Hobie1dog
subaholic
Thank you very much as I just bought a mint Revox B791 with one of those on it and it sounded incredible during the demo.
Shure V15 Cartridges In A Nutshell
- Thread starter malden
- Start date
Thank you very much as I just bought a mint Revox B791 with one of those on it and it sounded incredible during the demo.
larry777
Active Member
This is a great thread for information about the Shure V15 cartridges. In post # 15 it takes you to the Shure V15 data base and for the V15 type IV it shows the suggested replacement cartridge to be the M97xE. I would think that it would be better to get a proper replacement stylus like the Jico Sas or Vividline for an existing V15 IV body instead. Do most of you agree with this ? And has anyone compared these two options ?
ctjetta
It's not a perfect world
The data base is surely o.e. oriented and the replacements were based on available Shure styli at the time. I wouldn't imagine it make reccomendations among the various aftermarket options.
I'm just guessing.
Sir Bakerman
Active Member
Maybe you can clear this up for me. I have a V15-V and I am interested in your claim that this will accept stylus from the V15-IV and V15-III. Would this apply to the Jico SAS stylus? Jico is no longer manufacturing the stylus for the V15-V. So if this is the case I can utilize the Jico stylus for the V15-IV. I want to be sure before I pull the trigger on one.
Thanks for the post Malden, very helpful.
Thanks for the post Malden, very helpful.
SterlingOne
Super Member
Jico SAS and neoSAS are both available right now on Amazon for the Shure V15V-MR from two vendors. One is LPGear, the other some Japanese distributor selling for a much lower price than LPGear. I purchased the SAS model with Boron cantilever rather then the neoSAS, which was not listed by any vendor at the time of my purchase about two weeks ago. BTW, I still have another V15V-MR with original MR stylus. Comparing and contrasting the original stylus to the SAS stylus has given me the impression that the SAS has sharper delineation; but, I also like the less edgy smoothness of the Shure stylus. I really can not describe one as being better than the other, or one as even being more balanced than the other. Perhaps it would just come down to a preference for one sound over another. Of course, since the Shure stylus is no longer made, preference is moot I suppose. At any rate, I am totally satisfied with the SAS: it tracks everything free from distortion of any sort and seems to get everything out of the groove that's there to get. I can not see the point of spending to get more carts or another stylus for curiosity, experiments, or an implied benefit. I think my cartridge is getting the job done perfectly, so how can perfect be made more perfect?
Sir Bakerman
Active Member
Thanks I am aware of the LP Gear stylus. I was asking about the compatibility of the V15-IV and V15-III stylii with the V15-V cartridge. I appreciate your help though.
SterlingOne
Super Member
Oh, I thought you might want to know that the SAS is available for the V15V-MR, and thus, no need to consider interchangeability.
Hi I have a question for you , Yesterday I was given a Sansui SR-929 TT. (needless to say I was thrilled).
It has a Shure V15V-mr cartrage with a Shure 085660 stylus in it. I can find no reference to that stylus #.
Since you have swapped stylus with different V15's carts. can you recommend a replacement that will fit. I'm new to TT.
I have found this one https://www.lpgear.com/product/SHVN5MRNEOSASS.html , but i wonder if others will fit.
What do you use as a stylus cleaner.
thanks -john
SterlingOne
Super Member
That's the one you want, or the SAS with Boron coated cantilever. I have one of those. In comparison to another V15V-MR in my possession which has the original stylus, the cartridges sound so similar I can not say I have a preference for one over the other. That's to say they both have the same tone.
ETI_5000
Super Member
You lucky devil!
The number 085660 is probably the production serial number of the stylus, but that means something only to Shure. There were a number of different styli which were used on the V15 Type V body. According to Shure, the following colours were used on their V15 Type V styli:
- VN5G (spherical tip – this was only manufactured for a few years, so is probably hard to find now): red serial number on silver label; silver SHURE on black background
- VN5HE (hyper-elliptical line contact tip): black serial number on silver label; silver SHURE on black background
- VN5MR (Micro-Ridge tip): silver SHURE on bronze background. All 3 of my VN5MR's, bought in 2003 and 2005, say VN5MR in silver on the front above the stylus cantilever, and on the front of the brush say SHURE in silver (the 'bronze' colour of the background looks more like grey to me, and I'm not colour blind, having passed a lot of opttical tests for that), but there are no serial numbers anywhere on them.
