The Shure is the best value in cartridges. they are also one of the oldest mfg's of cartridges out there. They invented the MM and you can see they have not lost a thing. I used to own the Grado The Reference, and it is no better than the Shure. If I am not mistaken, I sold one of my Shure's to SD Campbell.(should have kept it and saved money). Sure, it does not produce every bit of detail, but is that all wrong? If you want a more lively cartridge on top, get the VMR. It is more like it. If you want a lush cartridge that just makes your system and record collection sound good, save some of your money and buy the Shure. You can then use the money left over and upgrade one of the other items in your system. I have had many cartridges and the best I have heard for the money is the Shure. I am one of the few that has the Shure Ultra 500 cartridge. If you ever wanted to know the limits and the full potential of a MM cartridge, get it (if you can find it) I had a new Benz Micro Glider at the time and well....... I still have the Shure at (1/5 the price to boot.) Wonder why a large number of the reviewers at Absolute sound have Shure V15Vxmr cartridges as their reference? They love the sound and what the cartridge does to their collection. So do I!
Shure V15--A Good Cartridge?
I've noticed that there seems to be violently mixed opinions on the Shure V15. The quotes from reviews are good, but then some people (mostly dealers) don't really seem to like it. One person commented that he thinks it's too bland, another says it's not good for anything but rock because it can't resolve complicated details. At the same time, however, one person (a dealer whom I respect) thinks it's a great cartridge for people with ordinary record collections, and I've heard some people say it's great for classical and jazz, and it does just fine with complicated musical details.
I am not in the market for a V15--now, at least--but I have been really wondering why the opinions are so mixed. Other cartridges seem to be pretty simple--the strengths and weaknesses are well known.
I am not in the market for a V15--now, at least--but I have been really wondering why the opinions are so mixed. Other cartridges seem to be pretty simple--the strengths and weaknesses are well known.