...for my Pioneer PL-518. Darn, I like the cheap AT that was already on the table better! The reviews that say the Shure is dull and boring sounding are right on the money, for tastes at least. I should have gotten an AT 120e instead. Oh well, live and learn...

How long have you allowed it to be broken in?

I have only listened to it for about 20 mins. all together. I couldn't stand to listen to it for any longer! I know it needs to break in, but the general voicing is not to my liking. Does the voicing change with break in?

How long have you allowed it to be broken in?

Bingo! I was less than thrilled with the M97xE on my PL-560 until maybe 70 - 100 hours. Since that point it's just getting better and better.

John

...for my Pioneer PL-518. Darn, I like the cheap AT that was already on the table better! The reviews that say the Shure is dull and boring sounding are right on the money, for tastes at least. I should have gotten an AT 120e instead. Oh well, live and learn...

We may be just a few who think the same about this highly regarded cart.
I used it in a couple of run of the mill turntables and waited for the break in.Mixed feelings on the sound, no better than the no name AT carts that was in use.
I picked up a Sansui SR-535 locally because I wanted to try a fully automatic table. Removed the stock Sansui SC50 cart and put the Shure in the headshell and was hoping for good results.Disappointing!! It sounded just about what you described.Very constricted.Put the SC50 back in and it was like someone opened a window,the sound was open and airy.Kept the SC50 and sold the Shure.

The Shure, like most, will require a break in time. I have the Shure that at first I was disappointed with it. But I read that it needed to break in to get better, and thats what happened. I now use it in my main system Technics SL-1400 and like it alot. I want to say it took 25-45 hours to get good.

I've experienced similar dissapointment on a Pioneer Pl-518 and Dual 1229Q. Prefer My old Shure 91e with new stylus or my old Empire 2000 to the 97XE. Price was right, makes a good backup, I suppose.

I find the M97xE does a lot of things well, like superb tracking, undistorted sound, and giving a very natural voice to instruments; the latter I believe is a result of its smooth frequency response curve, which has no major dips or peaks. The curve does, however, slant down by about three decibels between 1500 and 15000 cycles per second, at which point it drops away pretty quickly. Compared with about any AT, which I've always perceived as a bit bright, the M97xE will have a less energetic high end. I find the sound unstressed, relaxing, and musically engaging. Subjectively, I'm left with the sense that I'm hearing the music just as the recording engineer intended.

I had the same initial response on the M97 when compared to a well broken in AT-440ML OCC. I ran the M97 on an auto TT over night a couple of times (on an LP I use for testing TTs) until it had about 30-40 hours on it. I was somewhat skeptical about the whole "break-in" thing so I deliberately did not listen to it during this process. Afterwards, I did detect a noticeable improvement.

It is still has a very warm sound compared to the 440 with a "rolled off" high end. I use the 440 most of the time - I like the wide frequency response on most of my LPs. However, I have some LPs that just sound better with the M97 - too bright with the 440. The Shure really tames them down and sounds far more natural than the 440. The elliptical vs Line Contact stylus may have some effect here. So, for me, it has its place in my system.

G'day all. Thedibsch, please have a read of my observations re the M97xE towards the end of this article.

I suspect that in particular, your shunt loading capacitance is probably too high! Do you have any way of checking on this with a capacitance meter? http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/vinyl07.html Regards, Felix aka catman.

G'day all. Thedibsch, please have a read of my observations re the M97xE towards the end of this article.

I suspect that in particular, your shunt loading capacitance is probably too high! Do you have any way of checking on this with a capacitance meter? http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/vinyl07.html Regards, Felix aka catman.
I was going to post essentially what Felix did; the M97xE is quite sensitive to capacitive loading, and also responds well to a modest increase in resistance.

...for my Pioneer PL-518. Darn, I like the cheap AT that was already on the table better! The reviews that say the Shure is dull and boring sounding are right on the money, for tastes at least. I should have gotten an AT 120e instead. Oh well, live and learn...

Tradeja......

Cheers,

David

I was going to post essentially what Felix did; the M97xE is quite sensitive to capacitive loading, and also responds well to a modest increase in resistance.

The OP, if I've read his past posts correctly, is using older Pioneer or Kenwood receivers. How would a person go about making these kinds of changes with such equipment?

The OP, if I've read his past posts correctly, is using older Pioneer or Kenwood receivers. How would a person go about making these kinds of changes with such equipment?

I think the OP mentioned he has the cart installed on a PL-518 but I don't remember seeing a reference to the rest of his system. You do bring up an interesting point, however. How do you adjust cartridge loading?