- VNSE5MR (from Ultra VST-V): Similar to VN5MR/VN5HE/VN5G in moving mass (0.17mg), but a slightly higher optimum tracking force of 1.2g, and very similar performance and sound
- Ultra 500S (from Ultra 500): Dark brown with gray Shure italic lettering. Slightly higher tracking force of 1.2g, and even lower moving mass (0.165mg) and better trackability, so this is a slight upgrade from the VN5MR. The Ultra 500 was Shure’s best-ever cartridge, with ruler flat frequency response - the best I've ever seen in a review of a MM.
That Jico SAS stylus is the best aftermarket stylus available for them - SAS is Jico's name for a Micro-Ridge tip.
I generally use Shure's stylus brush (it came with an M97xE) on mine, but the old Discwasher stylus brush I own is also good.There are probably a few available from suppliers like LPGear, which are similar, such as this one https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPSTYLBRUSH.html.
If a liquid cleaner is needed occasionally I use some Nagaoka stuff I bought years ago, but this stuff from AT should also be good https://www.lpgear.com/product/AT0607.html . If cartridge manufacturers like Nagaoka and Audio-Technica don't know what is safe, then nobody does. Note that you'll rarely ever need to use liquid cleaner - usually removing dust with a dry brush is all that is needed.
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Thanks I was wondering about the boron. It seems to be well regarded.
Your reference to tone was very helpful.
Thanks - john
Don,You lucky devil!
The number 085660 is probably the production serial number of the stylus, but that means something only to Shure. There were a number of different styli which were used on the V15 Type V body. According to Shure, the following colours were used on their V15 Type V styli:
- VN5G (spherical tip – this was only manufactured for a few years, so is probably hard to find now): red serial number on silver label; silver SHURE on black background
- VN5HE (hyper-elliptical line contact tip): black serial number on silver label; silver SHURE on black background
Also, the following genuine Shure styli, which were from cartridges based on the V15 Type V-MR, can be used (they occasionally show up on Ebay):
- VN5MR (Micro-Ridge tip): silver SHURE on bronze background. All 3 of my VN5MR's, bought in 2003 and 2005, say VN5MR in silver on the front above the stylus cantilever, and on the front of the brush say SHURE in silver (the 'bronze' colour of the background looks more like grey to me, and I'm not colour blind, having passed a lot of opttical tests for that), but there are no serial numbers anywhere on them.
- VNSE5MR (from Ultra VST-V): Similar to VN5MR/VN5HE/VN5G in moving mass (0.17mg), but a slightly higher optimum tracking force of 1.2g, and very similar performance and sound
Note that the Ultra 500 and Ultra VST-V both have the same electrical specifications as the V15 Type V, so the sound is very similar.
- Ultra 500S (from Ultra 500): Dark brown with gray Shure italic lettering. Slightly higher tracking force of 1.2g, and even lower moving mass (0.165mg) and better trackability, so this is a slight upgrade from the VN5MR. The Ultra 500 was Shure’s best-ever cartridge, with ruler flat frequency response - the best I've ever seen in a review of a MM.
That Jico SAS stylus is the best aftermarket stylus available for them - SAS is Jico's name for a Micro-Ridge tip.
I generally use Shure's stylus brush (it came with an M97xE) on mine, but the old Discwasher stylus brush I own is also good.There are probably a few available from suppliers like LPGear, which are similar, such as this one https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPSTYLBRUSH.html.
If a liquid cleaner is needed occasionally I use some Nagaoka stuff I bought years ago, but this stuff from AT should also be good https://www.lpgear.com/product/AT0607.html . If cartridge manufacturers like Nagaoka and Audio-Technica don't know what is safe, then nobody does. Note that you'll rarely ever need to use liquid cleaner - usually removing dust with a dry brush is all that is needed.
Wow thank you so much for the treasure box if information.
I appreciate all your effort. It will be extremely useful to me since I plan on keeping this.
I did not even know it was a sr-929 with a V15 till I got it home. With no fanfare at all my friend said this has been in storage for years it’s an old TT, hope you an use it as he put in the back of my car.
You live in a wonderful country. I spent the most relaxing 10 days in my life there many years ago.
Thanks again for informative replay.
It will be extremely useful.
Thanks -john