JICO SAS vs. EVG for Shure V-15 III: my review

[revox-b77]

The Jico from Jico is a more sophisticated product than the ones sourced to EVG and others. Though the EVGs were good and usually quite a bargain.

 

[91r100gs]

All I can offer up is that the 4, yes 4 of the Made in Japan, with the black mark on the cantilever EVG PM3136DE's for the Shure M91, all sound and look good at 100x magnification. There are still a few in stock at Needlelady on E-Bay as of this morning.

 

[ctjetta]

this one, according to the photos has a soldered in tie wire, suggesting to me, that this is a JICO stylus, reboxed. which would be my personal 1st choice.

That is for the M55/759-DEM stylus. How is it different from the M44/759-DE stylus from the same vendor?

https://www.turntableneedles.com/N4...-M44-Cartridge--our-needle-759-DE_p_1380.html

 

[stereofisher]

Well I don't have a NOS Shure stylus to compare to either. There is a audio equipment repair shop in town and the owner has NOS V15 styli and says the SAS is better.

I say the EVG is vintage sounding because of the extra omph in the low mids. That warm Shure sound.

Just played Nell Young - After the Gold Rush; now playing ZEP II; in the queue is James Gang - Thirds. None of these records are playable on the SAS. The EVG is more tolerant of the scratches. I have had these records since I was a teen in the 70's.

Gonna break the EVG in with some old classics this weekend.

Rock on. My son and his wife live there. Coming your way late Feb or March. Using a EVG on a Garrard Zero 100. May put it on my Dual 1219.

 

[stereofisher]

Good post.

 

[Pio1980]

The EVG on a Shure is a good beater cart combo that doesn't sound bad. Not the best for critical listening of course, but that's not for records typically previewed from thrifts, ect.

 

[bobins08]

Well I don't have a NOS Shure stylus to compare to either. There is a audio equipment repair shop in town and the owner has NOS V15 styli and says the SAS is better.

I say the EVG is vintage sounding because of the extra omph in the low mids. That warm Shure sound.

......

Update to my thoughts from June, 2014. Since that time I acquired a NIB NOS VN35E for by V15-III.

Initially I liked OEM better than the SAS but after a few months I had to re-assess. I think the Jico SAS (original version) provides a more airy, detailed, and sophisticated sound. Yes, the SAS its less driving than the OEM but to me better balanced overall. I still like the OEM stylus of course.

 

[hruki]

this one, according to the photos has a soldered in tie wire, suggesting to me, that this is a JICO stylus, reboxed. which would be my personal 1st choice.

That is the one I bought in the-end https://www.turntableneedles.com/N5...55e-Cartridge--our-needle-759-DEM_p_4039.html). It's over the ocean right now I guess, flying to France ;-)

What do you guys think of this one? JICO.US? https://www.ebay.fr/itm/JICO-Record...ement-needle-FREE-ship-Worldwide/283094854121

 

[hruki]

Well I don't have a NOS Shure stylus to compare to either. There is a audio equipment repair shop in town and the owner has NOS V15 styli and says the SAS is better.

I say the EVG is vintage sounding because of the extra omph in the low mids. That warm Shure sound.

Just played Nell Young - After the Gold Rush; now playing ZEP II; in the queue is James Gang - Thirds. None of these records are playable on the SAS. The EVG is more tolerant of the scratches. I have had these records since I was a teen in the 70's.

Gonna break the EVG in with some old classics this weekend.

I'll add this to my last message: after reading this forum, I told myself that it might be a good idea to have the second choice for my M44MB. No one (and that includes me of course) has all of his LP's in perfect shape. I realize that you were talking about what JICO SAS can reveal , and that is more than the N55E I'm waiting for right now. But again, wouldn't it be useful to have something even more tolerant to scratches, like N44-7 I linked above or just another N55E from EVG. The second choice will give a nice comparison of the two styli of the same kind. I like the idea of "that warm Shure sound" too. On the other hand, N44 has a conical tip...

 

[hruki]

So nobody has some info about the stylus from post #68 which has "JICO.US" engraved on it? As I never saw this kind of inscription I was wandering is it a sign of its authenticity or the other way around...

 

[Balifly]

So nobody has some info about the stylus from post #68 which has "JICO.US" engraved on it? As I never saw this kind of inscription I was wandering is it a sign of its authenticity or the other way around...

Clearly a fake!

Everyone know that JICO is made in Japan!

(If you don't want to worry unnecessarily about their authenticity, order directly from JICO.)

 

[hruki]

Ok thanks! I knew that I lose nothing if I ask . What I was not sure of is if the inscription meant a special export or something like that or... a fake .