Shure V15 III Needle Advice

[Thomo]

Hi. I have been given a Technics SL120, SME S3 Arm and a Shure V15 III cartridge.

It really sounds pretty good, having been in storage for 20 years or so.

I think the needle is starting to give up now, does anyone know where I can get a replacement, preferably in the UK?

I have found this one:
http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc...de=SHVN35HESAS

but I'm unsure whether it's any good or over-priced as it's not an original Shure.

Any help will be greatly appreciated,

Lee.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Looks a bit expensive, but then the V15 always was!.

A quick google though (for V15 stylus) finds much more reasonable UK prices.

http://www.stylusplus.co.uk/shure-st...ge-2-102-c.asp

[sreten]

Hi,

The SAS stylus is in a completely different quality league to a generic
cheapo replacement stylus, and the SAS is actually good value.

On a budget :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ELLIPTICAL-DIAMO...QQcmdZViewItem

/sreten.

[Thomo]

Thanks for your help guys. I reckon I'll go for that ebay one for now, and then after xmas I may splash out on the SAS one.

Just out of interest, how do the V15's compare with todays cartridges? Would I have to spend much to better it?

Cheers,

Lee.

[KP11520]

Hi Thomo,

I had the V-15 III for many (22) years and replaced it with a M97xE after seeing the price of the replacement stylus.

What a mistake! In my opinion, like comparing oranges to lemons.
The V-15 was the oranges of course. Don't waste money on the budget stylus.

You might check the AT440MLA but the Shure V-15 III will probably get more people saying they prefer it! It was a great cartridge and an incredible value.

Good luck!

Regards//Keith

[Panicos K]

Sreten,the one you saw on e-bay is not actually SAS.Jico in Japan makes two grades of typeIII styli,one of them is the SAS(a kind of micro-ridge shaped one) and it is quite expensive.The other is a ''standard''low cost.I have not heard the SAS but I have heard the standard one,and all I can say is that compared to the original Shure stylus I would rate its sound with 60%.Actually it is a waste of money and time.I would advice Thomo to try and find a new old stock original stylus,although they sell at quite high prices these days,or,follow KP11520's advice and go for something new.

[Thomo]

Hi Panikos k.

Thanks for your advice. Can you recommend anything that will give a similar or better performance than the V15 please? I know that you can buy a good cartridge nowadays for a couple of hundred pounds/euros, but will they be as good?

Regards,

Lee.

[SY]

I'm sorry but modern cartridges will absolutely waste the V15-III. I owned one back in the day, used both elliptical and conical, and and it was a very good cartridge given the choices back then, albeit ridiculously critical of loading and arm. At that time, I used the Shure and a Decca 4RC- both had great virtues and great flaws. But now? No way. Retro fashion, not performance.

And I'd run like crazy away from any OS or NOS styli for it. Even sealed in a box, the rubber suspension/damping has irreparably deteriorated. These are OLD! Think of what a 30 year old tire found in the back of a garage would be like today.

[Panicos K]

Hello Lee,
Frankly,if you liked the sound of your typeIII,I think you will miss it very much with something else.If I were in your place(and I have been...),I would try to pick-up a couple of original typeIII replacements in good condition or NOS,and keep enjoying the typeIII.Yes,the price might be quite high sometimes,but as you said,you might get a new cartridge at an equally high price and not like it.I'm sure that with a little patience,you will get one.They appear quite often on e-bay,that's where I got mine a couple of months ago.Good luck.

[Panicos K]

Hello SY,
I mostly agree with you.I had a type IV stylus and its suspension became hard loosing all of its elasticity,and I bought a perfect NOS typeIII,so a bit of patience and luck are needed.The sound part,can be of cource a personal matter.I have ''better'' cartridges than my typeIII,but some of the things the typeIII does,I find it hard to beat.Even with the ''closest''effort that is a typeIII copy,you simply can't come close to the III performance.And,as you said and I agree,some drawbacks are certainly there.If we suppose that Thomo manages to get a NOS typeIII for $150,I cannot recommend anything to him that can even think of coming close to the type III performance.
Thomo,if you have the chance,try to listen to the Dynavector 10X5.It is a high output MC,with an elliptical stylus,about the dimensions of the Shure,it has a smooth and clear sound and to my opinion one of the best low cost cartridges today with a very acceptable nude highly polished tip.