Initial Impressions Shure V15xMR w Jico SAS Stylus
Earlier this year I decided to consolidate and simplify my analog gear. I settled on two turntables with a total of 3 arms and cartridges. One outboard phono stage, and the onboard one in my Trinov preamp. This stage is MM only, so either MM cartridge, high output moving coil, or SUT/headamp devices. I really did not want to add the complexity and parts of an outboard step up. This is intended to be my casual listening cartridge, and the question is why do I really need that because I can casually listen to all these titles digitally if I wanted to. I don't have a good answer for that, maybe one day I will quit making excuses for myself.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a Shure V15xMR with a Jico SAS stylus that has 30 hours. It also came with the OEM stylus, but at this point I have to assume the diamond is worn out. One retipper says he can fit a new diamond, but I see other posts that say the cantilever is too fragile and other companies will not accept the job. I wonder how much different the OEM assembly sounds compared to the Jico.
I installed the cartridge on a low mass version of the Audiomods Series Six arm. I had to remove all the weight plates on the counterweight and configure it for its lowest mass. I also used the lightest aluminum cartridge headshell that it comes with. I estimate I am in the 8 gram range for tonearm mass. Installed and aligned it to Lofgren A, brush up, tracking 1.3 grams.
This is an interesting sound, but not completely satisfying at this time. Presentation is smooth and cohesive. Nice tonal balance in the mids and bass region, the upper register is detailed but feels slightly diminished. Detail is there but not at the same level of resolution, its as if the sound is a bit further away. What this all reminds me is of classic tubes, something like an EL34 based amp.
The above presentation I can live with, but the sound stage is compressed, not as expansive as I had with different arrangements. This does leave me wanting. But I tell myself its a casual cartridge, and to listen to it while multi tasking...like now when I am at the computer. Although the cartridge tracks very well, surface noise is extremely low, is dynamic but not excelling at dynamic contrasts.
I like it,, but I don't love it. I think its a great value for people to pick up, but its probably approaching $400 or $500 now. $280 ish for the stylus, and then probably $100 or more for a body.
These are initial impressions. Sometime this week I will try putting it on the MM optimized side of my outboard phono stage and see if things improve. It can't stay there, but it will give me some more data points to know what is possible. I do see why people like it,, and in the right system I bet its a great match. A lot of value here, especially whem Jico used to sell that SAS stylus for $180 or so.
The Jico SAS styli take many hours to break-in, closer to 100. Properly aligned and broke-in, the V15 with an SAS approaches the maximum capability of a MM cartridge. Really need to step up to >$1000 MCs to get appreciably better performance. The SAS is extremely sensitive to alignment so if you don’t get that perfect it will compromise performance significantly. |
@helomech Any ideas why a stylus assembly would take that long to break in? My moving coils never took that long, new or retip. It is well aligned, I prefer to use an arc protractor and alignment grid. I do align to the cantilever, which is straight on this cartridge. Fine tuning VTA, the Audiomods arm uses a micro adjuster and is very precise. Not a lot of range but a great tool to get it spot on. Yonight I will move it over to the Esoteric and see if there are significant changes.
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So this morning I had a chance to put the V15 on the Esoteric E-03 and give it a spin. I started with 0 pf loading, and then have the choice of 100 pf and 330 pf loading. I liked it at 0, a bit smooth and powerful bass response. The album I used was the AP 45 RPM version of Fleetwood Mac Rumours, and played Dreams. I then switched over to a Kiseki Blackheart on the 12" version of the Audiomods Series Six arm. So same family of arm, same wiring. As close as I can get to the same arm, on the same table, on the same phono stage. Each arm an appropriate mass for each cartridge. I prefer the Kiseki by a wide margin. Far more space in terms of depth. A touch more inner detail, and better dynamic contrast. The sound of the V15 was nice, the Kiseki is engaging. I think I will look for a high output moving coil. I will ove the V15 on to a new owner who will appreciate it. |
