How to Find and Order your Stylus

What is a Stylus / What am I buying?

First lets identify what you are looking for. A record player consists of a platter and base onto which a tone arm is attached. The tone arm holds a head shell on to which a cartridge or head is mounted. The styli typically slide into the cartridge. We will from now on refer to needles, stylus or tip as the styli.

A picture is worth 1000 words

You will be presented with an image or images with our codes. A visual match up will be your best identification tool. You may have submitted a brand only in which case we will have narrowed the possibilities from 500 to 5 or 10 a visual match with the styli in your hand should confirm the exact replacement you need. Remember colours will vary or the cartridge / styli on you system may not be the original.

The site:

Search engine: Use this to input any data you have to identify your styli.
Help request: Submit your data and a digital picture and our experts will find your styli.
Shopping Cart: Having identified your styli order online.
Browse By Brand: Select record player brand name and be presented with their range of styli.
Top 20 Styli: A quick identification method displaying our 20 most popular styli.

Copies or Originals:

Am i buying a copy or an Original OEM?

All styli on our website are copies, with the following Exceptions:

1) Where a Brand name or Logo Appears on the image.
2) All items above 'N 800' are original OEM stock.

Aren't copies Lower Quality?

Not necessarily no, Lumen styli are made in the UK, and in 28 years we have had very few complaints. In 99% of all product, there is no audible difference between our copies and originals, often, they rate higher.
One example is the Stanton Al500 series. Our N 323 is preferred by radio stations here in Auckland above the originals. One in particular which plays Remixed music 24/7 swears by them.
In the case of most Shure models, the difference is only about 2-5% where the price difference is about 60%.
Nowadays, Shure 'originals' are being made in Mexico, and have had complaints of reproduction quality from the cantilever being too heavy.
In other brands, quite often the styli used by the manufacturers were made under contract in the same factories making unbranded copies.

Rule of thumb: provided copies come from either the UK, Europe or Japan they will be fine, beware of bulk produced Chinese ones as sold by other online outlets.

If i am not satisfied with a copy can i return it?

If you ordered one of our copies, and you think it sounds worse that the original one, you may return it for a swap or a refund, please see our Return Policy

Finding it:

(Clicking on the links displays screenshot)

Either by the search function or from the “brands” listing  you come to the index page for the brand you need (3) which has 3 indexes to find your styli:  image index,  player index or  Cartridge index.
By clicking on the Image or the listing, each stylus has it’s own page  Your will see a price and you can click the “buy now” button  which takes you to a page displaying your product selection and price.

(New Zealanders see also notes)

Choosing the correct one:

How can i be sure to order correctly?

Before you go ordering a styli, there a couple of things you should check first,
Almost 100% of all returns made to us are for the following reason – a stylus was ordered according to the player model, even though the ‘cartridge’ had been changed from the OEM supplied. For example you might have a Shure turntable with a ‘Audio-Technica’ cartridge on it.

Here’s how to be safe:
1) Find your brand and model, then take a look at our picture, comparing it with your old stylus. If it’s looks the same then you will be safe to order it.
2) If different looking, this means the cartridge has at some stage been changed. Take a closer look at the cartridge itself, see if there are any numbers or a logo on it.
3) If there is anything on it, for example a brand or number, try searching for it via our search function, if nothing shows up try splitting up numbers and letters.
4) If nothing comes up at all, take a look at all images on our 'Top 20' page.. I say this because often when a cartridge has been changed, quite a common one will be used.
5) if you still can’t be sure, rest assured that we will make swaps if the wrong one is ordered.
6) if you can take and submit a picture to us, this will enable us to make recommendation to you.

Hope this helps!

Buying It - Order online, by Fax, or by Post.

How can I order from you?

Orders can be placed directly on this website, our server is super secure and there is no risk of encrypted data being read. Alternatively, If you wish, you can Fax or Post us your order instead.

Online ordering : once you have found the product you need, there is a 'buy now' button near the top right of the page. Clicking on the 'buy now' button will take you to a 'checkout' page where payment and delivery details are entered.

Fax or Post: Download our order form. This can be filled out directly in your acrobat reader, printed and Faxed / Posted to us.
Fax and Postal orders have the option of Insurance.

Note: Beside the "buy now" button  you will have seen two prices, one in USD and the other in NZ Dollars. All prices are quoted in New Zealand dollars and include GST. We will process your credit card at the NZD displayed.

You are now on a page displaying your product selection and price.
Below that you need to choose Shipping (Default is Worldwide at $10 NZ / $6.91 US or this can be changed to "NZ free" if you are in NZ.)

Now click on the “continue” button which takes you to a page to enter card details.
We are a SSL certified site, which means your details are kept confidential and any information sent is securely encrypted.
After completing this screen your stylus will be dispatched asap And you should be listening to your records in a few days! Products are shipped well packaged and always reach you in good condition.

Notes for NZ residents:

If you Live in NZ you may wish to pick it up near your home - once you know our part number, you can be directed to the “contact” page where you choose your area and see a store listed
After Phoning or visiting a store with the Correct Part number (N ***) they then place an order with us, stock is sent out ASAP (Normally overnight) and you can pick it up.  

Delivery Times:

Target times are as follows:

New Zealand	2-4 days
Australia	Min 4, Max 15 days, Normally 6
Sth Pacific	Min 6, Max 22 days, Normally 14
E. Asia	Min 6, Max 25 days, Normally 14
N. America	Min 4, Max 25 days, Normally 5
UK & Europe	Min 8, Max 25 days, Normally 5
Other countries	Min 6, Max 25 days
Problem areas:	France, Spain & Eastern Europe (slow, please address carefully), Pacific islands (poor postal service and corruption).

Shipping options and prices

Shipping options are as follows:

• FREE Worldwide with DHL Global mail (Deutsche Post) (Default option)

...or...

• DHL Express to Australia (1-2 days) $36.52 USD $28.51 EUR $51.00 NZD
• DHL Express to USA (1-2 days) $50.84 USD $39.69 EUR $71.00 NZD
• DHL Express to UK (2-3 days) $58.00 USD $45.28 EUR $81.00 NZD

Other countries can opt for DHL Express also, please choose 'UK' rate and await a second email confirmation email with a quoted price.

The Default setting for shipping is 'Worldwide Economy', so if you are in New Zealand or want DHL Express service please choose it.

Missing Orders:

Because we are limited to very strict 'missing item' rules by New Zealand post, ALL 'missing items' and 'damage' claims MUST be done within (14 days New Zealand) and (90 days international) from the date of order. Notification made outside this allowance will not be successful.