I've got an old Pioneer integrated, an SA-8500 II. It has an adjustment for cartridge loading with settings for 100, 200, 300 & 400 pF but I wonder how reliable that is. Won't you have way too many extraneous variables like the tone arm wires and interconnects?

I've got mine set at 200 since, as I recall, Shure recommends 250 pF. Also, and please excuse my ignorance, what's the best way to achieve the recommended 47 (or 62) kOhms capacitance?

And what does one do if they don't have an adjustable phono stage?

John

G'day mate, well in that case if stuck with 47 k, then ensuring that the (cable) shunt capacitance is in the recommended range along with tonearm wiring and preamp input capacitance is the only option, and yes it really does make a difference!

I recall doing my own evaluations with a sine wave test record, my Sennheiser stereo headphones and some small value capacitors, and as the overall shunt capacitance approached 250 picofarads the upper treble improved nicely.

I still think that raising the resistive input impedance is preferable as I've done with my DIY phono stages, but failing that, optimised capacitance loading is the 'way to go'. A capacitance meter is a very useful accessory!

Boreas: 47 K is the 'resistance' value but the shunt capacitance interacts with the cartridge coil inductance to form an 'electrical resonance' which extends the upper treble response. For this reason getting the right value of shunt capacitance is important. Too much or little shunt capacitance will cause the upper treble to roll off audibly. Regards, Felix aka catman.

Great info about "tuning" Felix! :thmbsp:

Doug

Loading a cartridge properly on vintage gear can require a combination of test equipment, nerve and technical skills.
A DMM with capacitance function can be used to read our system. Unplug the cartridge then use the meter to measure capacitance from the RCA plug end of the output cables. Next connect the meter to the phono input of your receiver (or preamp or integrated amp) and measure the capacitance and resistance of the input circuit. Add the two capacitances and you will have the total capacitive load. The resistance of the tonearm wires and output cables should be insignificant, so just use the resistance you read.
If you desire to change the resistance, and if you're lucky, your input will have an adjustable phono input resistance like my Luxman, so you can just dial in what you need. If it's not adjustable, you can solder a resistor of the desired additional value in series with the phono jacks. It can be added in the amp or in the cable, at your discretion.
If you desire to change the capacitance, you will find some amps (and some turntables) that have the option to dial in additional capacitance. Unfortunately, most loadings require you to reduce capacitance. The simplest way to do this is to change your phono interconnect cable to a lower capacitance cable, though this can require soldering the new cable to your turntable output. The alternative method to lower capacitance is to add a capacitor in series with your phono cable (capacitors in series are inversely additive, like resistances in parallel). Use the best quality audio grade capacitor you can find if you go this route.

The final alternative for tweaking your M97xE is to buy a different cartridge that's not so sensitive to loading...

catman - just perused thru your link, am going to go back now and read it in earnest - good articles - thanks

To follow up, I just don't have the time/patience to start load matching a cart., unfortunately.

I listen primarily to '70s classic hard rock and '80s metal/hair bands, and '70s prog rock (Rush, Yes, etc.)

Here is the system at the moment, which I left out in the OP...

Kenwood KR-5400 receiver
Pioneer SX-737 receiver
Pioneer PL-518 table
AR XA
Realistic LAB-2100 linear tracker with new Grado black.
Advent Heritage speakers
Polk SDA II speakers
EPI T/E100 speakers
Paradigm Reference Studio 20 speakers
Marantz CD-63SE cd player

I think I am going to give the Shure one more listen, then I think I will sell it and get a AT 120.

I think I am going to give the Shure one more listen, then I think I will sell it and get a AT 120.

Much as I like the M97xE, if you can make the switch relatively painlessly you might as well. Life's too short to spend much time on something you know you don't like. I'm not terribly hard to please when it comes to cartridges, having found something to appreciate in just about everything I've purchased and using them til I'd worn out at least one stylus. A notable exception was the fairly well regarded Goldring 1012; it just didn't do it for me. I kept trying to like it for two months, but that was two months too long.

Edit: I liked seeing the EPI speakers on your list. I bought a pair of EPI 100's in 1976 and enjoyed those speakers for eight years. I've always liked an eight inch, two-way design, having also spent about 20 years with a pair of Linn Saras and now enjoying some Vandersteen 1C's.

