• Please note that there are a few updates and clarifications made in the Audiokarma Rules, mostly relating to advertising and the addition of the new "Paying it Forward" & "Giving back" forums in the AudioKarma Audio Marketplace section.

Shure Stylus Quality - Jico vs NOS Mexico

S

samrobertson

Active Member
Like many here, I have several Shure carts and am lucky to have a few Shure originals to play around with. I also have a Jico elliptical that I love, but don’t have the exact same stylus as an original to do a direct comparison.

My general thought is that original Shure, made in the USA, is best, but for more recently in production models like the M44 or 44X/SC35 series, how does Jico compare to the made in Mexico Shures?

In addition to being generally cheaper, is it possible these Jico models outperform the Mexico counterparts?

I know latter-day Shure is associated with a decline in quality control so curious to hear about others’ experiences. I think my only Mexico-made Shure is a N70bx and it sounds great.
 
Register to hide this ad
I've had Mexican and Japanese (Jico) made stylus N91ED and always tend to prefer the Mexican made one (if they're in good shape), the Jico sounds far more neutral than the warm sounding Mexican made which sounds like the American made.
 
I have an M44-MG and a couple of the Mexican made M44-G stylus (conical tracking at 1.5 g)as well as a Jico conical (Jico No. e007409) I also prefer the Mexican stylus although the Jico is certainly not bad but it does sound different.
 
I must have got the last affordable NOS N44E stylus in the UK. Probably Mexican. That's the one I've liked the best. I currently run Jico with the Shure reserved for when between styli because it has 3-400 hours on it. Still sounds nice. It's taken some abuse too so must be tough.

Edit: there's something only one other person here seems to know. The Jico "improved" N55E does not fit my c1970 M44. It's loose. DaCapo Audio in Denmark actually looked into this and concluded that the shank is slightly wider on the unimproved version. It's not just a question of whether there's a stylus guard or not.
 
Last edited:
I’ve got 2 original Shure USA N31E styli for my Shure M44C (Feb 1965 date code). The N31E is the N55E stylus but with a differently shaped plastic grip. Everything else is completely identical to the N55E. The N31 tracks at 1.2 grams.

I also have a BD nude elliptical N55E stylus. It tracks at 1.7 grams.

The BD sounds better than the Shure USA N31. It maintains all the character of the Shure stylus, but transmits more texture and has a more extended, smooth treble.

The Jico N55E that I bought 6 years ago sounds “ok.”
 
The BD N55E I had was riding so low, at 1.7g and less, that the cartridge body touched the vinyl and skidded everywhere. I have no luck with BDs and now avoid them. When people do recordings to compare it's always the BD I like the least but then this is personal preference as with so much in audio.

Love the Jico N55E, on my second. Might try a Tonar N44G next.

Do M31 styli just slot into an M44 with no modification?
 
That was a while back when they put the wrong suspension in. I’ve had no issues at all with the EVG/BD styli. I have 14 of them for various cartridges. SuperOM, ADC, Pickering, Shure, Acutex. My Jico N55E sits in its box.

For the N31, not much of a mod. File off a little plastic. Took me 3 minutes.

BD N55E on the cartridge. Shure N31 says “Shure” on it.

8543172E-6D36-45DA-B8C4-33226B827064.jpeg


731FC6D2-804A-4650-BBAE-364B5B59E872.jpeg


BDE48502-987F-4AB4-9FD6-A9447BF56166.jpeg


E9AAF400-5D0E-42C3-AAB5-A72D36CE39EF.jpeg


4A3CD91F-88D0-44B8-8D84-D085133E81D3.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I think the Shure originals are nearly always preferable, as long as they are in good condition. Jico makes some excellent styli, as well as some so-so styli. Really depends on the cartridge. From my understanding, the moving mass of the SAS styli is still quite a bit more than the Shure MR styli. I have obtained great (relatively flat) results with an SAS on both the V15 III and IV, but the V-MR SAS is known to have an extremely elevated high-end. I recently purchased an NOS Mexican VN5MR, which when used with the V-MR has one of the flattest frequency responses of any cartridge. Some VN45HE styli are known to have bad suspensions, the rest should be okay.
 
Not Mexican, but I have NOS VN5MR and VN5HE styli for the V15V, and a Jico VN5MR SAS/Boron stylus. Also a V15-RS with VNSE3HE stylus and a Jico VN5xMR SAS/Boron stylus. I don’t hear the brightness from the SAS/B. Fact is, the SAS sounds somewhat subdued compared to the NOS beryllium styli. On both of these carts, the Jico SAS is my daily driver stylus.

I also have a NOS VN45HE stylus for my V15-IV. But I don’t have a Jico SAS stylus for it.

Using the Jico SAS VN5xMR on the M97HE, comparing to the NOS N97HE stylus, the Jico again sounds “softer”, not brighter.
 
Dunno if I trust myself to file down a stylus grip. Would something like this suffice?

And trying BD again.. urrgh, I swear they are cursed for me.
 
I have a Jico n44-7 and an n75e and they are good. I have a couple RS n75e, like the Jico they are bonded and sound about the same. I recently got a Tonar n95g. It tracks well at 1.25 grams and sounds good but no tie wire. The Jicos have a tie wire like the Shures do. It took almost a month to get a Tonar from the EU to the states.
 
HamboneF18 said:
That was a while back when they put the wrong suspension in. I’ve had no issues at all with the EVG/BD styli. I have 14 of them for various cartridges. SuperOM, ADC, Pickering, Shure, Acutex. My Jico N55E sits in its box.

For the N31, not much of a mod. File off a little plastic. Took me 3 minutes.

BD N55E on the cartridge. Shure N31 says “Shure” on it.

View attachment 2652814


View attachment 2652815


View attachment 2652816


View attachment 2652817


View attachment 2652818
Click to expand...

That makes me excited to try out that one out. I’ve been meaning to order. Soon. I have the Jico N55E and find it to be a significant upgrade over the Pfanstiehl bonded elliptical, which I also like.
 
samrobertson said:
That makes me excited to try out that one out. I’ve been meaning to order. Soon. I have the Jico N55E and find it to be a significant upgrade over the Pfanstiehl bonded elliptical, which I also like.
Click to expand...
TVOM had them in stock, cheap. (N31E, 2x7 elliptical) I bought 2 more after the first one, $36. Last I looked, Gary was out of stock. I think I cleaned him out. The N32E is a 4x7.

I’ve since switched to using this Feb 1965 M44C white body cart. Just for nostalgia. Came off a 1964 Garrard Model 50 changer.




5C38FC70-C936-40C4-A43A-18E3AECF4039.jpeg


84382CE4-D2F4-4C41-A521-825DC5EEA728.jpeg

45447FA0-ABAE-4A35-98AF-B93510494FE3.jpeg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom