Audio-Technica AT85EP Turntable Cartridge with Elliptical Stylus P Mount

I am a casual listener of music who is moving technologically backward to 1980s components. My purchases include a Technics SL-QD33 turntable with a badly damaged stylus. Looked at replacement cartridges which ranged in price from $30 to your kidding me, right?? Think I picked this one up for around $50 which, based on reviews, seemed fair. Ez to install, balanced out the arm, began spinning a record and was blown away. My ears have grown accustomed to a JBL speaker, (which, for what it is, sounds pretty good), or car speakers. No more. Now I sit down at night with glass of wine in hand, Dirty Heads, Lou Reed, and Stick Figure filling the empty space between my ears. Each record that plays surprises me with sound quality I have definitely missed out on. I highly recommend this cartridge if looking to replace an older or damaged one, unless you feel a need to pay big bucks.

I installed the Audio-Technica AT85EP on my Technics SL-BD24 and the improvement was immediately noticeable. Installation was quick and easy — true plug-and-play with the P-mount design. Sound quality is a clear step up from my original cartridge. Vocals are cleaner, highs are smoother, and there is much better detail overall. I especially noticed reduced distortion toward the inner grooves, which was a pleasant surprise. Tracking is excellent and records sound more balanced and refined. For anyone with a compatible P-mount turntable, this cartridge is a fantastic value and a very worthwhile upgrade. Highly recommended.

Very reasonable price for the cartridge/stylus assembly. Very nice upgrade from my original turntable stylus. No fuss - just plug in and go. I've used this same cartridge on linear trackers and traditional style players with no issue. Buy with confidence.

This AT85EP cartridge brought my trusty Technics SL QD2 back to life after sleeping over the last 15-20 years! Sounds better than I remember. (Of course, it could also be the Marantz 1152DC and Dali 7 speakers its feeding...)

As anyone who listened to vinyl "back in the day" knows, in the 1990s and earlier, quality phono cartridges were generally much more affordable. Of course, there have always been premium options aimed at audiophiles but it wasn't necessary years ago to buy a pricey phono cartridge to experience solid audio quality. The Audio-Technica AT85EP is one of the few affordable name-brand cartridges on the market. The sound is well balanced and the cartridge is more forgiving than some on static and pops. (If your vinyl is in less than pristine condition this is the cartridge to get.) I can only compare this to a vintage GRADO ZC+ and the current GRADO Black3 cartridge, both of which per the specs go to 10,000khz vs. 20,000-20,000khz of the AT. The bottom end of this cartridge noticeably lacks the uber-low bass that the GRADO cartridges reliably reproduce. That said, there are other instruments that come through more clearly with this cartridge — i.e. cymbals and snare drums. GRADO brings vocalists forward more but not by so much as to make this AT cartridge inferior at approximately half the price. There are indeed pricier phono cartridges to be had, but this one gets the job done. In conclusion, my chief concern is that more and more P-mount cartridges seem to be discontinued or relegated to "New Old Stock" status with each passing year. Virtually all turntables manufactured today require standard mount — not this type. Personally, I wish audio component manufacturers would keep the plug-and-play option alive for those of us who would rather listen to music than nerd out. After all, many of us who came up through the 1980s and '90s have only ever known P-mount turntables. We simply want the nostalgia of dusting off our old vinyl collection — but want something better than a Crosley suitcase turntable to listen on. That is where P-mount comes in. There would be a future assured for P-mount phono cartridges if even a single manufacturer could be compelled to produce a P-mount compatible turntable. Will it happen? The audiophiles who have pretty much presided over the rebirth of vinyl in the past 20-some years would probably disagree but speaking as one who hails from the Old School, the market would be considerably greater among Boomers and Xers — old dogs who aren't particularly keen on learning new tricks what with declining middle-aged vision, fragile Standard Mount hardwired connections, Anti-Skate tweaks and a protractor! — if manufacturers would consider bringing back turntables with a few of the conveniences of old (beyond P-mount that would include semi- and auto-operation most of which are also absent on modern turntables). For now, thankfully, P-mount is still available thanks to AT, GRADO and a handful of others. My advice? Buy what you need to keep your vintage turntable going while you still can.

By far my favorite cartridge - not just for ease of use or price but for its ability to shape sound into such beautiful profile. To the disciplined ear this cartridge produces the sound of cartridges triple the price, easily. *****

Was restoring a turntable that used a P-mount cartridge. Bought the Audio-Technica AT85EP as it was relatively cheap. But as it turns out, it is a find-sounding cartridge and excellent value for the money. As is the rule for P-mounts, set up was extremely easy: push the connectors into the arm, tighten the screw and you're done.