The other day, for $#!+$ and giggles, I swapped out the N97xE stylus on an M97xE for a Pfanstiehl 4767-DE (N95ED). It's a .2 x .7 Mil Elliptical. Well guess what? No more boring M97xE. It sounds much better, this cartridge actually has some balls. It's as accurate but with more chutzpah.
OK, so now I'm really curious..:scratch2:..so I snipped off the side tabs of an LPGear (Jico) N75HE Type 2 stylus and tried it with the M97xE body....WOW...now we're talking big balls. :thmbsp: Very lively and much more forward than the stock M97xE. I have pics but I'm running Vista Ultimate 64bit and there is no driver for my camera as of yet. :thumbsdn:

Later
____________
Matthew

The M97 seems to be a hobbiest cartridge in that it can be made into a lot of things - see all the above. It got me to spend hundreds of $$ getting my old Pioneer Integrated serviced and tuned up so I could chase Catmans observations. I'll get that back next month and will post results of testing as I'll have both cap and inductive loading selections.

In any case, I'd leave it mounted and set it aside. As is with the brush, it's a great tracker for use in test playing unknown used thrift store vinyl. With load selections it will improve. With other styli it will change. Styli are 1/2 the sound equation. So it's not worth selling, better to keep. But that is not to say it'll get a ton of arm time. I have 16 or so other cartridges, and the M97 has to have a reason to be on there. There are LPs that dictate it as best choice and when that happens, it's a good tool to have in the box :)

I too was a little disappointed in the 97xE when I first installed it. However, the more I play it, the better it sounds. It's now in rotation with several others on my PL-9 and I've got a second 97 that I'll be mounting on my Dual 1229.

I like the cart and the price is right, in my opinion.

Today, I tried the N97xE stylus with an R25XT body. Almost sounds like the stock M97xE but with slightly less detail. :boring: Maybe the N97xE stylus is the culprit. I'm using a Yamaha pre that allows 47k ~ 100pF; 47k ~ 220pF; and 100k ~ 100pF. 100k ~ 100pF sounded better.


______________
Matthew

Today, I tried the N97xE stylus with an R25XT body. Almost sounds like the stock M97xE but with slightly less detail. :boring: Maybe the N97xE stylus is the culprit. I'm using a Yamaha pre that allows 47k ~ 100pF; 47k ~ 220pF; and 100k ~ 100pF. 100k ~ 100pF sounded better.


______________
Matthew
You are discovering that it is the stylus primarily that determines the sound quality and specs of a cartridge. That is why the M97xE body sounded better with the N95ED stylus. And why the R25XT with the N97xE stylus is less exciting. The bodies were virtually the same. Just different plastic parts.

I aree...life is too short! I had a Shure like yours for about a month...gone, gone, GONE!

Sell it and get something else that will trip your trigger...lots of cartridges out there under $200 that will make you sit up and take notice....and that's what it sounds like you want in a cartridge: action! Me, too, hence the Shure is just a faded memory.....until I read posts like yours.

You are discovering that it is the stylus primarily that determines the sound quality and specs of a cartridge. That is why the M97xE body sounded better with the N95ED stylus. And why the R25XT with the N97xE stylus is less exciting. The bodies were virtually the same. Just different plastic parts.

Yes Howard, absolutely. I understand how important the stylus..ie, the shape of the diamond, impacts the quality of sound reproduction. I can spend all night experimenting with cart/stylus combinations :screwy: I wonder, like many others, why Shure doesn't offer we the consumer, more stylus options for the M97xE body. I bet that the M97xE paired with a JICO SAS is a killer combination. Maybe next month :D

__________
Matthew

Interesting thread. I just picked up a M97xe. I will do a full break in however. It's got to be better than the Ortofon LM10 I have on mine now. I hope.

I aree...life is too short! I had a Shure like yours for about a month...gone, gone, GONE!

Sell it and get something else that will trip your trigger...lots of cartridges out there under $200 that will make you sit up and take notice....and that's what it sounds like you want in a cartridge: action! Me, too, hence the Shure is just a faded memory.....until I read posts like yours.

Big Mac, I've always been fond of Shure carts. I have a number of Shure carts and stylii plus an M7D that needs a stylus :thmbsp: I just love mucking around with components...:nerd:

_______________
Matthew

G'day all. Great point on the stylus importance Howard. Perhaps Shure should investigate this aspect as an upgrade for the M97xE. Regards, Felix aka catman.

As and aside, nice avatar Hoodie. Pats rock and so does Bill.

Perhaps Shure should investigate this aspect as an upgrade for the M97xE.
That's a good one. Don't bet on Shure investing one cent more in hi-fi cartridges. They have all but bowed out of that market.

