Anyone use vividline stylus with a Shure V15 V (or variant)

Sam08861

Super Member
Hi All,

Looking at options for a stylus upgrade for the Shure V15 Type V. I'm currently running the EVG/Pfanstiel replacement stylus from a V15 Type IV as recommended by the voice of music site as the available alternative.

I do see upgrades are the Jico SAS models and the Vividline stylus on LPGear.

Have seen plenty of opinions on the new (neo) and original SAS models, but none on the vividline, so hoping someone will chime in here. I've heard that these are made by Jico, but the key difference is that a suspension/tension wire is not used in the vividline? Assuming this is closer to the original design, so interested in any opinions and experiences.

I have a V15 III as well, so experience from any of the V15 and similar Shure variants (or any cart!) and vividline is welcome.

Thanks!

Sam
 
For the V15 Type III cartridge a Pfanstiehl 4763-DE works and sounds great. BTW, it also sounds and works excellent in my V15 Type V.
 
I know there are a number of people using the VividLine on the N95 bodies and enjoying them. The V15's should be similar.
 
I haven't tried the one from the III on the V, but I've heard the V can fit III and IV styli. I've been meaning to try that out and will do so this evening. I guess the III item not having a stylus brush type guard has been a false 'psychological deterrent' and had heard the V will be very tight on the shank, so was afraid of damaging the stylus that's working great with the III.

In any case, these styli being so much cheaper than the V options, I've got spares I can give it a go with.

The Jico SAS stuff is great, but the amount of price gouging going on there by either the reseller or Jico themselves is well beyond ridiculous. Unfortunately, I missed the brief period where the original boron cantilevers were being 'blown out' earlier in the year at reasonable prices. Too bad for me and that's why I'm looking at the 2nd best option, as the price is more attainable for me. Nearly $300 for the Neo S/R models are just highway robbery, IMO and I'm sure the Jico company lovers will chide me for saying so. Seems the VL models were $99 not very long ago.
 
Thanks EngineerNate, I'll search out and check out those threads. Any general consensus (if such a thing is possible!) on VL vs SAS?
 
At a total cost approaching $400 for cart + stylus, the SAS stuff is in the same price ballpark as some very stiff competition.

I'm sure the SAS stuff is better than the VividLine, it's just a matter of degrees. How much better vs how much more money?

One thing to note, I don't believe any of the VL styli have telescoping cantilevers. I went with the standard HE stylus from Jico for my M97HE because of this. This may or may not be important to you or even make an audible difference.
 
Thanks EngineerNate,

I didn't know about the telescoping cantilevers, but had read the the originals used a beryllium tube or aluminum/beryllium telescoping. Too bad Shure is out of the cart business altogether as I hear these originals are great.

You're absolutely right about the other options at that price. Even though I only paid about $50 for the carts (and just about that for turntables for that matter, lol) the total cost of ownership has me looking at other good options and the styli from Gary at VM are really great, but I've always been curious about a shibata style/line contact stylus similar to the original MRs. Retipping a donor stylus might be another option.

Right now, locally, there is a Thorens 280 with a V15V cart and shure MR stylus 'with low hours' for less than the price of the Jico Neo items. Tempting, but, the unknown usage on the Stylus kills the deal.
 
Hi All,

Looking at options for a stylus upgrade for the Shure V15 Type V. I'm currently running the EVG/Pfanstiel replacement stylus from a V15 Type IV as recommended by the voice of music site as the available alternative.

I do see upgrades are the Jico SAS models and the Vividline stylus on LPGear.

Have seen plenty of opinions on the new (neo) and original SAS models, but none on the vividline, so hoping someone will chime in here. I've heard that these are made by Jico, but the key difference is that a suspension/tension wire is not used in the vividline? Assuming this is closer to the original design, so interested in any opinions and experiences.

I have a V15 III as well, so experience from any of the V15 and similar Shure variants (or any cart!) and vividline is welcome.

Thanks!

Sam

Considering the available options, your V15 Type lll with a JICO VN35HE will provide the best performance. It will be the closest to the original in terms of sound and build quality. This is assuming you have a high quality, low mass tone-arm and that the rest of your system can reproduce the excellent midrange that the V15 lll / JICO combination is capable of.

https://www.jico-stylus.com/product_info.php?cPath=18&products_id=1046
 
Thanks malden,

The turntables are modified (both tables) Dual 1229Q and Luxman PX-100, which are both low mass arms and call for low mass carts and are known to be excellent tonearms and amazing trackers.

I have an original VN35 HE, to which the EVG version sounds very, very close. Some had stated that this may have been Jico OEM in the past, depending on where it was purchased. Does have the black dot, special tracking writing, etc,, but wherever this came from, it's almost the exact sound as the NOS Shure VN35HE.

For the V15V, I'm using the 4772-DE item, which sounds noticeably better on the V15V than the VN35HE or it's EVG replacement with the V15III. Link below...

https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/catalog/part_detail.asp?PID=P1900

All that said, what I am wanting to try is a line contact stylus.
 
