Thanks for this. My first two carts were both Shure (M95EJ and M91ED). I basically gave the M91 away and have regretted it since. I'm glad I held on to the M95 as even having acquired a dozen cartridges from other brands, the Shure still holds a special place for me.
I guess I am Shure. I still use in rotation a m91ed, m97xe, m95ed, v15 III, v15 IV. Over the years I have tried various replacement type of stylus, Jico, vivid line, etc. To this day the V15 III is one of favorites, excellent tacking and igd. The m91 was allways Ole reliable. I missed out on having a version of the V15 V. I've had the totl Pickering, Stanton and Empire. Now I have a few AT models, nothing to pricey. Sad Shure left the market, but there are so many brands these days. BTW: excellently crafted video. Very nice to share the Sentiment for us that grew up with Shure cartridges playing records.
My first component turntable (strictly budget model) BIC-920 came with an installed Shure M70 pickup way back in 1976. Later I got a Pioneer PL-518 (still use it) and put the M91ED to work. On another headshell I mounted a Shure M95ED later adding the HE stylus. Thanks for reminding me.
Thanks for doing this video. It's great to hear your perspective on vintage Sure cartridges. I've started to acquire a collection of vintage Sure cartridges myself that came installed on turntables that I've acquired. M91e, M91ed, V15 type 2 and V15 Type 3. All of them sound good but I particularly like the V15's.
Stylus quality can really affect the sound. Those lucky enough to have NOS Shure stylii will really enjoy their sound. Jico makes excellent replacement stylii.
The Shure V15 Type 3 and Audio Technica 440MLa with original styluses have been my favorites for transferring LP's to CD-R Music discs with a Pioneer stand alone recorder. I use a Dual 601 turntable with the above mentioned cartridges. My first Dual turntable (a 1215S) will be 50 years old this October. It originally came with a Shure M91ED cartridge. My general listening turntables are a Technics SL-D1 with RS V15 cartridge. The other turntable is a Dual 1245 with a Shure M91ED with an economy replacement stylus. I also have the Shure V15 Type 4, but I have heard that the 3 is a better cartridge than the 4.
Thank you for posting this excellent comparison. I think everyone appreciates your hard work. I certainly do. Having said that, and currently using a Shure Me95ED with a NE95ED stylus, I have to say that when I heard your V15IV, it jumped out and said, "Ok boys, move over!" No comparison. But that's just me maybe. Reminded me of the good ol' days at my buddies place, smoking weed, and listening to John McLaughlin, and Carlos Santana, and Billy Cobham.
I have an M44-7 similar to the M44-E you showed at the beginning of the video. I think it's older because the big cartridge body is brown, not black, like most of the modern M44-7 examples I've seen, and it has the S-bird logo thing, which they dropped later. Any information on the differences between older M44 models and their recent ones? I think mine might be from as far back as the 70s or early 80s.
For me I noticed a small difference when I changed from my M 75 ED to the Shure V15III, But when I went back down to the M75 again then it hit me the difference was ginormous, in ALL honesty Cartridges n Speakers (Transducers) Have to be American made, Anything else its Always second best by some margin moving couple of times i manage to lose all My Cartridges except the M75 cause it was on the TT arm when we were moving, Never even considered anything else But AR speakers n I had at least most of them But my old AR5s with the original white clothe my First Real high quality speakers I bought new n my present listening speakers the AR9s not the ones with the side woofers the improved version with a forward 12 inch unit n a down facing 10 inch for the base are Just Magical sounding specially with a Shure cartridge many thanks for this video mate Brings back good memories cheers
@@ZeusTheTornado Never had an Audio Technica but I Bought an old dual T/T while mine was been repaired with an Ortofo0n Cartridge n for my taste the Ortofon sounded thin in comparison to Shure cartridges, I like most music ( Rap NO)n listening to good Rock music a Shure is the one for me solid deep bass full sound
@@polygamous1 Well, of course a big part of it depends on personal preference. Shures like the M44 or the M75/91 do give a sound that benefits certain recordings, and Ortofons tend to be more transparent and neutral sounding
Proud owner of the 75, the 91 and as you can see in my picture the V15 lll. I own a lot more like the AT vm95 with several styli and some more vintage cartridges. Nothing comes close to the V15...awesome cartridge which i use on a Dual 704. perfect combi
I have not seen your 'channel' Just saying I have my V15 IV VMR from early 1990s or so. I used more back than and less in later years. Being home more and interested in my LPs and system more, the diamond shattered in 2020 after a few plays that sounded 'strange (should have been a warning to me) I got a Jico, I wonder if it is worth holding on for however long, and getting another stylus in the future if available?
Bit hard to tell on my phone. Anyway I'm using an M55EM. It came about when my Fidelity Research FR6SE became a problem getting a new stylus. I still have it.
I have the M44E on an old Garrard Type A a buddy gave me and I was surprised by the sound ( I run Ortifon Blue on main rig). The bass seemed especially good
I picked up an old realistic lab 34 turntable. The cartridge is a Shure RS EB. Could you tell me where I can find a replacement cartridge? Thank you. And thanks for the video.
Avevo una Shure M91ED con lo stilo Shure Hi-Track: grande cedevolezza e capacità di tracciamento, dinamica molto buona, enfatizzava leggermente la gamma media, soprattutto le voci e gli ottoni. La cambiai con una Ortofon Concorde 30 che ancora possiedo (sono al terzo stilo...) più neutra e coerente, ma la Shure era comunque un gran bell'oggetto.
I picked up a Garrard DD-75 last year at Goodwill that had an MD-95ED on it. I bought a Bliss elliptical replacement stylus for it (767-DED). I had to up the tracking to 1.75 recently because some drum hits were distorting. Other than that it is sounding good.
He also sells on Amazon and eBay, but the prices are better on his website. He has recently begun selling JICO. Check the descriptions, since some are Tonar are some are Swiss.
V15iv. sounds the best... the others sound similiar with some sounding louder than others. Try an old school Stanton 500 MK2 with a D50E elliptical stylus.
Fantastic! I've been waiting for someone to do a down to earth review of the most common Shure cartridges. I have a few of these as the re-branded Realistic versions. Are you able to confirm or deny that they are indeed exactly the same? Great vid!!!
I don't think anyone can confirm or deny if any OEM product is identical, but why would they create a whole separate cartridge line only for Radio Shack?
Off topic: I've noticed in a lot of your videos that you appear able to assess used stylus wear in short order. When you check for that, are you gently dragging a finger across the tip to detect sharpness? Do you rely on some other visual instrument off-camera (like a loupe or microscope)? Or can you just sort of eyeball (in good lighting) whether there's a sharp tip at the end of the cantilever? To put it in context: I have a microline stylus that I purchased about a year ago. I haven't listened to records every single day since then, but some days, I listen to a lot. I spin-clean records when I buy them, static brush them when I play them, and clean my stylus between sessions. I'm concerned because I've heard that if you rely on your ears to know when to change your stylus (sudden distortion), you're already damaging your records. Is that accurate, or just cartridge manufacturer propaganda?
I have a usb microscope camera, a magnifying lens and yes, sometime you can see stylus damage with just your eyes. Sounds like you take good care of your equipment, so your stylus should last a good, long time.
