Help me out AT90 vs Shure M92

Hello all

I am currently in the midst of deciding on what I want to get and need some opinions. I am trying to get as many as I can. Currently I am deciding on whether I should upgrade my current AT90 cart on my Technics SL-B350 to a Hyper Elliptical stylus, or Get a new Shure M92 Body and upgrade it with an Shure M97 stylus. I am open to all opinions, as I will be trying to decide within the next day.

 

Why don't you just buy a Shure M97? That would be the best move at usually under $80 new.

 

I suspect it's because the Technics is a p-mount arm Jim, therefore the OP is a little limited.

I personally wouldn't got the M97 stylus route, as the p-mount carts have specific weight constraints. The M97 stylus would be a lot heavier than a p-mount stylus. Probably wisest to get the best stylus you can get for the original cart.

 

Shure M35X is superb and, IMO, the best budget cartridge available.

 

And not T4p mount either. Though I love mine.

 

Correct. This model that I have is a pmount. I'm thinking of maybe just getting the AT92 for now since a stylus replacement for the reg elliptical is pretty much the same price as the whole cart. This way I can have a spare cart as well. Will prob eventually upgrade to the hyper elliptical

 

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Then I would do the Shure M92E.

 

I am trying the Shure M92E Pmount on my Technics SL-M3 literally for the first time as I write - Robert Plant: Shaken N Stirred. It was dirt cheap and I planned on buying an upgraded stylus for it, so why not? I didn't expect much from it and certainly did not expect much from the stock elliptical stylus, but this thing sounds great! Not as open sounding as my original Technics P22, P23 etc, but the bass is warmer and more defined. I have a Jico N110HE inbound and now I can't wait to hear this cart with a better stylus - if it is a considerable difference I am going SAS route someday.

I will report back once the Jico arrives, I would imagine (hope) this is a better option than the M97 option the OP mentioned in terms of sound and T4P compliance.

Also, I should mention the Shure sounds to my ears way better than the Audio Technica Pmount.

 

This is exactly right. I bought that stylus for my M92e Pmount and the lightest I can get it to track is 2.0 grams (my Technics Pmount table has a narrow VTF adjustment.) If I could get the brush down, that would absorb enough VTF to get it at roughly the high end of the suggested range, but that is not an option. With the brush down, the stylus to disc clearance is so compromised the tonearm would crash into the side of the platter. This has to do with the way the arm parks itself towards the rear of the platter on my Linear Tracker (as seen in my avatar.)

This makes me wonder why so many suggest the M97 stylus on the M92e Pmount as an upgrade - are they all tracking this above the suggested force?

 

I'd go this way

 

I'm sure there are a few people that have placed an appropriate amount of Blu-Tack on their P-mount tonearms to counterbalance the extra weight of the brush and have verified it with a tracking force gauge. But my bet is that most people running that combo have it way past the max VTF. They're not doing the cartridge suspension or their records any favors.

 

Shure SC35C is the same cartridge, but sounds a tad warmer obviously due to stylus suspension...if you're into that sort of sound.

 

The AT92ECD has got a better stylus than the AT90. You can get a cheap 92ECD on ebay for 25 bucks.