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Model: | V15VxMR |
Category: | Phono Cartridge |
Suggested Retail Price: | $400 |
Description: | Audiophile phono cartridge |
Manufacturer URL: | Shure |
Model Picture: | View |
Review by Marc Bratton (A) on September 17, 2003 at 22:40:58 IP Address: 63.184.64.85 | Add Your Review for the V15VxMR |
My preferred cartridge, the ClearAudio Virtuoso, started bothering me with audible mistracking after only 22 months of use. The more precisely I got the setup, the more my system confirmed that the cartridge was getting old. Not having the $500-$600 to replace it (like a lot of high end MM's these days, its stylus is not user replaceable), I opted for the Shure V15VxMR for several reasons: 1.)Affordability...got if from Music Factory for $199 delivered. 2.)To calibrate my ears again by completely removing any hint of mistracking or coloration from the cartridge. The V15 is a paragon of both trackability and neutrality if nothing else. (3.)I HATE mounting and setting up cartridges!!! It is a royal PITA under the best of circumstances. If it proved I could live with the Shure, I'D NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN! I could just pop in a new stylus when the need arose, and it'd be a lot cheaper to do so, with the stylus exchange program from Shure...like 10 times cheaper than the Virtuoso. No more waiting for the cartridge maker to 'rebuild' your carridge, no more futzing with protractors...this is MAJOR. So, the Shure arrived from The Music Factory. I have to say THE WORST part of the whole job is getting the damn cartridge onto the arm, what with those wretched little nuts and too too short screws. Get a clue, Shure Brothers! The problem was exacerbated with my Morch UP4, which doesn't have a conventional headshell at all, but rather a flat blade on the end of the armwand. The cartridge is affixed to this with a vestigal little finger lift with two screw holes, a lot like the old Well Tempered Record Player arm (why DO I always choose arms like this? Must be a masochistic tendency...) Once I got the damn thing on the arm, it was actually not difficult to get Loefgren alignment and proper offset angle with my trusty WallyTractor. I'm getting ahead of myself here, but if you haven't mounted your Shure with this device, than you haven't heard your Shure yet. Like any cartridge, it benefits from the EXTREMELY precise setup that the Wally Tractor allows you, but this one seems to benefit even more than some, possibly due to its tiny tiny stylus. So I roughed in azimuth and VTA by putting a tiny 9mm float bubble on top of the flat headshell...if you have one of these, you should try this! It works great. After listening I made two minor adjustments to VTA (brought the arm down til the stylus was exactly 90 degrees vertical), and I was there!
The thing that immediately struck me about this cartridge is it sounds smoother than my $800 Virtuoso. Its frequency response is just ruler flat, and it sounds it. There are no peaks and troughs ANYWHERE...what you hear is what's on the record. By comparison, I now realize that the Virtuoso ON MY ARM, IN MY SYSTEM, had a definitely upper midrange peak. This gave it a more 'exciting' sound fer sure, but the Shure is I think more accurate. The 2nd thing that struck me is this thing reigns in dynamic contrasts slightly, compared to the Virtuoso. That's one area where the Virtuoso is an absolute champ. The Shure does NOT sound reigned in or undynamic, only just slightly in comparison to the Virtuoso. Separation? Soundstaging? Space between instruments? The Shure was about as good...its less impressive measurements than the Virtuoso in that regard don't seem to mean much. And trackability! I thought that some end of the record grunge was just part and parcel of pivoted tonearms...I was seriously considering an ET II for that reason.
Now I realize no, it's not part and parcel of pivoted tonearms...just part and parcel of most any other cartridge out there, on a pivoted tonearm. The Shure sounds as sweet and clean at the end of a record as it does in the middle no matter HOW heavily modulated...this is not piddling stuff here, folks! Sibilance? What is that? If your system is spitting at you with the sibilants, you need this cartridge. I've never heard better sibilance control.
