Shure LT Series Cartridge Photos/Specifications

Decibel_116

AK Subscriber
Shure LT Series P-Mount Cartridge Photos/Specifications

Posted for information/educational purposes. Below are photos of the Shure V15LT, M97LT, M96LT, M94LT, and M92LT cartridges with their correct original styli installed. The "Shure" logo is faded on the M92LT (best example I could find). The specifications as published by Shure are included as well as links to the user's guides.

Description:

These are members of the "ERA IV" family of Shure cartridges. They were designed in response to the introduction of the "T4P" or "P-Mount" standard by Technics. The first use of the T4P standard was in Linear Tracking turntables, such as the Technics SL-7 and SL-10, thus "LT" being part of the cartridge model number. The LT designation was quickly dropped for subsequent models for fear that potential customers would think the LT cartridges could only be used in a Linear Tracking turntable. This is not the case as any T4P cartridge may be used in a non-T4P turntable with the use of a T4P to 1/2" adapter.

The V15LT, M97LT, and M96LT have telescoping cantilevers intended to reduce mass and increase the cartridge's trackability and came with nude mounted diamonds. The M96LT and the M97LT share the same trackability ratings with the major difference being the shape of the diamond. The M96LT has an elliptical diamond while the M97LT has a hyperelliptical diamond. Hyperelliptical diamonds have been shown to decrease record wear and increase stylus life. The M94LT, M96LT and M97LT share the same cartridge body design. The M92LT and M94LT have standard elliptical diamonds.

The V15LT is the T4P version of the highly reviewed V15 type IV standard 1/2" cartridge. At the time of it's introduction, it was arguably the finest T4P moving magnet cartridge on the market. The cartridge has a laminated core that results in a more forward soundstage and less high frequency roll-off normally associated with Shure cartridges.

Specifications:

V15LT:
Stylus - VN45LT Black Grip
Type - Hyperelliptical .2 x 1.5 mil
Output: 4mv
Frequency Response: 10-25,000 Hz
Channel Balance: Within 2 dB
Channel Separation: 25dB at 1 kHz, 15 dB at 10 kHz
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.25 grams
Trackability
400Hz - 36cm/sec
1,000Hz - 52cm/sec
5,000Hz - 59cm/sec
10,000Hz - 46cm/sec
Inductance: 500 mH
DC Resistance (DCR): 1380 ohms

M97LT:
Stylus - N97LT Red Grip
Type - Hyperelliptical .2 x 1.5 mil
Output: 4mv
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz
Channel Balance: Within 2 dB
Channel Separation: 25dB at 1 kHz
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.25 grams
Trackability
400Hz - 30cm/sec
1,000Hz - 44cm/sec
5,000Hz - 41cm/sec
10,000Hz - 31cm/sec
Inductance: 700 mH
DC Resistance (DCR): 1550 ohms

M96LT:
Stylus - N96LT Yellow Grip
Type - biradial elliptical .2 x .7 mil
Output: 4mv
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz
Channel Balance: Within 2 dB
Channel Separation: 25dB at 1 kHz
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.25 grams
Trackability
400Hz - 30cm/sec
1,000Hz - 44cm/sec
5,000Hz - 41cm/sec
10,000Hz - 31cm/sec
Inductance: 700 mH
DC Resistance (DCR): 1550 ohms

M94LT:
Stylus - N94LT Blue Grip
Type - biradial elliptical .4 x .7 mil
Output: 4mv
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz
Channel Balance: Within 2 dB
Channel Separation: 25dB at 1 kHz
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.25 grams
Trackability
400Hz - 26cm/sec
1,000Hz - 30cm/sec
10,000Hz - 16cm/sec
Inductance: 700 mH
DC Resistance (DCR): 1550 ohms

M92LT:
Stylus - N92LT Tan Grip
Type - biradial elliptical .4 x .7 mil
Output: 4mv
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz
Channel Balance: Within 2 dB
Channel Separation: 20dB at 1 kHz
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.25 grams
Trackability - Not published
Inductance: 700 mH
DC Resistance (DCR): 1550 ohms

Stylus Interchangeability:

The styli from the M92LT, M94LT, M96LT, and M97LT are all interchangeable. As such, any of these may be upgraded all the way up to the N97LT. However, the styli from the M92LT, M94LT, M96LT, and M97LT are not compatible with the V15LT and vice versa. The shank opening for the V15LT is physically smaller in cross-section and thus prevents the other styli from being inserted into the cartridge body.

