to the Shure M44s some time because they give even lower record burn and have a higher output and wider frequency range.

For those Stanton fans who use conical styli, club DJs, 45rpm collectors (as most 45s are made out of styrene and not vinyl, if you use an elliptical styli, they are likely to scratch another groove on the disc surface which only ruins the discs if you use the cartridges too much on 45s), fans of spherical (a.k.a. conical) styli for its low cue burn, this is the cartridge for you. It is not intended for most hi-fi applications but for what it is, it is a great cartridge. I played a somewhat scratched vinyl of Amy Grant's "Unguarded" with this cartridge and the surface noise got reduced well with this cartridge while my Stanton 680 EL II (elliptical cartridge) which I recommend for most hi-fi purposes plays it with surface noise. This is the industry standard for spherical styli and cartridges and is one of the cheapest for this purpose plus the styli can easily be replaced.

Low End cartridge. A decent cartridge would have an elipitical stylus, and not damage your vinyl so fast.

this is a DJ cartridge designed for backcueing and scratching. They are very affordable and have a reputation for lasting a long time and low record wear. Perfect for new DJs, but if you are serious about it or want to do some scratching get some Shure M44's.

This is not a audiophile highoutput cart. Its meant to be affordable and reliable and it is.