Music flows freely, and is always enjoyable to listen to with this cartridge. The sound is precise and detailed without being analytical, warm and relaxed without any coloration. Treble is clean, clear and smooth. Voices are relaxed and natural sounding It also sounds less 'busy' than most any cartridge I've ever heard, because surface noise becomes vanishing low. You get an inkier, blacker background...that's the kind of stuff you usually have to pay big bucks for. But the Shure don't get no respect....a lot of folks in these pages have damned it with faint praise, including moi. I'm wondering now if it's not a self fulfilling prophecy...we tend to recommend it for mid fi or entry level tables, expecting only entry level results...and that's what we get. Mine's on a Teres/Morch UP4, which is in turn sitting on a 150lb slab of granite, and it LIKES IT A LOT! I think the WallyTractor is a major factor in why it sounds so good...as I said before, it benefits immensely from extremely precise setup. It doesn't sound in the least out of place on this table. I've certainly never heard this cartridge sound anywhere near this good, and I've heard it on lots of different tables and arms. It's smoother and easier to listen to than my Virtuoso, not quite as dynamic or 'exciting', not QUITE as much detail or air. But the sound is a lot closer than I would have thought possible. And consider this...our records aren't getting any younger. There is NO cartridge on the planet that is easier on them than the V15V. Period.Think long and hard about that. A word about the stabilizer...I was told the cartridge sounds better without it, and my unipivot wouldn't be able to handle it. Poppycock to both! Yep...dynamics are slightly better without the stabilizer, but everything else is slightly worse, including tracking. And my Morch didn't even burp when it confronted the stabilizer. Besides, the cartridge is designed as a SYSTEM...why mess with it? The stabilizer has the added benefit of cleaning microdust out of the grooves right before the stylus goes thru, and it eliminates static. Once again, this is major. In my system over the years, I've had a LOT of different cartridges. While some of them better the V15 in certain areas, I can't think of a more balanced, listenable and record friendly cartridge among them. I have to give this cartridge as a very safe recommendation. If you just want to listen to records, and not waste any more time futzing with your cartridge setup, this is your cartridge. Will I live with this cartridge long term? Audio slut that I am, maybe, maybe not. But if I don't, it's not the cartridge's fault.
Product Weakness: | Your audioweenie buddies may oust you from their audioweenie circle. Seriously, this cartridge doesn't deliver THE most exciting sound out there. It just fails to get ruffled. I'm wondering now how much 'excitement' might be resonances being 'excited' by stiffer compliance cantilevers....hmmmm? |
Product Strengths: | Listenability, lack of coloration, superb trackability, user friendliness, ease of stylus replacement. |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | Forte 4a Class A |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | AVA T7 with NOS Mullards |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Teres/Morch UP4 |
Speakers: | Magnepan MMG's |
Cables/Interconnects: | DH Labs |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | All kinds |
Room Size (LxWxH): | look it x up x |
Room Comments/Treatments: | see my system |
Time Period/Length of Audition: | this time around...just a few days |
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Brickwall 20 amp |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Your System (if other than home audition): | this cartridge's 'sound' is easy to make..it doesn't have one! |
Follow Ups:
I'm not sure where the Virtuoso fits in among the best cartridges in the $800 price range but surely it's one of the better ones. When I owned I thought it had tremendous dynamics and a powerful bass. Overall it lacked the subtle detail and rhythmic organization of the double the price XX2 but surely it was far better than the several under $400 priced phono cartridges I had previously used.Unfortunately once I found a more expensive TT I liked the realization came that unless a higher quality cartridge is used one will not reap the full benefits of the deck. A $200 cartridge is going to sound more like a $200 cartridge on a better table and a better deck will more readily reveal the advantages of a more expensive cartridge.
Surely the Virtuoso may not be your cup of tea (for whatever reasons) but given your TT I would hope you will consider a better phono cartridge again in the future as it appears the Shure is going to be limiting the performance of your system. Hey if you like it that's cool - but I think you can still do lots better if you try.
Actually, Don I really like the Virtuoso. I think it does better the Shure in terms of dynamics and inner detailing, but in my system, the Shure is smoother and easier to listen to longterm. Actually, since I've got user replaceable armwands, it's not an either/or situation. I can a different cart, install it on a different weight armwand, having fun comparing them. Takes all of 30 seconds to swap out armwands. You may be right about the Shure possibly limiting me right now, but I'd have to 1st get an outboard head amp or a different preamp that allows me use of a MC before I could try the better ones out anyway, so I'm happy for now.
Thanks Marc for sharing your experience with the Shure, although since you are fresh out of the gate with it I imagine your impressions will change once the suspension settles in. Also, since the Morch offers 4 armwands of different masses, may I politely suggest it might be helpful to provide the effective mass of the armwand you are using, if for no other reason than it will help other Morch arm owners with a frame of reference when you refer to yours as a "low mass arm." (Surely you are not running the 13.1g blue dot armwand).Were you able to ascertain the RF of the cartridge in your system vis-a-vis a test record? While it is a high compliance cartridge, I obtained the best results with arms whose effective mass was 10-11 grams.
The Shure, hecho en Mexico, is a great all around cartridge (I have two of them for various reasons), and when asked I always suggest those new to analog consider it over the high output moving coils in the same price range, if for no other reason than the Shure does not distort high frequency information contained in heavily modulated grooves. Meaning it is a far better cartridge than many for large scale orchestral music. Plus, it is a good tracker and an excellent one for its price (I have seen far better, but at much higher price points).
The only drawbacks outside of potential species variations/QC issues are its "okay" ch separation, an inability to resolve low level detail and its laid back overall presentation, one where high frequency transients get lost. But none of this is hidden from potential buyers! Even the "x" in the model designation is used to indicate that it is voiced on the warm side of neutral - a really nice feature if that is what the system calls for (and your Maggies, with their peaky treble, do!).
