Is a Ortofon Black a step down from a Pickering XSV 3000

Yes I’d  say so 

Stanton and Pickering are safe bet.. 

35db channel separation. price. durability. hard to beat the value
personally the newer current stuff in the market.. not much I really cared for. ability to make frequency and music.. is entirely a different matter m

I balked at first to the Ortofon 2M Black. After purchasing one, and after the 'break in' period I find it mesmerizing. Purchased a second and a third to have on hand just in case. The Shibata stylus in this engine is (in my opinion) the finest MM cartridge out there. To better it, take a big step up to an MC. Disclaimer; Then again, I always found the Shure cartridges back in day preferable to the aforementioned Stanton/Pickerings. Just my two cents worth. AB

There are many superb cartridges with Shibata stylus, first is Victor X1II which is another amazing MM (but definitely more expensive than Stanton/Pickering). Looking for best NOS carts from the past (collecting them) is a part of the hobby, it’s fun, there at at least 10 best MM that can compete with everything (no matte new, old, mm, mi or mc). Top models from Stanton, Victor, Audio-Technica, Pickering, Grace, Pioneer... just to name some brands from the past, there are more.

Shibata was a stylus originally designed by one of JVC’s employee’s (Norio Shibata), to enable better tracing of the high frequencies which their CD-4 quadraphonic system records needed. JVC were the designer of CD-4, which was one of a number of competing quadraphonic (4 channel) systems back in the 70’s, and because it needed a frequency response to 50 kHz, they had to design a new stylus to enable that. Other versions similar to the Shibata stylus began to be made, such as Ogura and Van den Hul, but with slight differences in shape so as not to infringe the Shibata patent.

Dear @lewm : You are rigth and that stylus shape is not a big deal and is far away from the best today stylus shape even the stereohedron stylus shape was not made/designed by Stanton, its patent belongs to the inventor: Huges, Diamagnetics Inc. and was made it after the Shibata stylus shape and for Huges registered the patent, because it’s a copy of " like Shibata " he made something additional that does not gives any advantage. Shibata still is better ( larger radius ) than the stereohedron and obviously a superior stylus shape.

Shibata is so good that not only today Ortofon uses it but other cartridge manufacturers too.
If the stereohedron will be better then this will be what the cartridge manufacturers use instead Shibata.

So the LPGear Shibata replacement stylus is better than the original and as any vintage and some today cartridges uses samarium cobalt magnets that are rally common against neodynium or alnico or platinum.

Shibata has two version of the stylus where the difference belongs at the radius. The " normal " Shibata stylus has a 75 uM radius vs 70 uM on the stereohedron.

@arizonabob is rigth too about Shure hiperelliptical and MicroRidge. No one of the Stanton/Pickering can beats the Shure Ultra 500 , this one outperforms any Stanton.
I’m not saying that Stanton is not a good cartridge because it’s but it’s not as competitive as so many vintage and certainly today better cartridge designs.

Btw, the AT MicroLine stylus shape is exactly the Jico SAS nad made it by Namiki, both are advanced stylus kind of shape .

Problem with that person that lives in Rusia is that he is a seller and is full of Stanton cartridges/stylus and he wants to sold as fast he can no matters what and that’s why he has to post lies after lies. Pity.

R.

70uM for Stereohedron
70uM for the VDH according to Audio Technica
70uM for the Fritz Gyger 70 [FG70] according to Ortofon. FG90 also exists.
75uM for the Shibata
75uM for SAS and MicroLine.
100uM for Ortofon Replicant  ( is a Gyger modification. )