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WOW. Vintage cartridges revisited

jmchrislip

jmchrislip

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
:music:
WOW. For the last week I've been given a couple of old cartridges a listen thanks to a friend who gave me s Shure M91ED w/JICO stylus and a GRADO F3+ with a Prestige Black elliptical

stylus.

I already had a Grado Prestige Black and it really didn't move me at all. But the Grado F3+ sounds great! Fantastic well defined bass, smooth detailed midrange and highs. I really am impressed. I ordered a Grado Blue stylus for it, as I have read that should be the correct stylus for the F3+. This is quite an eye opener.

The M91ED is equally impressive. I had one of these in the early 70's and it was installed on an inexpensive Garrard turntable that couldn't reveal it's best. This cartridge is very quiet with an ample amount of detailed bass, clear mids and highs. I did detect a very slight dip in the midrange but not as subdued as I have read on other forums. This is a cartridge I can listen to for hours without listening fatigue.

IMO these are classic cartridges worthy of a revisit. Both are highly recommended.:banana:

I
 
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No squawk about the M91ED here...love that thing! Right now the original stylus is in the box and she's fitted with an aftermarket stylus from "andydeals" on that auction site. They've gone up a tad...used to be $14.95 shipped but now it's same price with shipping extra. Get the one with the "ivory"-colored holder...it's the berries.
 
After reading about the M91ED here and on other sites, I decided to look for a used one on the big auction site. It seemed that the secret about the cartridge was out: I couldn't find one for less than $70. This was about twice as much as folks here claimed that they should cost.

I searched for about 4-5 weeks and almost gave up. But last Saturday, I found one for $25/shipped - so I bought it. Two days ago, I found another for $35/shipped. I bought it as well. I also ordered the JICO SAS stylus, but I suspect it will be about a month before it arrives. I can't wait to try out this combo, as it is highly regarded. If it's as good as I hope, I will probably buy a second stylus for the backup cartridge.

Congrats on your score!
 
I recently purchased a JICO for my M91ED and it was well worth the money. It's performance can't be faulted.
 
Use the Jico SAS stylus on two Shure V-15 III's and one on a V-15 II. I've been a fan of the V-15 III since I bought my first one in 1973 an the SAS stylus is just amazing.
 
Well the blue stylus I ordered from J&R never materialized. I received an email that said they were refunding my money. This was around the time they were closing so I think they didn't have a good grip on their inventory. I may try the 8MZ after all. Anyone know a good source/price?
 
jmchrislip said:
Well the blue stylus I ordered from J&R never materialized. I received an email that said they were refunding my money. This was around the time they were closing so I think they didn't have a good grip on their inventory. I may try the 8MZ after all. Anyone know a good source/price?
Click to expand...

Needle doctor, or any grado dealer. the price of the 8MZ is $100.00. same price everywhere, or they aren't an authorized grado dealer......meaning...

ZERO......ZIP........NADA.....warrantee
 
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

The M91ED is sounding amazing!:banana: It's really starting to open up!:music: I'm using the $35. Jico. Wowie Zowie!! This is really nice!:yes:
 
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