Edited on 10/18/2018
Removed broken links for .pdf versions of the owner's manuals. Shure removed these from their website. The specifications above are correct as listed in the manuals. I will try to find copies of these and re-post.

Also added a few pics of a custom display I made especially for this effort.
 

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Thanks for the info and photos! I have an N97LT stylus which I bought NOS to have another hyperelliptical for my M97HE carts. Doesn't have the brush but otherwise sounds identical to an N97HE stylus.
 
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Thanks for the info and photos! I have an N97LT stylus which I bought NOS to have another hyperelliptical for my M97HE carts. Doesn't have the brush but otherwise sounds identical to an N97HE stylus.

Yes the N97LT is a fine sounding stylus, but they are getting really hard to find and very expensive. The N96LT stylus sounds almost identical to me and is easier to find and much less expensive (around $60). It has the same performance specifications, but it is an elliptical diamond rather than the hyperelliptical.
 
I've got a DT35P, which is the same as the M96LT if I remember correctly. There's also a DT15P (M92LT) and DT25P (M94LT) too, and some other alternate names for this series of cartridges. My cartridge is in my office at work so I can't take a look right now, but I think it currently has a blue N94LT stylus.

[edit] Looks like much of my guesswork above was off.
 
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There is also an M92LT at least. Same body as the others as far as I'm aware and the stylii are interchangeable.
 
If I remember right, the M92LT looked much like the current M92E, without any extra plastic on the top or front. It took a red stylus, with plastic housing to match the others in the series.
 
Excellent writeup, Decibel_116.

An advantage of the N96 and N97 LT styli is their tiny size. They'll fit into nearly any Shure cartridge (except the V15 III, IV and V, also the M75 and its clones) and equal or outperform (usually the latter) the original.

And yes, the bodies of the LTs are the same, with the V15LT being the exception, since it's really a V15 Type IV body with a p-mount plug on the back. You could also call it a Type III p-mount and mount your VN35xx styli on it, since the III and IV bodies are virtually the same (remember to capacitance-load differently to accommodate differences in the III and IV styli, however).

On top of the LT bodies (except the 92LT) you'll see stuck-on plastic caps with keyways for the uniquely-shaped LT styli; the keyways effectively prevent you from inserting, say, a modern N92E stylus. These caps can be easily removed. The V15LT's is held on with doublesided foam tape and can be pulled off without tools; I don't have any of the others to see if their caps can be removed quite so easily.

Once their caps are off, the LT bodies become standard ~700mH Shure non-V15 bodies, same as their successors, the second-generation Shure p-mounts, of which the current M92E is the only remaining member. I'll discuss what this means for the plucky Shure stylus-swapper a little later.

Once their caps are off, the LT cartridges also weigh less, and thus the VTF is less. Careful cap-removers should weigh their proposed body + stylus and if necessary add mass to hit the target 6.0g


Note: The Big 2004 Shure Chart seems to imply the M92LT and M94LT both shared the bright blue N94LT stylus with the DT15P and DT25P, which disagrees with Shure's own User Guides. They tell us that new DT15Ps came with a burnt-orange stylus grip and DT25Ps came with a gray grip. The M92LT came with a tan grip and the M94LT's was dark blue. Vot gifs?

The explanation is that these are examples of Shure "starter" styli, styli that came with the cartridge when new and were not always, spec'd as well as the specified replacement stylus, which was often a different color. Why did Shure do this, making owners suspicious when it came time for replacement and there were no tan or orange or gray styli available separately? I. don't. know. And neither does the Big Shure Chart. Which is useful and usually correct but isn't infallible, and can be misleading even when it's correct, as in this case. As always, when in doubt, consult the Shure User Guide for that cartridge and/or stylus.

