@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.
The Jico SAS/B Stylus VN 5 MR
The $285 Jico SAS/B VN 5 MR for the Shure V15 V MR turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. The diamond is a distinctly lower quality than what you find in $10K cartridges, but the contact patches are well formed and nicely polished which is what counts. SRA and Zenith are right on. You can compare it with other styluses here https://imgur.com/gallery/stylus-photomicrographs-51n5VF9. The next question is going to be, how does the V15 SAS/B combination sound? It sounds like the record, nothing less, nothing more. This is through my Grado headphones as my amps are off being modified to run with ESLs. My sense is it is not quite as dynamic as my other cartridges, but I really have to listen through the main system. I will add to this post as I hear more. One thing is for certain, this is one heck of a cartridge for $485, a bargain of immense proportion. It sounds very much like my old Soundsmith Voice a $3000 cartridge, but it tracks like a bandit at 1.2 grams.
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V15Vx bodies are hard to find, V15V bodies a bit easier, upgrading a M97xe body is an option, get an advanced stylus shape on Shure’s optional use anti-static damped brush. Jico makes a replacement stylus for Shure’s M97xe body, SAS on Boron with brush, just like the one for the V15Vxmr body mentioned here. It’s very close to the V15Vxmr performance and sound for less total money (body and stylus combined). The question/difference is Shure’s anti-static/damped brush and what Jico’s brush is/does regarding anti-static (they wrote me in 2020 not anti-static), and damping, (they wrote me unlike dynamic stabilizer). My rebuild of broken 97xe shure stylus by Steve at VAS keeping Shure’s brush, luckily fits both my M97xe and V15Vxmr bodies. .................................. Imaging, Lighter Tracking Sound is subjective, imaging specs are measurable, I only consider cartridges with high imaging specs, then sound preferred? (I think preferred, not better) Differing magnet materials/designs: the achieved output is measurable/comparable, keep an eye on signal strength, the relationship of coil impedance, and, for some arms, keep an eye on cartridge weight, light tracking performance combined with larger contact area relates to both groove tracing fidelity, groove life, and stylus life, the tracking force is applied to a much larger surface area when using an advanced stylus shape, and the advanced shapes get deeper into the grooves of used LPs, which need to be properly/vigorously cleaned JICO contact surface specs, um2 (squared) whatever that is, are revealing by % comparison, indicate their S.A.S. is different than what AT says are all variations of Shibata’s patented shape: Shibata/Line Contact/Micro Linear elliptical: 20.6 um2 Line Contact 46.7 um2 (more than twice the contact area of elliptical S.A.S. 62.1 um2 (more than 3 times elliptical/50% more than Line Contact. Soundsmith’s Stylus Life Expectancy chart is based on info from JICO, and the S.A.S. has the longest average life expectancy in the chart Wear, Tear and LifeSo we know that the more extreme line contacts reduce wear.... but what is the difference? Apparently according to Jico (manufacturer of the highly regarded SAS stylus), the amount of playing time where a stylus will maintain its specified level of distortion at 15kHz is as follows:
This is not to say that at 500 hrs a SAS stylus is "worn out" - but at that stage the wear has reached the point where distortion at 15kHz surpasses the level specified by Jico for a new stylus. (Which I believe is 3%).
......................................... my cartridges AT33PTG/II Moving Coil MicroLinear on Boron tracks at 2.0g, has the best imaging specs: 30db channel separation/0.5db channel balance. Sumiko Talisman S Moving Coil, line contact on sapphire tube: track 2.0g; also great/tightest imaging: sep 30db/0.5db bal The Shure Moving Magnets track lighter, but slightly less imaging excellence: V15Vxmr tracks 1.0g; sep 25db/bal 1.5db 97xe sep tracks 1.25g; 25db/bal 2.0db Audio Technica Moving Magnets AT440ml tracks 1.25g, sep 30db/bal 0.75db (use mostly in my office system) current version AT540ml tracks at 2.0g; sep 28db; bal 1.0db AT14Sa, shibata on tapered aluminum track 1.25g; sep 27db/bal 1.0db ATTR485U Shibata/Line Contact tracks 1.25g; sep 31db/bal 1.0 db It’s a P Mount I use on a Sony Front Loading Drawer Type TT in my Garage/Shop system. MONO AT33PTG Mono, rebuilt stylus by Steve at VAS, now advanced large surface area stylus on boron tracks at 2.0g Grado Mono Elliptical tracks at 1.5g
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If you’re selecting cartridges to any degree based on “channel separation” , you ought to take into account the frequency dependency of that spec. Typically companies give a single data point for separation at 1kHz, where for most cartridges separation is maximal. But our sense of the stereo image derives from the average of all frequencies where the higher frequencies dominate and bass frequencies are much less directional. Companies like Shure used to provide curves showing stereo separation at all audio frequencies for each sample of one of their cartridges. Then too, azimuth can mess things up with crosstalk. Anyway, that single data point is almost meaningless. |
lewm "Typically companies give a single data point for separation at 1kHz, where for most cartridges separation is maximal. ... Anyway, that single data point is almost meaningless." Quite meaningful when revealing what amount of maximum separation is achieved, or NON-ACHIEVED is how I use the numbers the TIGHT channel balance is very important regarding imaging, lack of wander, and the overtones of the fundamentals are important. "Important frequencies
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@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. |
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