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Identify Shure M75E/M75EJZ Stylus

Donal64

Donal64

Well-Known Member
I have a couple Shure cartridges that I was wondering could someone tell what they are and what the VTF might be . One is on a Shure M75EJZ and is supposed to be the original to the cart. I don't see any labels or print on the stylus. I think the grip on the stylus is green. The other is on an M75E and the grip is yellow with a Shure label on the stylus. I'm guessing it is original to the cart. I thought the cantilever on this stylus looked to be quite a bit sturdier than on the other. Thanks.IMG_0777.jpg IMG_0781.jpg IMG_0783.jpg
 
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Ok. So the one that I was thinking was green , is actually beige? I'm a bit color blind and am uncertain, sometimes, on some colors. When I was researching, one stylus I was reading about, with a yellow grip had the tracking as you say, and the other was as you say, but I wondered because the cantilever on the yellow stylus appeared to be thicker. Thanks for the info.
 
malden said:
Do both stylus grips say SHURE on the front?
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No. The yellow grip on the M75E stylus has a label across the front that says "Shure". The other stylus, on the M75EJZ has no labels or writing. The seller of the M75EJZ said the stylus and cartridge had never been mounted, that it was made for Zenith. I figured that was why the "Z" on the end. I looked at the cantilevers again, and the one on the yellow stylus sure does appear to be thicker.
 
Found this in my search. Looks like all the Shure styli have lettering. The stylus on the M75EJZ has no lettering. Maybe it at one time had a stick on label , as the yellow stylus does, and it came off at some point. Guess it could be an after market, but I asked him specifically if the stylus was original to the cart and he said it was.
http://fliphtml5.com/njob/tzrn/basic
 
I too have had Shure stickers fall off. Looking at the plastic bodies, I would guess that they are OEM. The EVG's and Tonar branded replacements do not have that round bump on the bottom present.
 
Would one cantilever being thicker than the other have any significance? Would that indicate it might be for a heavier tracker? I've got that stuck in my head, but all that I have seen, the yellow grip has a range of .75 - 1.5.
 
Generally speaking, the early M75 series cartridges have foil stickers on the face of the stylus grips. Later production grips have SHURE embossed on the grips and some have the model numbers as well, i.e. 75...E, 75...EJ, etc., Then came the "M75....Type 2" series, which has "SHURE" then stylus type "ED", "EJ", "B", etc. plus "T2", all on the face of the stylus grip. The type 2 series generally had thinner cantilevers but the same tracking force range as the previous types.

The beige stylus you have is more than likely after-market. If you remove the stylus from the cartridge body and look into the square tube you will see the magnet. Shure used square magnets, most after-market manufacturers (EVG, Pfahnstiehl, Ed Saunders, etc.) use round magnets. The only manufacturer besides Shure that I am aware of that uses square magnets is JICO, they are built exactly like the originals.
 
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malden said:
Generally speaking, the early M75 series cartridges have foil stickers on the face of the stylus grips. Later production grips have SHURE embossed on the grips and some have the model numbers as well, i.e. N75E, N75EJ, etc., Then came the "M75....Type 2" series, which has "SHURE" then stylus type "ED", "EJ", "B", etc. plus "T2", all on the face of the stylus grip. The type 2 series generally had thinner cantilevers but the same tracking force range as the previous types.

The beige stylus you have is more than likely after-market. If you remove the stylus from the cartridge body and look into the square tube you will see the magnet. Shure used square magnets, most after-market manufacturers (EVG, Pfahnstiehl, Ed Saunders, etc.) use round magnets. The only manufacturer besides Shure that I am aware of that uses square magnets is JICO, they are built exactly like the originals.
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Correct information, as usual. Also, there will be a tiny bit of solder at the cartridge end of the shank that goes into the cartridge, for the tie wire, and the shank and cantilever of original Shure styli will be dull in colour, almost tarnished while aftermarket one are nearly always very bright and look polished.

If either is an aftermarket they may still be pretty good but do not expect the light tracking ones to track at the force that Shure specified for the genuine styli. May have to add .25 to .5 grams. But that's still OK.
 
3 generations of N75-6 (or N75B), all have .6 mil conical tips and track between 1.5 and 3 grams and have beige grips

left...1st generation (with foil sticker)...thick cantilever

center...2nd generation...thick cantilever

right...3rd generation...thin cantilever

shure n75b.JPG
 
The beige stylus is definitely an after-market. Since it has a thin cantilever, it would not have had a foil Shure sticker on the front.

Have you looked to verify the magnet shape?
 
Thanks for posting those. Mine most resembles generation 3 with the thin cantilever. I've had it out of the cart a couple times to examine it. I could find no printing or markings on it. Tried looking inside the shaft of the stylus, but , guess that'll take a microscope. The magnifying glass and flashlight didn't work so well. I had some head shells arrive today. If I can scrounge up the right hardware, I might just mount this a bit later.
 
btw, the Shure M75EJZ originally would have had a stylus with a green grip, N75EJ which is a .4 x .7 mil elliptical that tracked between 1.5 and 3.0 grams. The "Z" designation more than likely is an indicator that the cartridge was sold in a bulk package. I could be wrong, but I don't think Zenith ever used high quality moving magnet cartridges.
 
malden said:
3 generations of N75-6 (or N75B), all have .6 mil conical tips and track between 1.5 and 3 grams and have beige grips
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The stylus, being an after market, any ideas as to what the tip would be? Same, or similar to the originals you showed?
 
malden said:
btw, the Shure M75EJZ originally would have had a stylus with a green grip, N75EJ which is a .4 x .7 mil elliptical that tracked between 1.5 and 3.0 grams. The "Z" designation more than likely is an indicator that the cartridge was sold in a bulk package. I could be wrong, but I don't think Zenith ever used high quality moving magnet cartridges.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt call you wrong, malden. But I might say that you "werent aware of it". I do actually have some NOS styli for MM cartridges in packaging that looks like Pfanstiehl but the front of the package is labeled "Zenith" with a large Zenith logo. But every Zenith record player Ive ever owned had ceramic cartridges, just as you said.

That beige/chartreuse one will be a conical and most likely 0.6 mil.
 
Donal64 said:
The stylus, being an after market, any ideas as to what the tip would be? Same, or similar to the originals you showed?
Click to expand...

Most after-market replacements for Shure cartridges that were originally equipped with .6 mil conicals are .7 mil . The exception would be JICO, they produce .6 mil conicals for Shure cartridges.
 
tubewade said:
I wouldnt call you wrong, malden. But I might say that you "werent aware of it". I do actually have some NOS styli for MM cartridges in packaging that looks like Pfanstiehl but the front of the package is labeled "Zenith" with a large Zenith logo. But every Zenith record player Ive ever owned had ceramic cartridges, just as you said.

That beige/chartreuse one will be a conical and most likely 0.6 mil.
Click to expand...

Wasn't aware of that, thanks. Shure used the "Z" designation for replacement styli in blister packs, sold 12 per "Z" pack, but I think this was done after the move to Mexico, so it may not apply to the OP's cartridge.
 
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