Shure M44-7

ranf1970

Life without music would be a mistake.
Hey AKers,

Do you think a Shure M44-7 would be a good match for a JVC QL-A7? How would the sound be? I know this seems to be a DJ cart, but I heard it is also good for normal TT playing. Would it be better for me to find something else?

One last thing, does anyone know where is a good place to buy carts in the SF Bay Area? The Guitar Center is the only one I can think of, except that they mostly sell DJ stuff, not "HiFi" carts. East Bay if possible. Thanks!
 
Hey AKers,

Do you think a Shure M44-7 would be a good match for a JVC QL-A7? How would the sound be? I know this seems to be a DJ cart, but I heard it is also good for normal TT playing. Would it be better for me to find something else?

I think it would (EDIT: be better to look at something else) unless you like a ton of bass. That's what Shure advertises for that cart. It also has more than twice the output voltage of the M97xE.

John
 
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I think that was my brother's first cartridge somewhere round the latish 1960's. That with Garard 301 and Decca arm, Rogers Cadet amp and home made loudspeakers (Elac 8" and Celestion HF1300). Sounded very good, suspect that same system would still sound very good by modern standards.
 
I bought it's sister cartridge the M44-G. Sounds good on my SL1210 and it's tracking force is less at .75-1.5 grams then the m44-7. From what I read the m44-g had a flatter curve and more hi-fi compared to the m44-7.
 
Hey AKers,

Do you think a Shure M44-7 would be a good match for a JVC QL-A7? How would the sound be? I know this seems to be a DJ cart, but I heard it is also good for normal TT playing. Would it be better for me to find something else?

One last thing, does anyone know where is a good place to buy carts in the SF Bay Area? The Guitar Center is the only one I can think of, except that they mostly sell DJ stuff, not "HiFi" carts. East Bay if possible. Thanks!

The M44 is one of the most popular cartridges among record collectors because of its wide variety of aftermarket stylii, including all types of 45 mono and 78 specs. Needles are interchangeable with the M55.
 
I just looked at the M44-G, and it says that that it uses the same stylus as the M44-7, but the output is lower. Hmmmmm... Both are DJ needles. My musical interests are all over the place (Techno, hip hop, classical, jazz, pop, rock, blues, etc.) Does this help with which one might be better for me? How does more bass affect playback? Thanks!
 
Could be but the current M44-7 is marketed and spec'd out as a DJ cartridge.

http://www.shure.com/proaudio/products/djphonocartridgesandneedles/us_pro_m44-7_content

John

Yes, did not realise that they have re issued it. Looks just like the original.

Found a description of the original.

"Shure M44-7 cartridge with diamond stylus for stereophonic Rowe/AMI jukeboxes manufactured from 1963 through 1988 and the "Nostalgia" models using the Shure 44 series cartridge (black cartridge with blue or white needle). Diamond tipped."

I remember that it was good, but quite a few years later, my brother replaced the M44-7 with a M75? which was better.
 
Im running an older 44-7 on my 1229, and it sounds great with the standard stylus. Back in the day (pre dj carts) it was spodda be a great non skip cart setup, so I was told. What that means Im not sure exactly. Got mine tracking about 1.5 grams and I havent seen it jump out the groove yet, so maybe they were right. Not sure if there is any diff between the new 44 and my older one besides a redesign of the stylus maybe. But had great luck with mine.
 
I just looked at the M44-G, and it says that that it uses the same stylus as the M44-7, but the output is lower. Hmmmmm... Both are DJ needles. My musical interests are all over the place (Techno, hip hop, classical, jazz, pop, rock, blues, etc.) Does this help with which one might be better for me? How does more bass affect playback? Thanks!

Yeah, there were around fifteen different cartridges in the M44 family with a variety of specs. I think the only ones Shure still makes is the "-7" DJ cart and the "G". Maybe the M44G is worth a look but Shure seems to be aiming that at DJs now too. ("Sound Emphasis: detailed bass and lows").

More bass response from the cartridge effects playback in the same way that cranking up the bass knob on your receiver/amp would. It emphasizes the lower frequencies on the recording. It's what you'd want for DJ type stuff, I guess, and might be appealing for some of the music types you list like techno or rock but not for others like classical or maybe pop.

For me it makes more sense to have a more or less neutral cartridge that neither emphasizes nor de-emphasizes selected frequencies in the recording. I can do that myself if I want and to my own preference rather than someone else's.

John
 
One last thing, does anyone know where is a good place to buy carts in the SF Bay Area? The Guitar Center is the only one I can think of, except that they mostly sell DJ stuff, not "HiFi" carts. East Bay if possible. Thanks!

I used to shop at Harmony Audio-Video on West Portal near 19th Ave. in San Francisco and at The Sound Well on University Ave. in Berkeley.
 
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