Did Shure stop making cartridges?
- Thread starter K Richner
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Shure transferred production to Mexico in the early-mid 1990s. Very doubtful that their tooling wore out. Also doubtful that their machinery “wore out”.
Shure started divesting in cartridge production in the mid-late 1980s, as CDs took over. That’s why the move to Mexico to start with.
They just decided to invest in their other product lines where market share and technology had better profit margins.
Shure started divesting in cartridge production in the mid-late 1980s, as CDs took over. That’s why the move to Mexico to start with.
They just decided to invest in their other product lines where market share and technology had better profit margins.
Don Gillies
Member
I am a shure believer since my family got its first Shure V15 in 1967. But today, it seems like all these generic stylus companies have eaten the lunch of the cartridge makers. You have very very few choices for styluses - - -
.2 x .7 - if you can find a nos Shure M55e or V2NP
.3 x .7 - 99% of "elliptical cartridges" are bonded diamonds in this shape. Why pay more than $25 for 4759-DE (thevoiceofmusic.com)?
.3 x .7 nude - available for $35 on ebay (PM3215DE)
LP Gear ViVid line - some sort of hyper-elliptical or shibata shape
Jico SAS, jico neo-SAS - frankly the product line is very confusing, if SAS is the best how come neo-SAS costs more?
I disbelieve there are any other types of styluses made in non-elliptical geometries for most of the old Shure 1960's cartrdiges up through the M97xe. If you pay extra for an M97xe you get to pay extra for the styluses for the rest of your life, check it yourself, the more popular M44e styluses with the same tech cost way less.
.2 x .7 - if you can find a nos Shure M55e or V2NP
.3 x .7 - 99% of "elliptical cartridges" are bonded diamonds in this shape. Why pay more than $25 for 4759-DE (thevoiceofmusic.com)?
.3 x .7 nude - available for $35 on ebay (PM3215DE)
LP Gear ViVid line - some sort of hyper-elliptical or shibata shape
Jico SAS, jico neo-SAS - frankly the product line is very confusing, if SAS is the best how come neo-SAS costs more?
I disbelieve there are any other types of styluses made in non-elliptical geometries for most of the old Shure 1960's cartrdiges up through the M97xe. If you pay extra for an M97xe you get to pay extra for the styluses for the rest of your life, check it yourself, the more popular M44e styluses with the same tech cost way less.
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KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
You also don't realize the V 15 Type V was the first Shure discontinued. Those were expensive, and also had extensive quality control relative to the more mainstream offerings. You can't compare a then $300 top of the line offering with a $79 or under cheaper model.
There are many unanswered questions about Shure stylus. Tie wire? There are good with and without. One guy dismissed ones w/o, skating problems. Says who? N44-7 etc improved? Stylus guard, that's it? V15II improved. Recently read the vn15e had a beryllium rod inside the cantilever. Really? I have a nos vn15e thats no better than an n75e. (I have one and an r27e, both bonded 2x7 stylus.) Is there a vn15e improved? NOS v15III-V go for crazy money online but i read, I think on the Shure site, that the rubber in the suspensions is breaking down due to exotic formulations. Basically, oil is oozing out along with the elasticity of the compounds. There was a Pioneer tt with a v15iv on it for just over a hundred, on epay. I almost grabbed it but i couldnt afford the stylus. Thank goodness for EVG.
This thread is a good read, particularly for a Shure fan like me. I have other carts I really enjoy but for some reason that Shure sound just has me keep coming back. My 2 favorites are my M55e and M97he. I'm not the most discerning listener but I do know what I like.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Very true. The Stanton stylus situation is good to excellent in terms of Jico for the 500 and 680/681 families. The EVG Black Diamond nude is available for the 680/681 family for a nicer elliptical. Esoteric Sound on 500 family covers every archivist needs for mono LP, transcription, and shellac.
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cleverdick
Active Member
In some ways, I think Shure was a victim of its own success. The bewildering array of models over the years, some of which were simply relaunches under a different banner, was just too confusing. Some TT manufacturers (e.g. Garrard) fitted them as OEM, but were they carefully chosen for the arm in question, or to fit a price-point? Hi-Fi Choice were often critical of the tip alignment and finish, sometimes giving a good review for a specific model, followed by a bad one [for the same model]. Quality-control may certainly have been a problem. (And by the '80s, Shure had some stiff competition from Technics and Audio-Technica, let's not forget!) Despite all this, it is my understanding that there is one Shure model to beat all others, that being the rare, professional SC39. If anyone has experience of the SC39 then I'd like to hear from them!
So the engineer leaves and is replaced by a sales/mktg type, and the bad decisions are amplified (LOL).
Anyone with an M97 Era IV has an SC39. I have 5 of the M97 Era IV bodies. All of the SC39 features are found in various M97 E4 styli: MASAR tip, side guard protection, stylus gusrd. The only thing the M97 E4 lacks is the rolled off treble of the SC39.