The DT35P came with the red N97LT, which is also the specified replacement, and the M96/97LT are similarly nonconfusing.

The DT15 body looked like the M92LT, no cap, no keyway. The stylus simply sticks out the front, like any stylus. Which makes you wonder just what the deal with that cap thing was.

As for the aftermarket, it's buyer beware as always. For example, the color red seems to dominate. The N97LT Hyperelliptical is red. But being the aftermarket means never having to say you misled the customers. Red doesn't in any way guarantee the presence of a Hyperelliptical stylus in an aftermarket N97LT. Always read the fine print.
 
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I've got a DT35P, which is the same as the M96LT if I remember correctly. There's also a DT15P (M92LT) and DT25P (M94LT) too, and some other alternate names for this series of cartridges. My cartridge is in my office at work so I can't take a look right now, but I think it currently has a blue N94LT stylus.

Here is the link to the DT series owner's manual. The DT35P is the same as the M97LT. There is also a "Presence" line of T4P Shure cartridges that also use the same small "keyed" type stylus. I have a Presence 4 and a Presence 8. I couldn't find much information on either of them except a tech support note on the Shure website stating that the Presence 8 came with the N96LT stylus (yellow grip). If anyone knows the history of these, please post it.

http://cdn.shure.com/user_guide/upload/772/us_pro_dt15p_ug.pdf
 
Anyone have any photos of these? [M92LT and M94LT]
No, but I'm willing to fake it (see below).

Anyway, if any of you have one of these, please take a decent photo. Then realize that you can install nearly any Shure or JICO SAS stylus on this cartridge once you get the cap off, which should be easy, as I said earlier. If you're using a close'n'play or any table with limited or no VTF adjustment, remember that you do have control over VTF to a certain limited extent: instead of racking the counterweight back and forth, you'll simply be adjusting the weight of the cartridge+stylus. A 6.0g weight should get you exactly 1.25g VTF. When you pop the cap off, you've reduced the weight of the cartridge by up to 0.7g, maybe more, which to the record is the same thing as moving a counterweight away from its pivot, and you may have to add mass to the top of the cartridge to get back up to 6.0. Want to track even heavier? Make your cart + stylus weigh more, as Stanton's DJ versions did, years later. Someone should've sold sets of tiny stick-on accessory weights, and who knows, maybe someone did.

Obviously if you're working with a pivoted arm, you can check the VTF directly and confirm all this. With a close'n'play, you may as well take it on faith unless you can find a simple, easy way to get a direct reading with the lid down and the platter not spinning. Suggestions welcome.
 
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M92LT and M94LT Photos

Here are some photos of the M92LT, M94LT, and N94LT stylus. I did not take these photos. The M94LT cartridge photo shows the incorrect stylus grip color. It should be blue as in the photo of the N94LT stylus . Note that it is a nude .2 x .7 diamond. See corrected photo from Wualta in the following post.
 

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I saw those with the "wrong" stylus color and didn't want to post them for fear people (including myself) would remember them wrong. Let me see what I can do in Photoshop, and keep in mind this is the recommended replacement stylus, not the stylus that comes with the cartridge from the factory....
Shure M94LT-Bottom- yet another blue.jpg
Shure Presence 4 is DT25P.JPG

The Presence series is a bit odd, since it starts with an old square-body standard-mount clone and weaves in and out of the p-mounts. The p-mount Presences seem to be another go-round of the DT series. For example, the Presence 4 shown here looks like a re-run of the DT25P, and the Presence 2 looks just like a DT15P.
 
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Here's an iPad photo of my DT25P, wearing a N94LT that came in the Pfanstiehl packaging shown. It is also wearing the original stylus guard, the same as the one that came with my V15LT. Out of my collection of p-mount cartridges, this is the only one with the wing on the side, presumably to use when removing it from the cartridge.

[edit] The stylus package description does not agree with the Shure literature regarding the tip radius of the N94LT.
 

