Shure V15VxMR to be discontinued

My Shure V15VxMR will arrive tomorrow; I couldn't pass up the $212 price at Beach Audio. It will be a good cartridge to start with, and it will also be a good backup cartridge once I buy a moving coil design sometime in the future.

I noticed that the Shure V15VxMR has a mass of 6.6 grams and a compliance of 25cm according to the Shure web site at

(http://www.shure.com/phono/v15vxmr.html

and

http://shure.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/shure.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=fo48L1qh&p_lva=&p_faqid=807&p_created=985265291&p_sp=cF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTgwJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9VjE1VnhNUiZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li=

This web site recommends tonearms with an effective mass between 11 and 12 grams.

However, when I use the Van den Hul equation at

http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/phono_faq.htm#a2

to calculate the ideal tonearm effective mass for the Shure V15VxMR so that I can obtain the optimal tonearm/cartridge resonance frequency of 10Hz, which is recommended by Van den Hul, I obtain a tonearm effective mass of approximately 3.532 grams! This difference in effective mass is considerable, and I don't know of any tonearms that are this light.

Any comments or observations? Does resonance frequency calculations even apply to the Shure V15VxMR?

I understand that the SME 309 is a good match for the Shure V15VxMR. Is this correct?

Sean,

Do you see a big problem using the Shure V15VxMR with the Origin Live Encounter tonearm, which has an effective mass of 14.5 grams? The resonance frequency would be about 7 Hz with this tonearm/cartridge combination. Would the stabilizer brush help overcome any mistracking that might occur due to record warps being transmitted through the cartridge as a result of this somewhat low resonance frequency?

My cartridge came yesterday.

Today, I also ordered a replacement stylus from Jack's Music Factory for $140. The street price is usually $175 to $185.

http://jacksmusicfactory.com/default.asp

I also sent the following question to Customer Support at Shure:

"Will the Shure V15VxMR work well with the Origin Live Encounter Tonearm?

The effective mass of the Encounter tonearm is 14.5 gm. When this arm is mated with the Shure V15VxMR cartridge, which has a mass of 6.6 gm and a compliance of 25 cu, the resulting resonance frequency of this tonearm/cartridge combination is about 6.9 Hz using Van den Hul’s equation.

According to Van den Hul, the resonance frequency should range between 8 Hz to 12 Hz, with 10 Hz being optimal.

Will the Shure V15VxMR’s Dynamic Stabilizer overcome any distortion, sonic degradation, and mistracking that might occur due to record warps “exciting” the cartridge as a result of this somewhat low resonance frequency?

Thanks in advance for your help."

If I get an answer, I will post it here.

It's official: according to Shure Brothers tech support, the V15VxMR has been discontinued, and there are no plans to replace it. Furthermore, there will most likely be no replacement styluses either because the U.S. Government has classified beryllium dust as a potential health hazard. The V15 uses beryllium in the stylus shank.

If you haven't ordered a replacement stylus for your V15VxMR, you might want to do it now.

Discussion Thread
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Response (Michael Pettersen) - 11/12/2004 07:47 AM

We have never tested the V15VxMR with the Origin Live Encounter Tonearm. Our gut reaction is that it will work well, but we certainly cannot guarantee it having never performed the test.

We suggest that you seek out other owners of the Origin Live Encounter Tonearm and ask for their advice.

Note that the V15VxMR is discontinued, effective immediately. A small supply is still available.

No more can be manufactured as the beryllium stylus shanks are no longer available from our supplier. Beryllium dust has been classified as a potential health risk by the U.S. Government.

Eldartford,

You are probably right. It could also be that the supplier of the beryllium material for the stylus shaft is no longer interested in supplying the needed material at a price that makes sense in a marketplace dominated by MC cartridges.