The Jico SAS/B Stylus VN 5 MR

@richardbrand I do not know Richard. What is the price of insanity.

The AT540ML has a much higher moving mass and  lower compliance than the V15, The V15 will track at 1/2 the VTF of the AT. I have not examined the 540, but I have examined other members of the VM line and can not say that I am overly impressed. 

To get on the vinyl merry-go-round for a few old records seems a bit promiscuous to me. There are superior, more reliable ways to HiFi  nirvana. 

@ledoux1238 Yes, they make, I think it was 4 different cantilevers based on "special" Japanese woods. This is a cultural thing with the Japanese. I am heavy into Japanese woodworking tools. The best plane irons are given names like "Eagle Spirit" engraved into the tool by the maker. Irons like these can go for thousands of dollars depending on the reputation of the maker. Every material used has special connotations. You are not just listening to a cartridge, but to special wood painstakingly manufactured by a little old man sitting at a coal fire. Koetsu did the same thing putting the same cartridge motors in different bodies ascribing a certain spirit to each one. IMHO all they did was give the cartridges different effective masses, but what do I know. I have another V15 VMR body. Maybe I'll try one. If you go here https://imgur.com/gallery/stylus-photomicrographs-51n5VF9 you can see pictures of several styluses including the JICO SAS stylus. You can easily see the it is full of contamination which softens the diamond. The very tip is well shaped and polished, but otherwise it can not match the quality of the other styluses. For $300 it remains a great value even if it has 1/2 the lifespan. 

In the meanwhile I have ordered all the parts to construct any of the loading schemes mentioned in this thread. I won't be commenting for at least a month probably 2 

Yes Richard they were, but they also did not do a direct comparison with my other cartridges and my system is also very commanding from a visual perspective. It did not take me long to make the realization that the Shure was not up to the other cartridges performance. But I am not giving up yet. I will try Lew's suggestion.

@elliottbnewcombjr Do you believe your eyes? Compare the pictures. As I said, the diamond is full of contamination, one edge is obviously pitted. The contact patches are well cut and polished and the stylus is perfectly oriented. But a diamond that contaminated is obviously going to be softer. Just looking at the Soundsmith stylus, another microridge, which do you think is going to last longer? However, the Jico is a $285 item VS all those others that are in $10K plus cartridges. You get what you pay for and in this case it is a very serviceable stylus, it just won't last as long. I'll buy another to hold is reserve. what is really going to be fun is comparing the V15 to my other cartridges when my moving coil phono stage returns. It has a little gremlin the factory took care of. 

Trying to predict a styluses life span is a fool's errand.  There are way to many variables involved to be able to predict this, VTF, AS, Cleanliness, diamond purity, polish, contact patch area plus whatever I am missing. There are things you can say about it like, lower VTFs will prolong life, clean records will prolong life and so forth. 

@mwh777 The V15 V MR with a Jico SAS/B stylus will work in either arm, I think the PU 7 is better. If the resonance frequency is too low you can use the Damper, but you have to add another 0.5 gm to the VTF. The problem is going to be the size of the counterweight. The V15 is very light and for many arms requires a lighter counterbalance weight. 

@elliottbnewcombjr The Jico diamond is not near the highest quality. It is full of contamination (so bad it won't pass light) which will increase the rate of wear. This might undo any benefit of lower VTF and larger contact patches. If you look at the pictures you will note that the cleanest diamonds are those used by MSL, Lyra and Soundsmith. The MC Diamond is disappointing in this regard. The Jico is at least inexpensive. Most cartridges under $1000 have styluses like the Jico, but many of them are not cut and polished near as cleanly. Where it really counts the Jico has it. I will keep a closer eye on it for wear. 

@elliottbnewcombjr I can not speak to the stylus you have without looking at it under the microscope, but I can speak to the Jico. Go to the link above and you can see it. It is perfectly mounted in terms of SRA and zenith. I am playing with the V15 V MR and there is absolutely no question that it is damped exactly like the original. If someone told you otherwise they either mistook the question or have no idea what they are talking about. They are correct about it not being antistatic as it is not grounded. One important note! There is a ground strap connected to the left channel negative post. This can and should be removed with the tip of a sharp knife. It pulls straight out easily. This should be removed for all 5 wire tonearms! You will appreciate much less noise. 

@elliottbnewcombjr  I had a Talisman S also! I liked it. Eventually one channel died and I tossed it. By then it was 30 years old.

As for the Jico brush it certainly is damped and they tell you to add 1/2 gram when using it. I am not using it because in my arm it is not needed. I am thinking of removing it entirely.

@lewm The thinking behind he higher tracking forces with modern cartridges in terms of record wear was that the larger contact patches of the styluses would negate any increase in wear, but here we have a cartridge with a very long contact patch that tracks at what is now an insanely low VTF. Record and stylus wear must be a fraction of what is produced by any other cartridge accepting other cartridges of the V15's era with modern stylus profiles. 

I am now listening to Peter Gabriel Plays Live through the Grado Headphones. I suspect the stylus's suspension is breaking in as I have no problem with dynamics playing this record, punchy as heck. My amps are returning this afternoon and I will be able to say more. I also plan on running tracking tests.

So, far two friends have been pleasantly surprised by the V15. Was Shure on to something?