Review: Shure M97xe

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Aerobat

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Hi all,

I had an M97xe on my Amazon wish list, and sure enough, one showed up under the tree last Sunday morning (thanks Santa!). This is a very talked-about cart with a lot of fans (some say Felix likes this cart) and also some detractors, so I thought I'd add my impressions and test results to the mix.

Test System:
  • Cart: Shure M97xe, stock stylus, 3 hours
  • Cartridge and hardware weight: 8.24g (a little on the high side)
  • Turntable: Pioneer Pl-L1000
  • Headshell: Stanton HS4
  • Calculated effective tonearm mass: 14.18g
  • Phono Stage: Pass Pearl 2
  • Capacitance: 117pf turntable + 100pf phono stage
  • Resistance: 47.5 kohm
  • VTF used: 1.5g brush up, 2g brush down. The instructions say the brush relieves .5g of VTF.

The cart comes in a big, fancy metal case with hardware, a screwdriver, and an alignment template. It arrived in good shape, with a straight cantilever and good-looking diamond.

M97xe%20-2.jpg


Testing with the Hi-Fi-news test record yielded the following results:

  • This cart doesn't like the test tracks on this record. With the brush up, I had to go over 1.7g VTF to reduce the distortion even on the first test track. Brush down at 2g it was much better, but still broke up a little. You may want to take this with a grain of salt.
  • Resonance tests: Brush up, the cart resonated all over the place between 13 and 9 hz horizontal and 12-10 vertical.
  • Brush down at 2g, it passed with flying colors, with little or no visible or audible resonance across the full spectrum.

Listening: I really like this cart. This is my first Shure, and I find that the mids are lush, with Frank Sinatra's voice on Girl from Epanema sounding wonderful and warm.

Bass is solid, but not quite up there with the XSV-3000. Dynamics are satisfying enough when cranking the drum machine on New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle. The detail is there too, but not quite on par with more advanced stylus profiles.

All in all, I think this has to be one of the best cartridge values out there. I'll budget for a SAS stylus at some point and try that too.

I give it :thmbsp::thmbsp:

M97xe%20005%20%281024x576%29.jpg
 
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G'day mate, thanks for the report. I'd be interested to know if you notice any kind of 'break in' with your M97xE, especially with your test results and apparent sound quality.

It looks like you have pretty optimum capacitance loading at 47 k too. Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
catman said:
G'day mate, thanks for the report. I'd be interested to know if you notice any kind of 'break in' with your M97xE, especially with your test results and apparent sound quality.
Click to expand...

I'll throw my 2 cents in on the M97xE and break-in. A while back, I put on one of my albums that I had a distinct memory of having sounded "pretty good" on the M97. The thought of break-in didn't even cross my mind until later on, but my initial reaction when the music started was "Whoa! This sounds _incredible_" I did a quick double take to try to think of something I might have changed in the setup to cause such a noticeable difference in sound, then I thought of the break-in issue. The second listen was 50-75 hours from new.

Having said that, I'm not sure I could pin down exactly _why_ it sounds so much better. For one thing, it _may_ be just a tiny bit less bright (not that it was overly bright to begin with) and/or more balanced, and probably more importantly, I'd swear there's dramatically less surface noise, ticks, clicks, etc. I'd be curious what others have to say.
 
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This cartridge really does sounds amazing 4 how much it cost! I've owned two because the first one fell apart - soon after so did the second. Honestly - I find that it sounds damn good for the money. I'm always wanting another 4 some reason.
 
1gr8e320a said:
This cartridge really does sounds amazing 4 how much it cost! I've owned two because the first one fell apart - soon after so did the second.
Click to expand...

What exactly do you mean "fell apart"? Did the body disintegrate or what? Has anyone else had this problem because I've considered buying one of these.
Rick
 
G'day mate, well from personal 'observation', many parts of the M97xE are just 'glued' together, but Shure is not the only one who does this, as far as I know.

Re the M97xE, I have had the mounting bar come away from the body, for example.

Internally, things are just glued in mostly, which should be sufficient for the application.

Recently one of my M97xE's was destroyed when the whole back panel came apart from the body, ripping away all the thin coil wires :tears: whilst I was changing the headshell leads.

My 'technique' was probably mostly responsible though. All phono cartridges are fragile things. :yes: Regards, Felix aka catman.

Addition: By the way, despite all the 'flaws' I still love the M97xE! It rather reminds me of friends that I have, like all people they may have their flaws and occasionally they might drive me crazy, but I still love them anyway! I guess that applies to me too, being an Aspie and all!
 
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Just took someones advice cant remember who and is ordered this cart Friday to go on my newly aquired PL-630. Cant wait. Maybe it will get here tomorrow.
 
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@ catman - same happened to mine. They are literally just glued together. Still like the way they sound. When I get another I will just let it be and not change headshells.
 
A different listening perspective.

G'day all, an interesting listening observation this afternoon that rather shows that a different listening environment can change audio perceptions considerably. :yes:

Yesterday in another thread I mentioned that in my main listening room as an interim measure I've taken my Dual CS-515 out of service and put in its place my Kenwood KD-1500 with an AT95E cartridge which sounded fine, with that characteristic 'coolness'.

