In article , Fleetie
wrote:
It is now a concern for myself that it looks impossible to find
genuine Shure replacement stylii for the V15/III. I only play LPs
occasionally, but when I do I appreciate the ability of the cartridge.
It is also useful when making a copy for purposes like being able to
do an analytical comparison between old LPs and new CD issues.

No criticism intended, but why not just buy a modern cartridge?

Please recommend one that has the same high compliance, low tip mass, good
stylus profile, and high tracking capability of a Shure V15/III. If there
is one, I am interested. I would prefer a mm design, but am open to a mc.

The V15/III will track the order of 40 cm/sec in the few kHz region. This,
combined with the geometry - in my experience - make a big difference on
some LPs, particularly near the end-of-side. Both to wear and to audible
distortion.

Unfornately, although people enthuse in magazines about expensive modern mc
designs, I have the feeling that - as with FM tuners - the best cartridges
were made a couple of decades ago.

I understand that Shure still make an M97 / 98, but I haven't been able to
find out any details of them. I suspect they are for 'DJ' types of use.
Alas, as I commented earlier, my emails to Shure in both the UK and the USA
went unanswered.

Hence my problem here is that I simply don't know of a modern equivalent to
the V15/III in terms of performance. A few decades ago there were other
makers who made broadly similar cartriges, but I don't know of any nowdays.
Of course, this may be because I have not paid much attention to this area,
and the magazines only seem to 'review' sic expensives mc ones as if they
were 'jewellery for boys' with no useful performance info. I don't want to
pay large sums for one because it has a body of solid Onyx, etc, etc. I'd
want one which is demonstrably as well engineered for its purpose as were
the V15 family.

Slainte,

Jim

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