I’ve been saying for years that the “cream of the Shure crop” is the M97 E4.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-the-shure-sc39ed.308844/
Of the “sub-V15 4-5” the M97E4 is the pinnacle Shure cartridge. All subsequent carts in the category I just named equal it at best, or were inferior to it.
I just finished listening to the M44, M91, M75, M70, M95, Me97, M97xE. They’re all good, but all are lacking the qualities of treble extension+detail+air+separation+imaging, and yet maintain an effortless quality that is non-fatiguing after hours of listening. They all have great bass punch and mids presence, but roll off the treble or lack detail resolution, and they have a certain fatigue factor. That last quality is what Shure attempted to fix by developing the Me97 and M97xE, and simultaneously cut manufacturing costs.
I’ve never seen the guts of an M97E4. But that’s about to change. I’ve got a repair on a body that has a dead channel. I’m wondering whether or not I’ll find laminated poles.
cleverdick
Active Member
I hear you in part!
But the better Shures were always just beyond what I could afford. Recently though, I was about to invest in a Jico replacement for an ED-T2. Then I discovered the AT110E. Game off. (Once I even turned down a homeless V15II because the silver plastic housing looked so, well, cheap!) And whilst it's not an issue for most folks, the Shure (and others') practice of bonding the metal body to the signal ground is technically wrong (certainly if you wish to drive your preamp differentially).As for Garrard, what can I say? We all had them! But at the lower end of the market they were basically a drive-generation behind the Japanese (idler-to-belt-to-direct).
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You do know you can remove that ground strap from the pin, don’t you, on Shure carts?I hear you in part!
As for Garrard, what can I say? We all had them! But at the lower end of the market they were basically a drive-generation behind the Japanese (idler-to-belt-to-direct).
I’m not sure why you’d ever want to. But some people enjoy ground hum in the background of their music.
And BTW, if you look at how the cartridge coils are wired, most all TTS and preamps tie the 2 grounds together at some point, anyway. The shell shield is connected to one ground, then eventually both grounds are connected together. You can separate them, then the shell shield is connected to only one coil ground. But then if they’re separated you run the risk of a nasty ground loop and the rise of that ever-loving ground hum…..
Don Gillies
Member
I recently acquired some M97 cartridges - a NOS Radio Shack RXT4 Era IV (=Shure m97), a used Shure Me97he, and a 3rd one, an M97xe stylus. I thought that for every cartridge model the cartridge part (M97) was electrically the same, just the needles were changing? Am I able to mix and match these 3 items to get the mythical SC39 that you are talking about? Please tell me more. Anyone have pictures?
My main cartridge is an M55e + N55e.
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The Me97 and M97xE are electrically identical. The M97xE was a regurgitation of the early 1990s Me97.
The M97 Era IV (1979) (RXT4) is electrically different from the M97xE and Me97.
Stylus-wise, you can interchange them if they physically fit. The N97xE is the most abysmal of the bunch.
Mounting an original N97HE stylus on the 4 carts, the M97 Era IV and RXT4 are identical in every way. Mounting it on the M97xE and Me97, there is a very noticeable roll off of high frequencies.
The M55 cartridge is the same identically as the M44 (C, -7, G, etc.). It’s a great Shure legacy cartridge. But it also has a rolled off high frequency response. That roll off improves (disappears) as you go up the line, I.e., M91 to M95 to M97 Era IV.
The M97 Era IV (1979) (RXT4) is electrically different from the M97xE and Me97.
Stylus-wise, you can interchange them if they physically fit. The N97xE is the most abysmal of the bunch.
Mounting an original N97HE stylus on the 4 carts, the M97 Era IV and RXT4 are identical in every way. Mounting it on the M97xE and Me97, there is a very noticeable roll off of high frequencies.
The M55 cartridge is the same identically as the M44 (C, -7, G, etc.). It’s a great Shure legacy cartridge. But it also has a rolled off high frequency response. That roll off improves (disappears) as you go up the line, I.e., M91 to M95 to M97 Era IV.
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Don Gillies
Member
Thanks so much this is what I was looking for!
Since I have an original N55e stylus, its a 2x7 elliptical and I believe the rolloff and performance is better than any N44-whatever (even N44 elliptical which is a 4x7) as it's electrically & stylus wise identical to a V15 Type 1. Whenever I listen to an M97xe sound test on YouTube vs M55e (or M44e + 3x7 elliptical stylus) the M55e crushes the M97xe in the higher frequencies.
Not that it will make a whole lot of difference to me now - my hearing disappears completely when I play the YouTube frequency test (for my ears) at 13.5 Khz+ (I'm 59) so I am not very sensitive to high frequencies any more!
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