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Help me id this Shure cartridge

BillsAudio

Member
I have this old Shure cartridge that I took off of an very old PE turntable. Since it has no markings other than "LL" on the body and "Shure Hi-Track" on the front of the stylus, I am unsure of exactly which Shure cartridge this one may be. It is about thirty plus years old and I am wondering if it is still useable. Here are some pictures to help with the identification.
 

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Well, I kinded figured that it was one of the M91 series of Shure cartridges, and that it may be able to handle an aftermarket 4761-DED stylus. I was wondering if I was wrong about the type of Shure cartridge, and I was wondering if it might still be useable. A lot of people have talked about what a great voice this cartridge has. I wonder if this one still does. :music:
 
The stylus installed is an N91ED. The body is the type for any of the various cartridges Shure sold in the M91 series M91E, M91G, M91EJ, M91ED, Etc. Electrically, they're all the same so, regardless of what stylus it left the factory with, it's an M91ED now.

John
 
Well, I kinded figured that it was one of the M91 series of Shure cartridges, and that it may be able to handle an aftermarket 4761-DED stylus. I was wondering if I was wrong about the type of Shure cartridge, and I was wondering if it might still be useable. A lot of people have talked about what a great voice this cartridge has. I wonder if this one still does. :music:

Cartridges basically work or they don't. If yours works the only question mark would be the condition of the stylus. The way to learn about that is to look at it under a microscope and inspect for damage or wear.

Hopefully, it's in good shape. The aftermarket Pfantiehls and EVG/JICO styli for that cartridge are quite acceptable but a good US made OEM like yours is significantly better.

John
 
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If you want to see if its likely got signs of life, use a digital ohm meter and check the coils. I think they're supposed to be around 700 ohms, but whatever it is make sure both sides are fairly close to the same. If both read, the cart is almost certainly good.
 
I inherited an M91 cart from a TT I bought and it did work, but one channel was significantly less output than the other. So it did change my belief that carts either work or they don't... albeit that should be true 90% of the time
 
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