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Thanks johnjhazel, will check that out.

I was under the impression that lptunes and lpgear were the same but I did see that lp tunes, specifically, was identified as the Jico North American distributor.
 
Thanks johnjhazel, will check that out.

I was under the impression that lptunes and lpgear were the same but I did see that lp tunes, specifically, was identified as the Jico North American distributor.

You are very welcome. I think they are the same company but with two websites and two different product lines.
 
Thanks malden,

The turntables are modified (both tables) Dual 1229Q and Luxman PX-100, which are both low mass arms and call for low mass carts and are known to be excellent tonearms and amazing trackers.

I have an original VN35 HE, to which the EVG version sounds very, very close. Some had stated that this may have been Jico OEM in the past, depending on where it was purchased. Does have the black dot, special tracking writing, etc,, but wherever this came from, it's almost the exact sound as the NOS Shure VN35HE.

For the V15V, I'm using the 4772-DE item, which sounds noticeably better on the V15V than the VN35HE or it's EVG replacement with the V15III. Link below...

https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/catalog/part_detail.asp?PID=P1900

All that said, what I am wanting to try is a line contact stylus.

That Luxman is a very nice turntable and should be capable of handling a V15 lll. The Dual would be more suited to the V15 lV or V with a functioning dynamic stabilizing brush. I would be interested to know what you think of the Vivid Line in either of the V15's you have. @Balifly uses the VL in his cartridges and he is a dedicated listener of all things Jazz, so maybe he'll chime in here.

There are basically two types of after-market styli for Shure cartridges. One type is built like the originals, i.e., square magnets, complete suspension components and tie-wires. The other type have smaller round magnets, paired down suspension and absence of tie-wires.

JICO (from JICO) and some (if you're lucky) "The Generic Stylus" styli are built like the originals. On the other hand, the current production of EVG and Pfanstiehl needles fall into the latter category, i.e., cheaper and fewer components.

I've spent decades listening to the originals. The last decade or so listening to EVG and Pfanstiehl and about five years listening to JICO. In terms of V15 styli, whether types lll, lV or V, what really sets the originals and JICO apart from their lower grade counterparts are the ability to reproduce complex musical passages. This is especially pronounced in the mid-range. These differences may not matter to most, but if one spends enough time listening critically and learn to appreciate these subtle differences, it becomes worth the effort and to some degree, the added expense.
 
Unfortunately the V15III cartridge is the DU type specifically made for Dual, so cant be used with the Luxman. (It is one with the Dual head shell, which makes alignment a breeze, however).

Wondering what is your criteria or logic to determine which cart goes with which arm/table.
 
.

@Balifly uses the VL in his cartridges and he is a dedicated listener of all things Jazz, so maybe he'll chime in here.

.

The only VividLine stylus that i have is on the Stanton 680/681 cartridge.

That is an excellent combination seem to blend in with the cartridge well.

Most of my Shure cartridge have either old stock JICO HE or SAS.

Those were the only choice available at the time of replacement, VididLine came on the scene sometime after. :)
 
Unfortunately the V15III cartridge is the DU type specifically made for Dual, so cant be used with the Luxman. (It is one with the Dual head shell, which makes alignment a breeze, however).

Wondering what is your criteria or logic to determine which cart goes with which arm/table.

I've tried my V15 lll, lV and V cartridges in numerous turntables including the 1229 (not the Q version) and found that the lll works best in low mass tone-arms. I'm not sure where the "Q" stands, but the later Dual ULM series can definitely handle the high compliance V15 lll.

As I stated in my previous post, these differences in performance are subtle and may not be immediately apparent, but they are there and worth considering.
 
Thanks malden. The Q tonearm is very similar to the standard 1229 but lighter, supposedly carbon fiber construction in parts, a different gimbal setup and similar to the Dual 701 tonearm. Also, uses low capacitance wires to support 'quad' (which is why it gets the Q suffix) which I never use and was designed to be used with a shibata type stylus for this purpose. Being lighter, it resonates a bit more but putting an anti-resonance counterweight from a Dual 721 has taken care of that. Credit to the person on AK or VE who figured this out, which wasn't me.

Not sure which turntable the DU series partnership between Dual and Shure was meant for, but I believe that the Q turntable shipped without a cartridge and recall reading that the V15 Type III DU came out about the same time. Highly recommend it if you can find one for your 1229s as alignment is spot on every time. No worries about azimuth, overhang, etc... all on has to do is install the sled, set tracking force and anti-skate and you're good to go, not to mention it being a great sounding cart and has excellent synergy with this table. I only have the Shure V test record, but the III is slightly behind the V in track-ability, but does really, really well.

Will try the VN35HE original and the EVG on the Type V tonight to see what I hear.
 
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The VN35HE and equivalent on the V15V sound...... Just like the IV stylus on the V.

Guess I know which everyday styli to use going forward! Thanks empireman and malden! These are about 1/2 the price of the IV and I suspect the stylus guard / brush are the only difference.

Emailed lptunes and looking forward to trying a line contact stylus here.
 
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