Great Product, the sound on my old Technics sl-dd33 is back to awesome. Thanks, it's amazing what a quality needle does for a turntable

Rescaté una Technics SL-Q300 con el propósito de empezar a conocer más sobre el mundo del vinil. Entre otros detalles esta torna tenía un cartucho con una aguja totalmente desgastada. Después de investigar que opciones tenía compré este cartucho para montaje tipo P por un excelente precio. Dejo aquí una lista OBSERVACIONES de cosas sobre el producto que he ido notando en apenas 2 días de uso: - EL PRECIO es super accesible. Yo que estoy super ajustado con el presupuesto para explorar un mundo donde hay equipo con precios de no creer, el precio es muy bueno. A la fecha de mi compra estaba aproximadamente en 45 USD. Puedes también encontrar el REPUESTO de la aguja solamente, pero para este modelo en específico no te ahorras mucho entre comprar todo el cartucho con aguja incluida y solo comprar la aguja. - El cartucho VIENE EN UNA CAJA de cartón con buena presentación, por dentro tienen una base de plástico muy delgada para que no esté suelta dentro de la caja. En esa base dentro de una bolsita pequeña viene el cartucho protegido con su cubierta de plástico transparente para la punta. Además viene con su manual de usuario con un contenido interesante e ilustrativo. - LA CALIDAD DEL MATERIAL del cartucho se ve bastante bien, no sé ve como algo que vaya a fallar o dañarse pronto, ademas que la combinación de colores me parece agradable. - EL MONTAJE es sencillo y rápido, es para tipo P (como ya mencioné), solo hace falta quitar el tornillo que fija el cartucho al brazo, remover el antiguo cartucho jalando con pequeños movimientos laterales y montar el nuevo haciendo presión también con suaves movimientos. Por último volver a colocar el tornillo. OJO que no trae el tornillo necesario para que quede fijo al resto del brazo. - LA CALIDAD DE SONIDO es buena. Siendo nuevo en el mundo de como escuchar vinilos y todo el equipo de audio para esta actividad no tengo una buena referencia de como puede llegar a sonar un vinilo con un equipo de alta gama. En la descripción indica que la aguja es de tipo elíptica, por lo que se supone que otorga una mejor calidad que una cónica (que igual luego compraré para fines de experimentar). Para mí, el sonido es agradable, noto algo de mayor presencia en frecuencias altas que en las versiones digitales (Spotify, YouTube) de las mismas canciones con las que hice las pruebas pero también es rico en brillo debido a esto. LA PRUEBA SE REALIZÓ con el equipo que tengo ahorita a la mano que es la tornamesa Technics SL-Q300 con este cartucho, la salida RCA va a unos adaptadores RCA-Jack 1/4 macho para entrar en los pre amps de mi interfaz Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 2nd gen (pronto compraré un pre amp para tornamesas), por último la salida de la interfaz van a mis monitores Pre Sonus Eris 4.5. Como pueden ver la prueba no sé está haciendo en el ambiente óptimo, pero de momento es lo que hay. Opinión general: Gran producto para iniciar a explorar las partes de un tornamesa y el mundo de los vinilos. Por su precio obtienes calidad decente en todos los aspectos del producto. Espero les sea de ayuda esta opinión, pronto iré actualizando y subiendo imágenes y videos.

Je dispose d’une platine Technics SL-7 linéaire comme on n’en fait plus. Il y avait une ancienne cellule P202C d’il y a 40 ans j’avais beau lui adjoindre un diamant neuf Black Diamond de Analogis EPS 202 ED soit disant supérieur à Audiotechnica, j’avais un problème de sibilance gênante. J’ai alors acheté un couple cellule et diamant Audiotechnica pour comparer. Je suis agréablement surpris et satisfait car je n’ai plus ce problème, de plus je trouve le son plus analytique. Je ne regrette pas mon achat. J’ai donc un diamant elliptique pour les disques récents mais j’avoue que je serais bien tenté par une version sphérique Audiotechnica pour les vieux disques un peu usés qui demandent moins de précision et donc moins de craquements. Un avertissement sur la boite indique : Cancer et reproductive Harm, je suis un peu surpris de cette annotation sur l'emballage car une fois placé, le diamant ne bouge plus et on ne le manipule pas pendant longtemps.

Best upgrade ever voor my Technics SL-5 Audio Technica AT 85 EP T4P Cartridge with the eleptical stylus in it More tight bass, more stereo image and refind highs with plenty more details as the original one from technics Highley recommended

Arrivate testine, perfette e ben suonanti.Tutto meravigliosamente ok,grazie ai Signori di AUDIO TECHNICA.

Moving from a clean but stock stylus on a 40+ year old turntable, I could immediately hear the improvement in the audio output when I replaced it with the AT85EP stylus. I tested it one of my more worn out records, and even then the jump in quality and improvement in the mid range tones was distinctly noticeable. While it's never going to fully complete with the more expensive DJ Styluses out there, this more than held it's own in a household stereo and definitely steps up your gear to mid tier audio without having to layout serious $$$. I recommend using this with the S.M.S.L PH-1 Phono Preamp.