One of the records I played yesterday with the AT95E was a John Williams album of Classical Spanish Guitar music. Today I tried an experiment. I changed the cartridge to my back up and well used, but in perfect working order 'standard stylus' Shure M97xE at 47k loading with optimum overall input capacitance (250 pf) overall.

I played side one of that John Williams album again, as I pedalled my 30 minutes on my exercise bike. It's 'times' like this when I wish the average record held more than about 20 minutes of music per side! :D

Anyway, I have to admit that John Williams Spanish Guitar sounded rather more 'lifelike' on the M97xE, perhaps due to the stronger bass end of the M97xE compared to the AT95E. The treble sounded fine.

I might plug in my spare DIY VSPS (set at 62 k) tomorrow and see how that sounds in that room. :scratch2: In this room I definitely prefer the M97xE at 62 k, but in my main system listening room with quite different room acoustics, 47 k loading with optimum capacitance loading sounds quite agreeable indeed. The unpredictable effects of room acoustics. :yes: Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
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catman said:
...Anyway, I have to admit that John Williams Spanish Guitar sounded rather more 'lifelike' on the M97xE, perhaps due to the stronger bass end of the M97xE compared to the AT95E. The treble sounded fine....
Click to expand...

That's my impression as well. I've owned a number of AT carts and find them a little on the brighter side with less meat in the lower-middle.

I plan to install sockets in the phono preamp that will let me change out the loading resistors. Once I do that, I'll definitely try the Shure at 62K.
 
The M97xE is a cartridge that I loved on my LP12/Ittok setup; however, on the Denon DP-300F, it became a rather lifeless experience, with no drive or energy (a Grado Green1 came off much better, but I ended up liking the stock cartridge, which appears to be an AT 3600 variant, the best). I had an opposite issue with the M44G, which didn't move me on the Linn, but sounded very engaging on an old Dual. I don't know why (differences in headshell/cartridge interface, turntable wiring, arm mass, capacitance needs, etc.), but it underscores how important it is to find something that works with your other equipment, and that just because one person likes (or hates) a particular product, it doesn't mean you'll have the same reaction to it in your system.
 
M97xE Break In...

Yes, it's real. I have probably in the neighborhood of about 50-55 hours on mine now, and it has smoothed out noticeably. When it first arrived, I observed that the upper mids were kind of hard sounding, and I was somewhat disappointed with it's detail. 50 hours later, I notice that the mids have softened and have also seemed to, for lack of a better term, open up a bit. No trouble with detail now!

I have spent the last couple of evenings digitizing some of my vinyl to MP3 for my car, and I have been listening to my setup critically through headphones. I have to admit, I'm impressed! I've been comparing the Shure to my Grado F1+, and though the Grado has sparkling highs, better separation and a wider soundstage, the Shure is cleaner and more balanced sounding.

On certain recordings the highs are still too subdued, which is easily remedied by boosting the highs in Audacity, or with my treble knob. I still don't find the M97xE to be a stellar performer in the innermost grooves, but overall I am thrilled with the M97xE's performance at it's price point.

An interesting note about synergy...

I recently replaced my Marantz integrated amp with a Sherwood dual mono power amp. The Sherwood is far smoother at the top with a more extended bottom end. It makes my CD player and and my Grado sound great, but the Shure M97xE... Not so much. Oh well. This is probably why some people don't like it. It certainly doesn't compliment every system. Then again, what cartridge does?

The Grado will stay with my main system for now, but the M97xE is doing a great job archiving music on my computer.
 
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No disrespect intended to anyone, but there are an awful lot of fine cartridges out there, yet this one, with all its incumbent problems, seems to by promoted above all others. I do wonder how many cartridges people have compared the Shure with. Is it better than the Sumikos, the Nagaokas, the Grados, the Goldrings etc at the same price (RRP, not the throwing it out the door price)? If you spend a little more, is it better than the Denons, better than the Goldrings etc? Or is it just a decent budget cartridge?
 
Hmmm...taking a look at Needle Doctor, for around $70-$80 one could have an Ortofon OM10 super, a Nagoka MP-100, a Grado Green, or a Sumiko Oyster.

I haven't heard any of these carts so I don't have a basis for comparison. I'd be interested in hearing if any are significantly better or worse in performance that the M97xe.
 
To my ears, the Shure beats the Sumiko Oyster by a landslide. I also believe it beats the Grado. The Ortofon is also a very good budget cartridge, a different flavor, perhaps with less personality. Have not heard the Nagaoka.
 
Isotonic said:
To my ears, the Shure beats the Sumiko Oyster by a landslide. I also believe it beats the Grado. The Ortofon is also a very good budget cartridge, a different flavor, perhaps with less personality. Have not heard the Nagaoka.
Click to expand...
Better than the Grado Gold, or the Ortofon Red, or the Sumiko Black Pearl, or the Ortofon MC1 turbo or the Sumiko Pearl? Not to mention the Ortofon OM10, and 20, or the AT 120E or the Goldring 2100 or the Nagaoka MP 110?
 
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