The needle has broken on my vintage Beogram 1202 from 1973. Does anyone have any idea where I could pick up a replacement. B and O customer services couldn't help and the stylus specialists I've spoken to so far claim that they are 'like gold dust' as B and O no longer make these parts. Would another needle work? I'm a bit of a novice at this sort of thing but any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks! Rob (bobcrossan@hotmail.com)

soundsmith makes replacements... however, i do not believe they make an SP style replacement ;-( sorry... (adapters w/ a 20e or later mmc style anyone???)

you can peruse thru ebay -originals come up now and again.

i think you may be better off finding someone on here that may have a known good one available and test it for you, in fact -i may have a sealed NOS one if i recall!

regardless, with their advancing age -it can be hit or miss -even a sealed perfect one can be shot...

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i just found out on researching another thread -that soundsmith may repair SP cartridges! 

take a look here

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Hi Rob,

Welcome to the forum!  I went to visit a friend last week who has been in the hi-fi (but not B&O) trade for 30 years and he found me a box of unused SP1/2 needles that would fit your Beogram 1202.  These date back to the early 1970's and have been sat in his shop ever since.  They all look to be in perfect condition, so please email me if you are interested.

Best regards,

Steve.

Not completely convinced about this. The SP1/2 was made for the early arms and had a tracking angle of 15 degrees when in the old ST/L and P arms but the cartridge body sat at a different angle so if fitted to a newer arm (after 1966) if will have an incorrect tracking angle. Thanks to Frede from Classic Audio for the information.

Thanks Peter,

I hadn't realised that!   Do you know whether the SP1/2 is incompatible with the newer arms, or whether the change in tracking angle is enough to be an issue?

Also, if anyone can clarify which styli fit which decks, that would be helpful - would it be useful to add all the info to this post, so that it can stay as a reference point for future questions?

Best regards,

Steve.

There are the product pages - the SP1/2 is here . There is also an article here which I think I did a bit of! I can't remember which bit but it looks sufficiently long winded to be one of mine!