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Shure Mavens - M95HE?

whell

whell

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Question:

The M95HE was a contemporary of the Shure V15III and IV in the Shure line. It had the hyper-elliptical stylus as opposed to the Microridge stylus of the V15 series. It did have the stabilizer brush that first appeared on the V15 IV.

So, how closer were the internals of the M95HE to the V15 series? Was the primary difference the Microridge stylus?

Thanks for any info!
 
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It did not have the stabilizer brush, only a stylus guard. The M97ED and HE had the same brush assembly as the V15 IV.

The internals of the M95 were basically similar to or the same as all the other M carts. They probably made minor modifications from one series to the next, but you sure can't tell from the specs. I don't know specifically how they differed inside from the V15s, but I can tell you that the difference must have been significant. As good as the M95HE was (and I used one for many years) when I finally acquired a V15 IV with the original HE stylus the improvement in clarity and soundstage was significant. And I have also tried both with a SAS, and again the V15 IV is heads and shoulders above the M95.

As to the styli, the HE stylus was .2 x 1.5, while the MR was .15 x 3.0, so really thin and long.
 
Good lord, that's what I get for having the flu.

I meant to ask how the M97HE compared to the V15 series. I'm asking because I acquired a M97HE with a borked stylus. I'm wondering how close I might get to the performance of the V15 series with the Jico SAS stylus on the M97 body.

I'll go medicate again now!
 
The M97 seems to have a lot to offer. But to get the real skinny, you'll have to drag Catman into the discussion. The reason it seems to get listed as boring (which no version of the v-15 is) has to do with the capacitive loading. It seems to like 200 pF of shunt capacitance to really open up. If tuned correctly, he seems to think it compares favorably.

All that intrigued me enough to prod me off my lazy backside and get my old SA-8800 (Pioneer Integrated Amp) down to Fred Longworth so I could see what he's talking about. OK, it needed a serious going through and this was as good an excuse as any, but the point is that machine has selectable inductive and capacitive loading. Since I have a V-15 IV with a JICO HE and a M97Xe, I'll be able to see what gives with that? In the meantime I think we should all have one in a headshell for general vinyl preview work. that stabilizer brush is great help tracking through unkown thrift store records. AND, country & western sounds just fine with normal tuning/loading.

Right now I'm running my M75 on some Firefall and it sounds great. Shure made many good cartridges. Some of their older bodies are getting new life with replacement styli. It's all good :)
 
He's asking about the original M97HE, not the new M97xE. They are different animals. I think most who've tried both will agree that the original was superior. Nevertheless, my original impressions stand. The main difference between the M95 and original M97 was the brush. It's a great cartridge--I got the JICO N97HE and it sounds terrific--I do love the original M carts--but I still think the V15 IV beats it. Just the fact that the shanks were not interchangeable would indicate different internals between the M97 and V15.
 
The original stylus of the V15 Type III was not a micro-ridge but was a .2 X .7 elliptical.

Shure came out with different styli (HE and MR) for them later.

EDIT: I agree with Howard. The V15s just have something that the Ms don't. A more 3 dimensional presentation, if you will.

Doug
 
I have an M95HE and an M97HE and I think they are both great carts BUT I prefer the M95. I can't quantify the reasons but I can say it pleases me more. Neither pleases me as much as my V15III but they come veddy veddy close.
 
G'day all, whilst I have no experience with the M95 series, a friend of mine whose opinion I regard highly has one and loves it! I think the Shure cartridges of the time were made with an extended and linear frequency response in mind. I wouldn't mind having one myself!

Interestingly enough, in a comparison with the present M97xE, I spent a bit of time today listening to a couple of my favourite Classical discs with my M97xE loaded at 62 k. A most agreeable sound, not bright but very natural and smooth and clean :music: I have a suspicion that the M95 series liked a little higher load shunt capacitance around 400 picofarads or so possibly to 'tame' the upper treble. All the specs are here and are quite an eye opener! http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Downloads/UserGuidesAndTechSpecs/us_pro_ug_disc_phono_content

Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
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Thanks for all the feedback gents! You've given me a direction to follow, or more correctly, not to follow! :-)
 
Got a m 95 and a v 15 iii.The m95 is warmer.You can get a sas stylus for it.I would say with the sas you would have a very good cart for not alot of cash.
I put a sas on my v 15 and am amazed.Before with a eliptical i thought the v 15 plain sucked.It was boreing.That sas is the bomb!Seriously!
In the future i'm going to get a sas for my m 95.So i'm going to put my money behind what i'm saying.
 
I have the M97HE and I have a Jico stylus on it. It is an excellent cartridge and completely head and shoulders over the M97XE. I also have the Shure V15III and I find it to easily be the best sounding cartridge I have bar none.
 
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