ortofon VMS 15 XE MK II??

exhilaration157

Active Member
I got the stylus (D 15 XE MkII from for VMS 15 XE Mk II) from LP gear. It fits the VMS cartridge to replace the never-replaced-since 1980 VMS 20e stylus. It sounds better than the old one for sure. Although I think a new D 20e would be slightly better.

There is no mention of this cartridge VMS 15 XE anywhere except on the box the stylus came in. That is weird. Maybe it was some strange cross of the the FF 15 XE and the VMS 20e that was sold for a short time in a limited area or something. Not even google has answered this question. Its got a red body, which looks cool anyway.

The good news is that it sounds great. I think it is a tipped elliptical as opposed to a nude elliptical, but the diamond dimensions are the same. The LP gear people told me the tracking force was to be set at 1.5-2g. I have it at 1.5g. The 20e was set at 1 g.
 
From my research on the web & Audiokarma, Ortofon made one cartridge and the varying levels were obtained by using differing styli. I have obtained an NOS FF 15XE cartridge from ekbay. I had already had an ortofon cart. on a headshell and just switched the styus from the new cart. to the one I already had. I am enjoying this cart. on a Pioneer PL-115d and running it at 2g. which was the recommended weight.
Try running yours at 2g.
 
The interesting thing is that it says it is for a VMS cart not the FF cart. I don't think you can put FF styli on the VMS cart, the VMS ones are a sligtly different size. It says VMS 15 xe mk II on it, not FF 15 xe mk II.

1.5 g was tracking really well, but I'm going to try 1.75 for a while. Anyway, what counts is it is sounding great. I'm just curious about the relationships between the different styli.
 
The interesting thing is that it says it is for a VMS cart not the FF cart. I don't think you can put FF styli on the VMS cart, the VMS ones are a sligtly different size. It says VMS 15 xe mk II on it, not FF 15 xe mk II.

1.5 g was tracking really well, but I'm going to try 1.75 for a while. Anyway, what counts is it is sounding great. I'm just curious about the relationships between the different styli.

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=ORSD15XEII

Is the stylus pictured in the link the one you bought?
 
Continued researching the difference between the FF15XE & VMS15XE carts. On the WilliamThakker site on ekbay I obtained the following info.

VMS15XE mk ll eliptical stylus Compliance 15mm/mN Tracking 1.5-3.0g Price $55.50

FF15XE mk ll eliptical stylus Compliance 20mm/mN Tracking 1.5-3.0g Price $64.50

The leaflet which came with my FF15XE states that it uses VMS technology, and it fits a rectangular hole.
 
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Continued researching the difference between the FF15XE & VMS15XE carts. On the WilliamThakker site on ekbay I obtained the following info.

VMS15XE mk ll eliptical stylus Compliance 15mm/mN Tracking 1.5-3.0g Price $55.50

FF15XE mk ll eliptical stylus Compliance 20mm/mN Tracking 1.5-3.0g Price $64.50

The leaflet which came with my FF15XE states that it uses VMS technology, and it fits a rectangular hole.

Thanks for that info. Could you possible post a pic of the leaflet?
 
I'm looking to replace my VMS 20E MkII stylus. Over $100 for NOS! I like the cartridge and would be willing to settle for a little less quality for less money. Do you know if the VMS15XE mk ll eliptical stylus at $55 will fit the VMS 20E MII? If not, are their other substitutes?

Anyone have experience with the Pfansteil replacements for the VMS 20E MkII (at around $75).
 
Ortofon FF15X Mk. ll & FF15XE Mk. leaflet

Here's the scan.
 

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I'm looking to replace my VMS 20E MkII stylus. Over $100 for NOS! I like the cartridge and would be willing to settle for a little less quality for less money. Do you know if the VMS15XE mk ll eliptical stylus at $55 will fit the VMS 20E MII? If not, are their other substitutes?

Anyone have experience with the Pfansteil replacements for the VMS 20E MkII (at around $75).

Yes I have an F15E and one of the two I bought were in a Pfansteil package and was a genuine Ortofon stylus.

If it has a 4 in front of the number it's probably a Generic.
Example 4-538
 
I have both a VMS20eMKII and a F15eMkII that need new stylus'. After months of research and consideration, I replaced my VMS20e MKII stylus with the VMS 15 xe mk II. Two factors contributed to this:

1) the 15nm compliance was a better match to my KD550 tonearm than the 20-25nm of the 20e and 15e (based on the formulas)
2) cost

The information provided by the specs said to track 1.75 - 3g. If found about 2.25 was about right for my TT. The results -

Positive: very detailed, good sound stage, low distortion, excellent instrument placement. Even my wife said "wow" to the trumpets! In comparison to my most likely worn VMS 20e stylus the distortion is audibly lower. I really enjoy the musicality and detail of this cartridge.
Negative: The bass goes deep, but is less powerful, and a bit "harder" and less warm than the VMS20e stylus. (It is less than the warm than the bass on my F15EMkII cartridge as well).

Overall, I am pleased.
 
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