About a year ago I got lucky and bought a Pioneer PL-S40 turntable on ebay with a buy it now price of $70. I bought it because I noticed the pics showing a Shure V15 III on it. The stylus was broke off so it was advertised as needing a needle, hah. I put a Jico VN35HE on it. It was a nice little table which I put a lesser cart on and traded it locally. Pic shows a Shure M97HE on it.
The truth is that its the best. I have used moving coils all my life Because everyone knows that they are serious audio, in between turntables i Bought a Thorens TD 150/SME3009 To which i fitted a V15 MK3. This is in a different league. I do take great care in loading etc to ensure all is well. I have a retipped Benz Glider And its been unopened as I prefer the Shure! Which as i pointed out was a stop gap initially.the Jico,s are a true audiophile bargain. I want the best, But some will have a problem with this as it is too inexpensive. If anyone hearing this was ignorant of the price It would be interesting which way they Would go
I own a plethora of Shures. V15Type III w/Elliptical and 2 with the HE stylus. I also own the TYPEIV w/Jico SAS, The V15VMR, the M97HE (x2), some Radio Shack knockoff of the M97HE, an M91ED and, an almost new M97XE. First off, on the older cartridges I own (7) the suspensions are fine. That's the first thing to worry about (after stylus wear of course). Maybe I'm the exception.... Another poster suggested that tracking ability of these old cartridges won't be on a par with newer cartridges. I disagree. Shure cartridges, especially the Type III and above were, and still are, tracking beasts and can take anything the grooves throw at them. End of story. Only you can decide if the going price for a Type III, IV, or V is reasonable. If I were buying, I'd spend a hundred on a new M97XE and never look back. If you're intent on a vintage Shure AND on a budget, an M97HE with a low wear stylus would be a good option.
"I may stick to M97xE with JICO SAS, it will total under $400, with readily available replacement styli for years". Heck try the M97xE as is, you may just like it and the price is certainly a no brainer.
If that's me you're referring to, I would just make the point that the cartridge body has nothing to do with tracking. The tracking (more correctly, tracing) ability is all down to the cantilever and the stylus. I agree that the Shure V15VxMR with the original Shure stylus has probably never been surpassed for "trackability" (I have three of them) but that was down to the hair-thin beryllium cantilever and the beautifully cut diamond tip. If trackability is what the OP is seeking, there is no point in buying an old Shure V15VxMR body and then putting some cheap elliptical stylus on it - the tracking will be no better than you could get for less money from a host of cheap off-the-shelf cartridges and in fact could easily be bettered by (for example) any MicroLine cartridge from the Audio-Technica range. He could buy an old Shure V15VxMR body and put a Jico SAS stylus on it and I imagine that would give good tracking - the old Jico SAS certainly did - but the new Jico SAS starts at $244 before shipping and with maybe another $200 for the body as well, you could get better tracking for less money from many other high-quality cartridges on the market today. It really depends what the OP wants. If he just wants to try out these old cartridges out of curiosity and has the money to spare, that's fine - all part of the hobby. If he wants value for money, I think he could do better with one of the very fine cartridges on the market today. If he wants a particular tone quality, his best course might be to say what he's looking for and invite suggestions. It's all down to what he wants - there are lots of options out there and we all have our different needs and preferences.
Oddly enuf, I actually know the stylus/cantilever is responsible for tracking (good or bad). Not oddly, I did a poor job of elucidating that in my post. In 43 years, I've never had tracking issues with any stylus profile from Shure from the TYPEIIIs (either elliptical, HE, or MR (replacement stylii late in the cartridges run was an VN35MR)), TYPE IV (admittedly with a JICO SAS) and Type VxMR. Your experience with the various Shure V15TypeXXs obviously varies. Totally agree on NOT replacing a wore out stylus with an off the shelf replacement. I do own 2 AT ML profiles, one is actually the upgraded line, a Signet 5.0 and, they're tracking beasts as well.
I have never heard the Shure, so, I don't know what it is in particular I'm looking for. All I know, is from reading a lot of forums and doing homework, there are a number of cartridges that simply intrigue me, especially those that have a steady loyal following. Shure V15 is one of them, and, the closest you came to putting a finger on my motivation is probably curiosity. I had never heard the Denon 103 either, prior to buying one, but, from reading about its history and reviews of many a loyal fan, I simply bought a Zu Denon, and love it immensely now, installed on Audioquest PT-6 arm coupled to a heavily customized AR ES-1 table. I have been reading and participating in a lot of threads here discussing cartridges, and, if there's one thing I learned - you have to buy them and listen to them to know if you like them or not. Reading opinions of others alone isn't going to help you form yours. So, yes - I bought the Denon on a whim, and now I feel I may buy a Shure on a whim pretty soon. And a long-horned Grado Gold with 8MZ stylus will follow soon enough. Have I heard them? - No. Do I know what I'm looking for from them? - No. They intrigue me, that's all. I'm sure there are other worthy cartridges to spend money on. Probably with better bang for the buck, as well. But these three, Denon, Shure, and Grado, have history behind them, which other off the shelf carts simply don't, not yet, anyway. Our hobby is largely nostalgic. At least for me it is. That's why I'm drawn to vintage (or vintage-heritage) tables and carts. Denon is paired with the AR. Now I'm looking at a Rek-O-Kut Rondine idler drive table with a Grado wooden arm. I think Shure would be a great cart for it, and would be true to era, as well. Once I buy the Rondine - Shure is in the cards, regardless if others are better. And the Grado may go on some DD table, be it a Denon DP-1800 I'm waiting to be evaluated by a professional, or on a new Technics 1200GR that should be hitting the stores soon enough.
