Shure cartridges discontinued

...or in my case, 15 seconds to swap headshells followed by 20 minutes futzing around with the counterbalance, the VTF and anti-skate controls, etc!

 

Don't know as I have never owned any other Dual models from that era. BTW, I need to make some clarification here. It is actually just the headshell adapter to which I have to connect the cartridge. The headshell adapter then slips in under the headshell and a little fastening lever needs to be moved to fasten the adapter to the headshell.

My Dual CS-750, a late 90's model where the tonearm is like a wand with a removable headshell. Installing a cartridge does not require having to fiddle with the entire tonearm. After I have completed the cartridge installation on the removable headshell, I just twist the headshell onto the tonearm and I am done. There is no headshell adapter involved in this case.

My Thorens TD 126 MKIII has so called the Isotrak tonearm where 2/3 of it (instead of just the headshell) can be removed for easier cartridge installation. People could just buy another Isotrak "wand" to install another cartridge and so swapping cartridges should also be a 15 sec. job.

All my turntables are vintage turntables. I do not have one of those super duper turntables made after the turn of the century. I have no audio streamer though I have a nice outboard DAC and a universal player to play my SACD's.

 

I have never swapped cartridges so none of the tonearm adjustments ever needed to happen ...

 

Are you certain about that? Off-hand, I recall them being similar, but not the same, while the Whitelabel cartridge body was the same electrically as the VxMR.

No matter if the SC35C matches the VxMR or not, with upgraded styli, it has really good sound. In engineer Andreas' Meyer's setup including with various UK Expert styli, it sang in transfers we've done, such as those for the Sinatra A VOICE ON AIR set.

 

Is the older M97HE the same as the newer M97xE? The cartridge itself (obviously not the stylus)...

 

I believe so… but I wouldn’t have the capability of taking any measurements to know for certain. I’m pretty sure that’s the case though.

 

How similar are the SC35C and M35X? Are they similarly versatile?

 

They've got the same inductance and recommended load. I'm not saying that they share the same generator, just the same specs and stylus shank size. I've heard that the V15VxMR has superior grade magnets.

I emailed Shure about this a couple of years ago, and they claimed that there were slight differences between the two model's generators, but the specs would suggest otherwise. I would imagine that the only difference is the stylus, but can't say this for certain.

 

Thank you. This may be the same with the Whitelabel, re it matching inductance wise but may still be different in other ways.

 

So, as usual I'm late to the game and just hearing about this when I searched on Amazon and seeing that the M97xe and N97xe are no longer available!!! ****! I have loved that cartridge since I upgraded from the 95e and after about 2 years of playback replaced the needle with the N97xe. My question is what are my options here as far as a suitable replacement needle or should I start thinking about other cartridges like the Ortofon Blue? I was also thinking about an Audio Technica 540 micro line but would probably prefer to keep the replacement in the $100-150 range if possible. Any recommendations are welcomed!

 

Just put "Shure M97XE" into the search bar on the LPGear site. They make numerous replacement stylii, and are well regarded.

LP Gear: Search

 

I've been using this one from turntableneedles.com. I like it better than the stock N97xe stylus.

Shure VN5xMR type Brand HyperElliptical Stylus- our Turntable Needle Type 77x3-DHE

LP Gear has their "Vivid Line Series" that are popular, as well as various SAS offerings. I have no experience with the Vivid Line or SAS styli.

 

When buying an aftermarket replacement stylus, for any cartridge, it will probably NOT sound the same as the original cartridge manufacturer intended. In my experience, aftermarket stylii don't usually sound as good as the original.
Shure warranties their products for 2 years, discontinued or not. If the replacement stylus is under 2 years old and you have the receipt, you can contact Shure and send it back. They will send you a new one. But I don't think that they will send you a replacement for a stylus which is just worn out. Here is a hint. I sent one back this year to Shure where the whole shaft had come out of the carrier. They sent me a replacement, no questions asked.

Now, here is a word about stylus wear for this particular cartridge. I have played hundreds of records with the same stylus and under the microscope, there is no appreciable wear. As another test, I swapped out the old stylus for a new genuine Shure replacement stylus and I couldn't hear a difference, so I put the old stylus back in. In my case, the stylus will get damaged long before it could be worn out.

I have 1,000s of records dating back to the early 20th century. Played on modern phonographs with tracking pressure in the grams, most records will never wear out. As an example, I have tons of records which I played on 1960's record changers, commercial radio station turntables, jukeboxes and newer turntables. Most play and sound better than their recent heavy-vinyl audiophile re-issues.

If you question a stylus, USB microscopes are available for cheap and you can evaluate a stylus with one. If you have a new stylus like I do, you can compare them side-by-side.

 

Thanks all, honestly I think my current N97xe has a long lifespan still. I'm not even sure I needed to replace the other one as it had only been 2 years (of fairly heavy usage) and still sounded great. If I was to get one of the recommendations above is it as simple as swapping out the needle to the existing cartridge (as I did with the N97xe) and then re-calibrating/balancing the tone arm?

 

Swapping the stylus is easy enough, but you would would want to check cartridge alignment on top of the other changes that you mentioned. Some of the replacement styli have a different length cantilevers. Also the damping brushes on the replacement styli tend to need only .25 grams extra force, instead of the original Shure's .5 gram for brush down.

Only the Jico SAS styli have the tie wire like the original Shure's do. The rest have no tie wire, this bothers some owners & others are fine with that.