Stanton 500-E
Surviving information on the Stanton 500-E is thin. The period record shows it was the elliptical-stylus member of Stanton's low-cost "Broadcast Standard Series," a sibling to the better-known 500A. The 500A had earned a reputation as an inexpensive cartridge of real merit, but its conical stylus was the compromise. The 500E fixed that with an elliptical tip of 10 x 3 µm radii. Audio-Collection (p.188) noted that the 500E was intended for a 2-to-5-gram tracking-force range and, at just 5 grams, was light - though its design pointed toward use in quite massive pickup arms.
A test in HiFi/Stereo Review (July 1968, p.62) measured IM distortion of 1 percent at 13 cm/sec with a 1.5-gram tracking force, and 1 percent at 16.7 cm/sec at 2 grams. Those are respectable figures for a budget cartridge of the era. The same review ran a frequency-response trace from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but the printed numbers from that chart are hard to recover at this distance. Stanton also offered other versions of the 500 differing in compliance and tracking-pressure range, so the 500E was one member of a small family.
Beyond those two period references, almost nothing is documented. No reliable production dates, prices, or sales figures have surfaced.
- Elliptical stylus, 10 x 3 µm radii
- Tracking force range: 2–5 g
- Cartridge weight: 5 g
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