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The Shure V15 V with a Jico SAS/B stylus VS The Soundsmith Hyperion MR and Lyra Atlas SL

On a sentimental lark I purchased two Shure V15 V bodies and one SAS/B stylus. I was always a realistic about the Shure's potential. Was comparing it to $10k+ cartridges fair? Absolutely. The Shure was considered to be one of the best cartridges of the day. Why not compare it to a few of the best we have today?

The Shure has always been considered to be unfailingly neutral. Famous recording engineers have said it sounded most like their master tapes. I do not have an original stylus for the Shure and I can not say that the Jico performs as well. 

My initial evaluation was quite positive. It worked wonderfully well in the Shroder CB. With a light mounting plate and small counterbalance weight a resonance point of 8 hz was easily achieved. There was nothing blatantly wrong with the sound. There was no mistracking at 1.2 grams. You can see pictures of all these styluses here https://imgur.com/gallery/stylus-photomicrographs-51n5VF9 

After listening to a bunch of favorite evaluation records my impression was that the Shure sounded on the thin side, lacking in the utmost dynamic impact with just a touch of harshness. I listened to the Shure only for four weeks as my MC phono stage had taken a trip back to the factory. I was using the MM phono stage in the DEQX Pre 8, designed by Dynavector. I have used it with a step up transformer and know it performs well. I got my MC stage back last week and cycled through my other cartridges then back to the Shure. The Soundsmith and Lyra are much more alike than different. I could easily not be able to tell which one was playing. The Lyra is the slightest touch darker. The Shure is a great value....for $480 in today's money, but it can not hold a candle to the other cartridges. They are more dynamic, smoother and quieter. They are more like my high resolution digital files. Whether or not they are $10,000 better is a personal issue. Did the DEQX's phono stage contribute to this lopsided result? Only to a small degree if any. I do have two Shure bodies and they both sound exactly the same. The Shure may have done better with a stock stylus. I do not think the age of the bodies contributes to this result at all. 

128x128mijostyn
richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
108 posts
 

@mijostyn 

"I cannot imagine owning a speaker that could be so easily blown. In my hands it would not last 5 minutes. There is no excuse for a speaker to be so fragile. The materials exist today that can be used to make a totally bullet proof ESL panel. They existed back in 1978! Jim Strickland made a bullet proof panel back then. I can rap the diaphragms against the stators without any damage. The transformers are the elements that are potentially fragile particularly with amps that are clipping. I have blown amps and transformers but never the speaker itself"

No, in your hands they probably would not last 5 minutes, but you would really have to try hard to beat the protection circuits.  My two pairs of Quads have lasted about 20 years each before needing repair, which is much better than my bullet-proof Krell amplifier.

Yes, you can rap the mylar against the stators, but be aware that when powered, and for some time after switching off, the mylar carries 5.25-kV.  The stators carry no voltage until a signal is applied, but then can be fatal.  I always keep one hand in a pocket when near the high tension bits!

Unfortunately there is no Aussie distributor for Sound Labs.

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 

Yes of course music lovers are not always audiophiles…and same for converse. A nice jab that didn’t land with any tympanic solidity with me… Of course, i’ve heard at some length the larger Quad you mentioned… when they work… Displaced by Apogee Caliper - Signature driven by a sweet sounding and quite modest Accuphase… in a lovely acoustic space chock a block full of Core Audio Design acoustical treatments… Fun

Enjoy the music

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 

@mijostyn ya the physics of TRYING to fill holes is tough on amplifiers… 

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

@mijostyn The HD - 3P is not a Super Tweeter in the usual description.

To me from my experiences had of a large range of Cabinet Speakers that can be models that extend toward the £20K+ purchase area and a handful of £40Kish Speakers.

The HD-3P used in the way I am quite familiar with is a Tweeter that produces Mid - Upper Frequency that is extremely attractive and wanted to be readily available to experience. 

That is more than enough for my needs. 

lewm
13,025 posts
 

Here they give the specs for the DH-3P, showing a frequency response pretty flat between 4500 and down -6db at 37kHz. Drops off pretty fast below 4500Hz. For me, the term "midrange" makes me think 500 to 2000Hz. But the definition is plastic.

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