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Vintage Stylus vs Nagakao MP?

F

Famis

New Member
Just picked up a technics sl-q2 (i love it) off of craigslist. The seller was super nice and informed me that the stylus may need replacing. He was giving a fair price though, so i bought it, brought it home and was delighted by the sound. The cartridge fitted on the turntable was a Shure m91ed but after a couple of listening sessions and moving of the tonearm, i noticed a drop and quality and soon thereafter noticed that the stylus itself seemed to be significantly bent at an angle. This misalignment made an obvious change in fidelity, so now im looking for a solution. After some research on shure replacement styli I've come across the reasonably priced JICO styli, but i've also read alot of praise for the Nagaoka MP-110. These Nagaoka fans claim it to be head and shoulders above the newer Shure models like the m97xe. It'd be great if anyone with experience with both the m91ed and Nagaoka could help me out.
 
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Famis said:
Just picked up a technics sl-q2 (i love it) off of craigslist. The seller was super nice and informed me that the stylus may need replacing. He was giving a fair price though, so i bought it, brought it home and was delighted by the sound. The cartridge fitted on the turntable was a Shure m91ed but after a couple of listening sessions and moving of the tonearm, i noticed a drop and quality and soon thereafter noticed that the stylus itself seemed to be significantly bent at an angle. This misalignment made an obvious change in fidelity, so now im looking for a solution. After some research on shure replacement styli I've come across the reasonably priced JICO styli, but i've also read alot of praise for the Nagakao MP-110. These Nagakao fans claim it to be head and shoulders above the newer Shure models like the m97xe. It'd be great if anyone with experience with both the m97ed and Nagakao could help me out.
Click to expand...

You've mentioned three Shure cartridges in your post, M91ED, M97xE and M97ED. Which one do you have?
 
Famis said:
Just picked up a technics sl-q2 (i love it) off of craigslist. The seller was super nice and informed me that the stylus may need replacing. He was giving a fair price though, so i bought it, brought it home and was delighted by the sound. The cartridge fitted on the turntable was a Shure m91ed but after a couple of listening sessions and moving of the tonearm, i noticed a drop and quality and soon thereafter noticed that the stylus itself seemed to be significantly bent at an angle. This misalignment made an obvious change in fidelity, so now im looking for a solution. After some research on shure replacement styli I've come across the reasonably priced JICO styli, but i've also read alot of praise for the Nagakao MP-110. These Nagakao fans claim it to be head and shoulders above the newer Shure models like the m97xe. It'd be great if anyone with experience with both the m97ed and Nagakao could help me out.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

Should you decide to resurrect the Shure M91 ED cartridge, the HE- hyper elliptical stylus is a pretty good up grade. :music:
http://www.lptunes.com/Hyperelliptical-replacement-for-Shure-N-91ED-N91ED-p/shn091edlphl.htm
 
Get a new stylus AND get the MP110 - then you won't have to think about it and start your journey of playing "Musical Cartridges"(as opposed to musical chairs)
 
The Vivid Line from LP Gear is highly rated. I had that table with a Shure/ Jico SAS combo & it beat all the "popular priced" carts I tried. The VividLine is supposed to be very similar in sound to the SAS but at much less cost. Good luck & let us know what you decide. Everyones ears & expectations are different so I'll be curious as to what you think. Make sure the stylus & your records are clean before you spend any money on upgrades.
 
dzkfraser said:
Get a new stylus AND get the MP110 - then you won't have to think about it and start your journey of playing "Musical Cartridges"(as opposed to musical chairs)
Click to expand...
haha, as much as i'd love to, I'm a student with limited resources and i'd like to direct the money towards new speakers
 
Bob in WI said:
The Vivid Line from LP Gear is highly rated. I had that table with a Shure/ Jico SAS combo & it beat all the "popular priced" carts I tried. The VividLine is supposed to be very similar in sound to the SAS but at much less cost. Good luck & let us know what you decide. Everyones ears & expectations are different so I'll be curious as to what you think. Make sure the stylus & your records are clean before you spend any money on upgrades.
Click to expand...
which "popular priced" cartridges did you compare with? The ones i've read about are the sumiko pearl, shure m97xe, ortofon 2m red, and the nagaokas. How do you think that vivid line would compare to a hyper-elliptical stylus? Seems to be a similar construction perhaps. There's really two main routes i could take with the stylus: the 30 dollar range of typical shure styli like the JICO (non-SAS) or the slightly more costing HE or vivid-line. There's also the SAS but i'm not willing to put down that much for a stylus right now
 
The prices of the SAS went way up about a year ago. I'm told the Vivid Line is between an HE & SAS in retrieving detail from the grooves. If I had to make the choice, thats what I'd do but I like a more detailed, crisper sound; not everyone does.
 
Good news is the M91 is a classic vintage cartridge and you don't have to spend big money on the SAS to get good sound. There is the basic Jico, the Jico HE and the Vivid Lne. All good options.

You are doing it right by upgrading the speakers and the stylus/ cartridge. That is where you will make the impact.

I recommend you find the best speakers you can afford. Then see what's left. The basic Jico is very good for low money and will get you up and running.

To further pile on, the Nag MP 110 is a fine cartridge too and upgradable with the 200 stylus.

Welcome to the fun.
 
Balifly said:
The information you received may not be correct. :idea:

The VividLine stylus is
.2 X 2.9 mil
Balifly said:
The information you received may not be correct. :idea:

The VividLine stylus is
.2 X 2.9 mil
https://www.lpgear.com/product/SHVN5MRVL.html

similar to the

hyper elliptical
.2 X 1.5 mil
http://cdn.shure.com/uploaded_file/upload/28/us_pro_stylus_cross_reference.pdf
Click to expand...

https://www.lpgear.com/product/SHVN5MRVL.html

similar to the

hyper elliptical
.2 X 1.5 mil
http://cdn.shure.com/uploaded_file/upload/28/us_pro_stylus_cross_reference.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarify. I know the VividLine is well regarded.
 
Ok, so i've narrowed it down between the JICO n91ed stylus and the nagaoka mp-110. The jico replacement would be ~$60 and for the mp-110 i could spend about $90-$95 if I sold my current shure. I'm keeping in mind that it would be pretty convenient to upgrade the stylus of the mp110 sometime down the road. Can anyone help me determine what the sonic differences between the two would be? Low surface noise is ideal but i dont think that would be an issue with either.
 
Famis said:
... i noticed a drop and quality and soon thereafter noticed that the stylus itself seemed to be significantly bent at an angle.
Click to expand...
It's just possible, depending on what you mean by "bent", and your guess as to how this occurred, that your current stylus is fixable. Any possibility of a good closeup photo?
 
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