At least my Shure M97xE/SAS still sounds great!

[catman]

G'day all, after all the recent disappointment with a failed SAS stylus for my M91ED (yes an email has gone out to Jico detailing the details of the unexpected failure), I plugged my M97xE/ SAS back into my Dual CS-515, and it sounds superb!

I sincerely hope it doesn't go the way of its SAS colleague! Regards, Felix aka catman.

 

[Fasterdamnit]

Good luck, Felix!

We tried our M97xE today with the CNC Phono pre-amp comparing the 47k and 62K loading. Bill is by far the better ear and said the vocals were a little more forward and the highs a little cleaner. To me it just sounded a little sweeter. Thanks for the heads up! :thmbsp:

We plan to do more comprehensive critical listening to this cart in the near future. So far, it has maybe a week of light use on it.

 

[ranf1970]

As a Shure M91ED user, I'm sorry to hear about your failed stylus. Hopefully JICO comes through for you! In the mean time, enjoy ol' faithful! :thmbsp:

 

[catman]

G'day all. Yes I'll see what Jico say. Thanks for the comments on the M97xE at 62 k. Whilst the Shure standard elliptical stylus assembly is pretty basic and no real match for the incredible detail and resolution of the SAS stylus for example, it is remarkable that a subtle change in loading resistance just tips the overall balance of the standard M97xE up enough to make the M97xE a very pleasant listen indeed.

I think the best results at 62 k are achieved if the capacitance load is kept as low as possible as Dlaloum would confirm, certainly no higher than about 150 picofarads overall, which is where my systems are pretty well. Regards, Felix aka catman.