As and aside, nice avatar Hoodie. Pats rock and so does Bill.

Amen brother :thmbsp::thmbsp:

Well I tried my new Shure M97xe tonight, replacing a Ortofon LM 10. It seemed to deliver better bass, and highs than my Ortofon...but to be honest, I spent 2 hours trying to get rid of the surface noise.

The Shure gave me a ton more surface noise than the LM10...to the point I just took the Shure off. I trippled checked all the settings, including cartridge alignment.

Any suggestions? I had a low end Stanton..and it didn't deliver a ton of surface noise. Or is this to be expected when I move to a higher end cart.

G'day mate, well this could be the expected result, however there are other possibilities as well. Is the stylus picking up considerable 'gunk' during play? If so, this could be an indication of incorrect overhang (based on personal experience). I presume you have the supplied Shure two point protractor, then please have a read of this http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/vinyl07.html

Another possibility is the cable shunt capacitance resonating with the coil inductance and causing a resonant peak at some treble frequency, causing record noise to be exaggerated. This also happened to me! The optimum overall (everything included) shunt capacitance for the M97xE is around 250 picofards. The article shows the possibilities. http://www.hagtech.com/loading.html Regards, Felix aka catman.

Thanks Felix, appreciate the info. I'll have a read of both and give it another go. Cheers.

EDIT: In between tracks and during the play, when I listen closely it is picking up what sounds like bass artifacts/rumbles.

I see a number of un-documented issues in this thread:

- Folks are reporting results without describing the details of their TT setups.
- I see some folks who are reporting results with vintage turntables that are ~30 years of age.
- I see some folks who are reporting results of their swapping of stylii in one rig.
- I see some excellent recommendations for how to go about adjusting loading.
- I see some folks using ~30 year old phono sections in vintage amps with no idea of their level of restoration.

This will surely cause all sorts of confusion since there are too many variables involved to draw solid conclusions of the Shure cartridge. Earlier, I posted that I'd trade someone out for an M97 as I suspect it is a good performer _in_ a well-restored preamp, _in_ a properly restored vintage turntable, and _with_ the proper loading characteristics.

For those stuggling with cart loading:

- Vintage TT: swap out your interconnect cables as the foam inside them has collapsed or changed characteristics. Don't go by the original capacitance specs as that is no longer valid.

- Vintage phono sections in vintage amps: Get them updated first. The power supplies and coupling caps gotta go.

- Setup: Clean up the contacts from the cart connections on back to the Phono section.

Then, I'll listen to opinions. I _know_ the Shure will work ok even if Shure isn't investing in R&D anymore. Once you get the above done, then swapping stylii into the basic body will probably yield more repeatable results.

BTW, I still stand behind my offer: Trade an AT 120E for their new Shure M97 if they don't like it.

Cheers,

David

Fair enough. I'm not giving up on mine. Based on Felix's links, I have more work to do on the install.

But just for specifics...


Dual 704 (I have not cracked it open to replace the RCA cables yet) so it has the stock cables
Receiver: Onkyo TX-5000
Speakers: Avid 102's


I had anti-skating set to 1.25, and Stylus pressure set to 1.25. However, I did increase it to 1.75 with the dynamic stabilizer down, which seemed to address some of the noise.

I have it mounted in an ELAC 50H and could not be happier with the sound. I know it's a heavy arm but the stabilizer brush helps with that. I did all the alignments I could think of and there it was. It sounds beautiful.
I have a V15 Type III in another table and was not expecting anything poor from the 97xE. And at that price, man how can you go wrong. All this talk of dead sound and neutral and no life just ain't true. It has impressed me from day one. Rich full bass, clear mids and very tame and detailed highs. Its not a Denon DL-160 but its a Shure! :thmbsp:

A ringing cartridge would give lots of bass and be very noisy on the top end.

dshoaf, you have a PM...

i have 1,i feel the same way,,,don't think i'll be getting a 2nd one...

See the thing is that with the brush down (and this IS THE ONLY cartridge with a good stabilizer brush), even on a heavy arm this cartridge will track with most of the best. If it has some mass to play against and tracking force is set high enough (1.75 with brush good :)), and records are clean, it should be pretty quiet.

That's relative as this is a hi-fi cartridge and it will bring out highs in the music and surface scratches. If surface noise is an issue, you need to swap to a cartridge like an AT440MLa that will run a bit deeper and get around that. That's not a cartridge issue, it's a mechanical thing - diamond shape & size vs groove condition.

