General Asylum: REVIEW: KAB Stanton 681/D11S Phono Cartridge by desmondjim

Model:	Stanton 681/D11S
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$139.95
Description:	Moving Iron cartridge with a Stereohedron stylus
Manufacturer URL:	KAB
Model Picture:	View

Review by desmondjim on August 13, 2007 at 12:39:20
IP Address: 192.91.173.42 Add Your Review
for the Stanton 681/D11S

I have been using an Ortofon 540 mk II cart for a while and have greatly enjoyed it. I find that it has very good articulate bass and a nicely extended high end and a good mid-range presentation. It fits in well with my system and I was content.

I then started to play some of the older LPs in my collection and noticed that they sounded a little thin in the lower mid or upper bass. The deep bass is very good. Better than the Benz Micro Ace I have. But this mid bass thinness started to stick out more now that I was listening for it. I started to look for a cart that was a little fuller sounding but would retain all the things that I think the Ortofon does well without costing too much. I happened upon the KAB web page and saw that Kevin had put a Pickering D-11S stylus on a Stanton 681EEE Mk III. I called him and talked with him at length. He is very familiar with both Ortofon and Stanton and suggested that the 681/D11S would be just what I was looking for so I too the plunge and ordered one.

When the cart arrived I got right to work and started to install it on my Graham Robin. Luckily the Robin has a removable head shell so I could sit at my desk and do most of the work there. This brings me to the worst aspect of this cart, the mounting system.

The 681 has stamped metal wings on top that you have to insert these little plastic mounting tabs into. Then screw in the supplied mounting screws through the head shell. The problem are those little mounting tabs. They move around when you try to tighten the screws. They don't have threads that I can see, so the screws self tap as they are inserted. This causes a lot of friction so the cart moves as you try to tighten them. I found it very difficult to precisely mount the cart using a variety of protractors I have. I grew so frustrated with the whole thing I had to take the cart off and re-install the Ortofon for a week just to calm down enough to try again. I am very glad I did try again because the 681/D11S is worth the extra work.

After I finally got the hang of the mounting system I got the cart installed correctly and set the down force to .75g I started to listen. There was a lot of distortion so I set the down force to 1g and things started to fall into place very nicely. It didn't take long to break in and I have about 175 hours on the cart now.

The 681 is noticeably warmer sounding than the 540. The bass does not have the slam and speed of the 540 but it is not too fat sounding. The mid bass is fuller sounding in the 681 and seem to integrate the bass and mids better than the 540 does. The highs are a touch rolled off in comparison to the 540 but not enough that I feel I am missing critical detail and space. The overall presentation of the 681/D11S is more laid back and mellower than the 540 and I am enjoying it greatly.

As for tracking and noise this cart is a champ. Once I set it up to 1g down force I haven't noticed any mistracking or other bad behavior. My old and worn out records have a new lease on life. The surface noise seems a little less pronounced. I don't know if this is a function of the stylus shape or the slightly rolled off highs. I just know my old classic rock and classic R&B records from the 60s and 70s are listenable again. I have been spinning a lot of old Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, Van Morison, and Maceo Parker albums that I had given up on.

So to wrap this overly long and rambling review up at $139.95 the Kab 681/D11S is a cracking good bargain and a great cart. I would recommend it to anybody who likes the Ortofon 540 but wanted just a little more warmth and a fuller mid-bass.

Cheers,
Jim

Product Weakness:	The mounting system (see review. Might be a touch rolled off in the highs for some folks.
Product Strengths:	A nicely warm and well integrated sound. Great tracking. Low noise.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: VTL ST-150
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): VTL TL-5.5 with phono
Sources (CDP/Turntable): SOTA Sapphire with Graham Robin tone arm.
Speakers: Vienna Acoustics Beethovens
Cables/Interconnects: Zu Xaus phono cable Audience AU24 for everything else
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classic Rock and R&B, and blues
Room Size (LxWxH): 24' x 13' x 8'
Room Comments/Treatments: none.
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): PS Audio Ultimate Outlet
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	VTL ST-150
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	VTL TL-5.5 with phono
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	SOTA Sapphire with Graham Robin tone arm.
Speakers:	Vienna Acoustics Beethovens
Cables/Interconnects:	Zu Xaus phono cable Audience AU24 for everything else
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classic Rock and R&B, and blues
Room Size (LxWxH):	24' x 13' x 8'
Room Comments/Treatments:	none.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	PS Audio Ultimate Outlet
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner