Questions for Steve and other Shure V15VxMR users

What tracking force do you use--Shure's recommended 1.0 grams, or the maximum 1.25 grams?

Do you play LPs with the stabilizer brush down, or locked up?

What do you clean your stylus with?

Thanks!

 

I think Shure recommends tracking up to 1.5. Mine is at 1.2 and it flawlessly tracks everything I throw at it. I almost always have the stabilizer up and out of the way except for unusually warped records.

I love this cart.

Dan C

 

Cart is GOD. I've been playing vinyl since I had feety-pajamas!

Yeah, it seems to do well at 1.5. With or without the stabilizer down, it tracks like a dream come true.

Just be careful because the length of the cantilever is long, and you always use a brush going from back to front. Never the opposite direction.

I'm using a Discwasher SC2 brush and liquid, however sparingly, and gently. There are many DIY ideas that work great too.

I go for the middle, because too light, and damage can occur, same with too much. I love my V15VxMR, and Shure is great!

 

Mine is set at 1.5. I usually leave the brush down, mostly because I like the way it looks. I use Last stylus cleaner after each LP side.

 

Thanks for the responses so far. I love this cart too.

FWIW, the User Guide on Shure's website (same guide that came with my cart yesterday) says 1.0 grams is "optimum" and 1.25 grams is "maximum" for tracking force. When the stabilizer brush is used, add .50 gram to those figures to counteract the force of the brush.

Some folks say the cart sounds better with the brush in use; others say it's better with the brush locked up. Anyone here notice any difference?

 

No. But the brush is so fine, that even nominal dust on a record turns the headshell into a solid dust bunny!

But it also makes for a much more gentle contact w/ the vinyl at the beginning.....

 

I keep the brush up (don't use it) and use a tracking force of 1gm. It's a great cart and tracks like a mofo.....

Todd

 

I track at 1.2 grams with the stabilizer brush up. I decided on 1.2 grams because that sounded best to me. I leave the stabilizer brush up because a review said the cartridge sounded better that way.

I clean the stylus with the Disc Doctor stylus cleaning brush and fluid after every side (if I'm diligent).

Paul

 

1.1 grams

brush down (sounds better to me)

I use a combination of things to clean the stylus. I prefer the discwasher stylus solution with DW brush.

I have not dust bunnies collecting on my cartridge body.

 

1.5 grams with brush down (net 1.0 grams). I need the brush down to cope with warped 12" singles, and I can't hear any significant difference without it, so I leave it down all the time.

I absolutely love this cart.

 

I bought my V15 in 1987. It just keeps sounding better. Used in a VPI 19jr., AQ PT-5 arm. I'm curious about the lower priced Dynavectors and Clearaudios, but I imagine when (if) this thing finally poops out, I'll probably get another Shure.

 

I generally use the brush. It does a good job of stabilizing the tonearm on slight warps, which it's intended to do. It should change the sound a bit, since it also changes the low freq. resonant frequency of the stylus/tonearm system. (Makes it higher, but also lower Q (more spread out, less pronounced)).

I tend to go for the high tracking force. I've never yet seen a cartridge that will absolutely track every record I own. Though the Shure comes closest. (Some 45's and 12"-ers are killers for tracking.)

 

1.2g with, usually, the brush up. With the brush down and the volume cranked up on the silence between songs you can hear the fibers picking up faint vibrations from the adjacent grooves. It's sort of like a chorus of pre-echoes. In fact, it sounds rather haunting, even eerie sometimes. But they're so faint I've never really paid them much attention. Some say it colors the sound but I've never found it to be a problem. From what I've read, Shure states that under "optimal" conditions the V15 will sound better with the brush up.

 

How much tracking force do you use, Steve? And what do you use to clean the stylus?

Speaking of Steve's, howsa about you Mr. Hoffman in your mastering lab? Brush up or down? Tracking force? Cleaning?

 

The cartridge body itself doesn't really "poop out", but the stylus suspension does, especially after 16 years. Have you replaced the stylus in that time? If not, you might be surprised at the result.

John K.

 

The answer is: it depends on the arm the cartridge is mounted. Usually the brush should be down unless the cartridge is mounted in a low to low-medium mass arm. The compliance of the Shure is very high and the cantilever will shimmy in a heavier arm.

Also, the brush should be cleaned periodically like the stylus. If too much dust builds up, the brush gets stiffer and ends up being microphonic, which accounts for the slight preview of sound people complain about.

 

New to vinyl again and will go to the V15 when I can. I currently clean the stylus with a q-tip and distiled h20 for now as I spent my extra bucks on disc doctor fluid & brushes. Is a q-tip OK or would a sanitized old tooth brush work better?

 

NEITHER!!

You probably do more harm than good with the qtip by leaving strands of cotton hanging from on the stylus. A toothbrush is likely to be too rough for the job as well.

If you can't use the proper tool, blow on the stylus.

 

If you use a Q Tip, the cotton that strings off could catch the stylus, and you're SOL if you break the cantilever.

The V15 is a sensitive bugger. Use only a *stylus* brush. Hell, the little brush included with the cart is sufficient.

Yah, NEITHER is right. Holy Toledo.

 

Warning, warning.... Never use a Q Tip! s Sckott said, the cotton will surely get gunked up/tangled with the stylus.....
Todd

 

OK! Glad I asked.

 

Call me a barbarian. I have used a moistened Q-tip many a time to clean a stylus. You do need to be careful. Hey, it's a step up from giving it a swipe with a finger! As we used to do in the good old days, when men were men, and styli were needles.

My preferred method is a diskwasher (Excuse me, Discwasher) stylus brush. I don't generally use the fluid. It brushes off the Shure's brush as well.

 

Got any pinza to go with 'em?

 

I don't have a V15 yet, though I intend to buy one. I've been using a Shure 110HE since selling my Grado Sonata. The 110 came with a stylus cleaning brush that is pretty much like the one Shure gives you with the V15VxMR, but with stiffer bristles. I use it now with my old Shure and I used to use it with the Grado and it works well. When I brush the stylus, I never hold the arm - I just leave it resting in its post unlocked, this way any excess pressure I might exert just pushes the arm up a bit, instead of possibly damaging the cantilever. Most of the time I use it dry, though occasionally I'll wet just a little bit of the brush with some Nitty Gritty Pure 2 or maybe just distilled water, then I'll dry the brush with a napkin and go over it. I'll occasionally do this with the small magnifying glass that I also use for cartridge alignment to really make sure I got the diamond clean.