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Another photo of my DT25P showing the plastic cap on top and key way on the front, since I saw a post above that said this model did not have them. Also gives another view of the stylus guard.
 

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Another photo of my DT25P showing the plastic cap on top and key way on the front, since I saw a post above that said this model did not have them.
Thanks for the correction and the photo. I was furiously correcting and re-correcting that post til my eyes crossed from fatigue last night, but I missed that part. I've corrected the post.

Oh, we should add the inductance and DCR (DC resistance) specs to post 1: They're all 700 mH, 1550 ohms, except for the V15 LT, which, like the V15 Type IV, is 500 mH, 1380 ohms.
.
 
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Normarh generic N94LT from NeedleStore

I'm evaluating the generic N94LT that NeedleStore sells.

The grip's red instead of blue.

The item photo in the ad is not representative. The Normarh 613-DE I received does not have a stepped cantilever, nor a tie wire.

Note: Normarh used a numbering scheme that looks like Pfanstiehl but it's different.

The tip is a two-cut elliptical that has undergone only a modest amount of tumbling. The space between the cuts is wide, and I don't think it should be called .2x.7 . It's almost a conical.

The tip is bonded, and a bit bigger than a genuine Shure R5X (NDC-EJ).
The post is secured with quite a large blob of glue.
The cantilever wall appears to be very thin. It's the thinnest low-end generic I've ever seen. I hope this compensates for the tip and magnet.

The cantilever seems to have been crimped onto the corner of a square magnet and glued. I have not seen this before; usually it's a cylindrical magnet inserted in the pipe.

The suspension is way too stiff to handle 1.25g . I believe that 2g is realistic. This means it's not usable in T4P systems. It might make a decent, inexpensive EJ.

Dave
 

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Thanks for the correction and the photo. I was furiously correcting and re-correcting that post til my eyes crossed from fatigue last night, but I missed that part. I've corrected the post.

Oh, we should add the inductance and DCR (DC resistance) specs to post 1: They're all 700 mH, 1550 ohms, except for the V15 LT, which, like the V15 Type IV, is 500 mH, 1380 ohms.
.

Added to post 1 as requested. Thanks!

David
 
I'm evaluating the generic N94LT that NeedleStore sells.

The grip's red instead of blue.

The item photo in the ad is not representative. The Normarh 613-DE I received does not have a stepped cantilever, nor a tie wire.

Note: Normarh used a numbering scheme that looks like Pfanstiehl but it's different.

The tip is a two-cut elliptical that has undergone only a modest amount of tumbling. The space between the cuts is wide, and I don't think it should be called .2x.7 . It's almost a conical.

The tip is bonded, and a bit bigger than a genuine Shure R5X (NDC-EJ).
The post is secured with quite a large blob of glue.
The cantilever wall appears to be very thin. It's the thinnest low-end generic I've ever seen. I hope this compensates for the tip and magnet.

The cantilever seems to have been crimped onto the corner of a square magnet and glued. I have not seen this before; usually it's a cylindrical magnet inserted in the pipe.

The suspension is way too stiff to handle 1.25g . I believe that 2g is realistic. This means it's not usable in T4P systems. It might make a decent, inexpensive EJ.

Dave

Excellent writeup on that stylus. It would be nice to see a comparison of it with the N96LT. Also a comparison with the N96LT and the N97LT. BTW, What is your photo setup? I need to be able to take photos of some (maybe all) of my styli).
 
Thanks, Decibel. As you might guess, I haven't actually listened to it yet!

I don't have a real N96LT or N97LT, but I have a JICO N97LT. From what I've read, it's a close copy, with the biggest difference being bonded tip instead of nude. I have some pictures in http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=493710 . The forum software won't let me duplicate them here. It's post #82, on page 6.

My "photo setup" is a laugh. A toy stereo microscope, and a point-n-shoot (Panasonic Lumix series) with the lens against one eyepiece. I set auto-focus to "small spot". It fails pretty frequently anyway, but usually it ends up about right and I can touch it up with the microscope's focus control. Lighting is a gooseneck halogen desk lamp.

Dave
 
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