This is the interesting thing about cartridges in general - they are all tone controls in that each of their response curves are different from one another. Yes, this can be a subtle distinction, but one certainly hears the differences, hence the diversity.
I still think it is the best all around cartridge in its price range, with its closest competition from Grado (but that is a whole 'nutha set of variables!).
Thanks for posting your very nice review.
Thanks Goyescas for the Music Factory tip! I'm using the Morch red dot armwand. I don't know it's effective mass, but I can tell you it is THE right armwand for this cartridge! Somebody in these pages wrote that when they used the Morch-recommended green dot armwand (the lightest one), they couldn't get any bass out of it. Well I'm here to tell ya I'm getting deep bass out the wazoo with this cart and armwand! In fact, it clearly betters my Virtuoso with that same armwand. This is no surprise, as Morch recommends my red dot with that cartridge. It has been my experience that whatever Morch recommends, go the next armwand up heavier, you'll get much better performance...so I probably should've been using the yellow dot with the Virtuoso. Vertical and horizontal resonance points are 8-10Hz with the Shure; with the Virtuoso, they were a bit high at 14-15Hz. And you're right about the Maggie treble, but that's another story. I tend to think of it as demanding/revealing of any flaws upstream of them, which they indeed are. Regards...
At last! Asituation with 14 Hz! Ilike that! Hmmm.... Cousy stability! A little above 10Hz is better I think! Did you ever read a paper about this issue written by Poul Laadegaard of Denmark? If factory affroves I'll get to let it publish at some forum.
Marc, glad you had the right armwand! I too mounted a V15VxMR on the red dot precision with similar results, although I am going to give the green armwand a whirl to attempt to deconstruct the logic used by the tonearm mfg when suggesting this very light armwand over the others (probably based on the high compliance of the cartridge).
I've had a couple of these over the years on VPI and Micro Seiki tables. They have a nice balance and track great!...nothing to be embarrased about. Enjoy. Regards, Jerry O.
Yes, I think it is definite that the Shure likes low mass arms like my Morch a lot better than most medium mass arms. Where'd I get the bubbles? There was a guy advertising 'em over at Audiogon awhile back...think it was $27.00 for 4 of 'em, so I popped for 4 of them.
They look cool, sitting at each corner of my granite slab. Wish I could remember his handle...try looking under 'accessories'. Far as the price goes, there's a little pop up on the page with the Shure on it...something like 'get a quote'. You click it, they email you a confirmation number and quote. You have to use that number at checkout to get that price. Why all the mystery I'm not...Shure.
Nice review. I'm currently running a Shure V15Vxmr on an OL modified Rega RB250. I agree with everything you say about the cart's tracking and neutrality - I also got the cart I find any mistracking intolerable and I was fed up with the tracking distortion I was hearing with my Grado Sonata and Benz Glider (which, in fact, turned out to be defective). The Shure is a great cart for the money, and an excellent backup cart, or cart for a second system.However, I find that I'm not willing to live permanently with this cart, primarily because of the lack of detail and because of the poor reproduction of spatial cues -- it just tends to 'flatten' out the music. This is true despite careful setup with a Wallytractor and playing around with VTA. On my system, the stabilizer brush made this weakness worse (in fact, any damping made this worse - I have a Townshend TT, and I ended up removing the damping trough with this cart). It's possible that what I'm hearing is due in part to a less than ideal match between the Shure and my Rega arm - which is really a bit heavier than the Shure would like to see. If your Morch has a low mass armtube, this might possibly explain why you got better results.
The dynamics should improve after 50 hours or so. I hate to admit it, but have tried the V15 twice and either never got it dialed in or broke in properly.
The first time it was replaced with an Ortofon OM-40, the second time a Sumiko BP. Both times I feel the sonics were more enjoyable after swapping. The Shure did seem very balanced, but the dynamics were reduced. But a friend was having the same issue with a new one. After a month it opened up and started delivering all the goods.
thanks for coming to your senses in time to enjoy it's quality. a well done to you both.
I am sorely tempted to upgrade my old shure M91 to this or the M97. The things you like in this are the things I like in my M91, so it is nice to think that an upgrade would not be detract from the Shure virtues of my antique! The cost here in the UK is about double you guys pay though. None of the Shure dealers will ship here either which is a real drag. Guess I need to just keep saving for a bit, or stop buying records ;-(Cheers
US$199 delieved is truely a great price. But I seem not be able to find it on their web site (http://www.musicfactory.com).
I would also like to find a 9mm level. I have a Moerch UP-4 as well. I am using an Allearts Eco-1 cartridge.
I like the bubble level idea for roughing in Azimuth, but my Kuzma Stogi S doesn't offer much flat headshell real estate. But a 9 mm float bubble seems tiny, where does one find one?What's the stylus shape again? I too have been longing for a tangential tracker, as the stylus on the 901 is quite particular about alignment.
it's a micro-ridge
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