Shure M91ED

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Normo

Well-Known Member
I found this in my stash of stuff on a headshell from the dual 1229 series. I have googled it, and searched here and at VA. I get the sense that it was a good budget cartridge in its day. I don't know if I can get a replacement stylus and whether it would be worth it since I am the guilty party with a shure M97E and 1229 that Notransisitors referred to in another thread, and I also have a AT440MLa. BUT, with all that said, if there is a new stylus for it, would it outperform these others? Thanks Norm
 
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Normo said:
I found this in my stash of stuff on a headshell from the dual 1229 series. I have googled it, and searched here and at VA. I get the sense that it was a good budget cartridge in its day. I don't know if I can get a replacement stylus and whether it would be worth it since I am the guilty party with a shure M97E and 1229 that Notransisitors referred to in another thread, and I also have a AT440MLa. BUT, with all that said, if there is a new stylus for it, would it outperform these others? Thanks Norm
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I have always liked the Shure M91ED and still use it. You can still find original stylus for it. It is probably warmer than my M97XE, I believe that it was 2nd to the Shure V15II or III in it's day. I've never tried the AT440Mla so can't really compare. Hakaplan is the expert when it comes to the knowledge of these cartridges. He may come along soon and give you all the info you need :yes:
 
I use one on my Dual. I think it sounds excellent.

I purchased a new, original stylus from Ed Saunders on Ebay. His Ebay name is edsaunders.

Good luck.

Snade
 
I also have one with the original stylus from Ed Saunders and I agree with everybody that it is very good. Maybe it's just that the output is so high, but it seems to me that it doesn't have the high end roll off of the M97xE.
 
I also use one on my Dual 1219. It is not as bright or detailed sounding as my AT 440 mla but it is certainly very listenable and quite frankly, a lot of my LP collection is garage sale and GW/Salvation army rejects and I find that the Dual 1219 Shure M91 ed combo makes a lot of these much loved and abused LP's sound mighty good after a good cleaning. I also found that using it with a Cambridge Azur 640 P phono preamp made for a noticeable improvement in the high end without increasing surface noise.
 
Normie,

I have an M91ED with an unused stylus. This is my spare for my spare. My prime cartridge is the ML-140HE, secondary is the V15III. Just below the pretty-darn-good M95ED in quality, the M91ED is quite a nice cartridge. My stylus came from Ed Saunders, and is genuine Shure.
I have two setups, so I have two each of primary and secondary cartridges.

Whether or not the M91ED is better than the M97E, I cannot tell you, unless I mount the M91ED, and play it in an A-B comparison.
After I finish your Q, Maybe I will do that A-B test, as the refurbished machine will need a few hours of testing, before repacking.

Seth
Forever Analog and Covered In Parrot Poop
 
jazzwolf said:
I have always liked the Shure M91ED and still use it. You can still find original stylus for it. It is probably warmer than my M97XE, I believe that it was 2nd to the Shure V15II or III in it's day. I've never tried the AT440Mla so can't really compare. Hakaplan is the expert when it comes to the knowledge of these cartridges. He may come along soon and give you all the info you need :yes:
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I agree with all of the above. The one I have has become my primary cart, and I do NOT have an original stylus - you can get a pfanstiehl stylus for it from Parts Express for $8.40 plus shipping. Sounds great. I pulled the cart from a thrift store TT that I sold, so my whole investment in this cart is the stylus. I like it so much I've started scouting for them on garbage TTs - If I can get the table for $20 or less, and score another M91 body, it's coming home. :music:
 
I have seen a shure stylus replacement for the M91ED at LPGEAR for 34$ + S&H. Does the pfansteil sound different? better? or just different. Because that is certainly alot cheaper. From what everyone has said it sounds like a keeper. Norm
 
Normo said:
I have seen a shure stylus replacement for the M91ED at LPGEAR for 34$ + S&H. Does the pfansteil sound different? better? or just different. Because that is certainly alot cheaper. From what everyone has said it sounds like a keeper. Norm
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I've never heard the original stylus so I can't comment on "different". It's the same cut, just from pfanstiehl, who IMO make a quality stylus. Mine is very clean and clear sounding on top, mucho bass, slightly warm... what's not to like?

I think part of the attraction for this cart (as Haka noted above) is the high output. You can download an owner's manual at http://vinylengine.com, BTW.
 
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I have used an M91ED for 8 or 9 years. It sounds good, but is no longer my primary cartridge. I have a Shure M24H that I like a little better.

Jico also catalogs a stylus for the M91ED.

Jon
 
I have 2. one M91ed and one M91e. The M91ed has a shure stylus on it and I think it sounds better than the M91e w/ a parts express phanstahl (sp?) sylus on it. They both are nice mellow cartridges though

Steve
 
Have one as my main cartridge...it sounds better than my Sumiko Oyster, Audio Technica AT95e, Stanton P-mounts, but I cannot compare it against the mighty Shure V15III....YET....
 
I have had several TT over the course of time and have had a few M91ED new and used. It was a good quality cartridge for 20 bucks back in the day. I was never really happy with them though and opted for the V15 series though they cost more.
 
To me, the M91 is a cartridge to reach for when you want a bit of warmth, but not as much as a Grado. Excellent cartridge, and as far as I'm concerned, it beats the M97 by a fair margin :)
 
The Shure M91Ed was and is an excellent cartridge .. great separation .. good output.. and a transparency the Shure made its name on ..The only drawback which is very sad, is that a hyperelliptical upgrade was never introduced for it . This would have been an outstanding cartridge by any evaluation with the added tracking and sweetness of the fine tip. What an oversight by Shure!!!!! Would have been close to the standard for ANY cartidge!!!
 
joz25 said:
The Shure M91Ed was and is an excellent cartridge .. great separation .. good output.. and a transparency the Shure made its name on ..The only drawback which is very sad, is that a hyperelliptical upgrade was never introduced for it . This would have been an outstanding cartridge by any evaluation with the added tracking and sweetness of the fine tip. What an oversight by Shure!!!!! Would have been close to the standard for ANY cartidge!!!
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Actually lpgear sells an aftermarket M75HE Type 2 stylus which will fit the M91 body.
 
Jico makes an SAS stylus for it. Their reputation is stellar, but at $90+ they are the most expensive. Doubt that you could get an equal quality cartridge for less new, but haven't heard enough to say that I really know.
 
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