I have a V15II which is my favorite of the V15 line. Lucky to have 2 VN15E stylus' to use with it. Of the the V15, this one sounds the most real, the most meaty. I'm using it on a Dual 1019 and it's a fabulous match. The Jico standard replacement stylus is only 30 bucks so I'll probably be picking a couple up(the SAS is $270...not worth it to me) shortly.
When I was a kid growing up, I was about 7 at the time my older brother finally got a stereo, nothing fancy, an MGA, the receiver was well built as were the 8" 2 way speakers.... as I found out a few years later when I got it from him and I tore it all apart to examine their workings. The turntable was some BSR and overall it sounded ok, nothing terrible, nothing fantastic. That is, until his friend had him get a Shure V15 for the turntable. Wow, I was there the day they installed it, the improvement was startling. He had a lot of Phase 4 records and they came over that Shure with amazing clarity. One of the reasons I went to Shures after a bad experience early on with 3 Empire 2000 Z stylus tips falling off.
I think we probably agree! Those MicroLine cartridges from Audio-Technica certainly are awesome trackers - I would take a lot of persuading to use anything else these days. In that case I think you should absolutely definitely go for a vintage Shure! I think the III was highly praised and quite flat in frequency response, the IV was less popular for some reason and the V was probably the most popular of all. The x series - the V15VxMR and the M97xE - were deliberately given a warm profile and it's very noticeable so that's worth keeping in mind, but it's important to note that this only applies when using the original stylus. If you switch to another stylus such as a Jico SAS, it changes the frequency response - to many ears, for the better in the case of the x series which some people found a bit TOO rolled-off and lacking in detail with the original stylus. Again, it's all down to personal preference. I'm no expert - I just played around with them for a while in recent years - but you can spend a lot of happy hours Googling them and reading up on the history. Have fun and tell us what you found when you've tried them all!
I have a V15-VMR, V15-VxMR, and an M97xE. For the first two, I have SAS styli and for the last one I have an Expert Stylus sapphire cantilever and Paratrace retip along with all original styli in excellent condition. I'd recommend the V15-VxMR body and SAS stylus because the SAS is indistinguishable in sound from the original and tracks as well. The VMR sounds totally different with the SAS though--more like an Audio-Technica AT150-MLX, so you should just get that or maybe the new Sa version. The M97xE with the Expert Stylus is excellent, but quality control problems from Shure kept me waiting for over a year. Easiest to get is just a plain old M97xE stock. It really sounds great, is easy to find, easy on the wallet and replacement styli are cheap and plentiful. It's not quite up to the V15-VxMR, but IMHO it's close enough not to cry over.
Bought a type 4 due to the hype and honestly was not impressed. Lack of soundstage and no detail. The rolled off highs made female vocals unlistenable. Maybe I will try an OM40 one day since I need a high compliance cart in my stable.
Does the same SAS stylus fit all the V15 versions, or each one has its own? In other words, if I bought a few vintage carts, could I have one SAS stylus to swap among several cart bodies, or will I have to have one for each of them specifically?
Was it new or used? You never know how many hours the stylus had on it, maybe it was worn. Also - are you sure the cart was a good match for your arm, and your phono? With so many people on this forum swearing by their V15's, it's hard to believe in the cart's mediocrity without analyzing the facts first. Or maybe you just got a bad specimen... Also, was it the original stylus, or aftermarket? Elliptical, or hyper-elliptical? Everything matters.
Getting an M97xE is probably the easiest way to go. However, it will not quench my curiosity for vintage carts of yesteryear that people rave about. I might get one for comparison's sake, as well, thank god it's cheap enough, but a real V15 is an idee fixe for me for now. I may hold off on it for a while, because I was told that the Grado arm of the Rek-O-Kut Rondine I'm buying is better suited for the Grado carts, so - a longhorned Prestige Gold with 8 MZ stylus will come first. But, eventually, a V15 is in the cards, I just need to figure a table for it, as well. The new 1200 might be it, we'll see as the time progresses.
Well, the V15-VMR stylus and aftermarket styli made for it will fit the V15-VxMR and the M97xE, but not the other way around because the VN5MR and the N97xE and other styli that size are too large to fit into the VMR body. I have tried the narrower ones in the wider bodies, though, and they do work and sound good. RF plots may show that they don't perform as well if they're mismatched.
They're definitely worth finding. No doubt about that. But there are other vintage gems I like better--mostly Stanton and Pickering.
Found my receipt for a Shure V15 Type II bought on 04/30/75 at Marine Corps Air Station Butler Hobby shop for a staggering $59.00. Bought it along with a Dual 1229. Their hobby shop at the time, was the equivalent of a kid in a candy store. All static displays --I went there everyday after the evening formation. Best sirs, Bob
That's a type III, but still very cool . I'm always blown away how people have stuff like this that they bought 40 years ago. The oldest stuff I have is probably no more then 10 years old.
Bought is used with a Jico hyper elliptical. Had it on light arm ADC lmf1 so it was a good match. Maybe the stylus was a dud. I was very disappointed so I put on the 17d3 I have and to my amazement it sounded amazing on the ADC arm. I don't know why since MC carts like heavy arms. However there are no issues. The dyna was and is so good I dumped the type 4 realizing it will never compete with the dynavector. my stylus was perhaps a dud. I set it up multiple times. Had other mm carts and not had such issues.