Well I gave it another go this evening. I read Felix's links 3x. Same result, a ton of surface noise. Keep in mind I'm coming from a Ortofon LM10 cart/stylus that may not go as deep as the Shure.

My setup is probably best described as mid-fi. TX-5000 receiver/preamp, Dual 704 and a pair of Avid 102's.

I asked a hi-fi friend to double check all my work later this week, as I'm not giving up on the Shure. Hopefully he can come over in the next couple of days.

I've had the chance to listen to this cartridge on several turntables. The best one was a Technics SP-10 MK II on a huge radio station type base, SAE gear and a pair of Electro Voice studio monitors of some kind.

No doubt it was clear and such...but, I couldn't help feeling underwhelmed. Here I was sitting in an acoustically tuned radio station studio with a pair of proper professional monitors...listening to a few of my favourite albums this cart I've heard so much about on a rock solid direct drive...and "anemic" was the first thing that came to mind. "Boring" was the second. It tracked lumpy discs with ease and all that but, I went home and listened to the same stuff on the Ortofon OM10 I was using at the time...much more alive. Breathy. Based on these experiences I generally recommend the Grado Black to people who are buying something in this range.

I've had the chance to listen to this cartridge on several turntables. The best one was a Technics SP-10 MK II on a huge radio station type base, SAE gear and a pair of Electro Voice studio monitors of some kind.

No doubt it was clear and such...but, I couldn't help feeling underwhelmed. Here I was sitting in an acoustically tuned radio station studio with a pair of proper professional monitors...listening to a few of my favourite albums this cart I've heard so much about on a rock solid direct drive...and "anemic" was the first thing that came to mind. "Boring" was the second. It tracked lumpy discs with ease and all that but, I went home and listened to the same stuff on the Ortofon OM10 I was using at the time...much more alive. Breathy. Based on these experiences I generally recommend the Grado Black to people who are buying something in this range.

I can understand your experience but I wouldn't expect it to sound any better mainly because you still don't know how the cart was matched (loading, etc) to the phono preamp in the radio station's setup. So, we're still dealing with experiences rather than apples-to-apples comparisons. \

At least you did have the same recorded material, which is a bit step forward.

Cheers,

David

No doubt it was clear and such...but, I couldn't help feeling underwhelmed. Here I was sitting in an acoustically tuned radio station studio with a pair of proper professional monitors...listening to a few of my favourite albums this cart I've heard so much about on a rock solid direct drive...and "anemic" was the first thing that came to mind. "Boring" was the second.

You didn't mention whether the cart was new or not. It has been said, either here or elsewhere, that the M97xE has a fairly lengthy break-in period, maybe 80 or 90 hours.

That's been my experience. I was satisfied with the cartridge right from the beginning but over time I've come to enjoy it more and more as it opens up. I now like it very much.

It has also been said that the cartridge is particularly sensitive to setup. In that regard I guess I was lucky in that I haven't changed anything from the time I first installed the cartridge.

The only quibble I have with it is the brush. It's said that for a medium to heavy arm (which I have on my PL-560) the brush is a definite plus. The problem is the pivot for the brush on my stylus is too stiff. It was from day one. This really screws up the tracking so I don't use it.

One day I'll get a JICO for it but in the meantime I'm pretty pleased overall.

John

I can understand your experience but I wouldn't expect it to sound any better mainly because you still don't know how the cart was matched (loading, etc) to the phono preamp in the radio station's setup. So, we're still dealing with experiences rather than apples-to-apples comparisons. \

At least you did have the same recorded material, which is a bit step forward.

Cheers,

David

I have the ability to switch cartridge loading on my NAD preamp. I've tried a few carts with it, and adjusted the capacitance expecting to hear some kind of difference as many people have written, and as test results suggest...but the difference between 100, 220 and 320pf was not intelligible to me on any of the ones I've tried(ADC XLM, Ortofon OM10, Ortofon ULM 50, Denon DL110). Maybe some carts are more sensitive to loading than others, but so far, my experience seems to indicate that proper cartridge loading being such a critical factor...is an overhyped sham. None of my cartridges sounded any different at any capacitance setting which is very counterintuitive to "established wisdom". Even with headphones I had to strain to detect any change. I use a very short low capacitance phono cable right now and even then...no dice.

I know what you're saying about consistency in testing, but I doubt that in the radio studio if the cartridge loading had been different, it would magically have changed the overall character of the sound so profoundly that that the lethargic characteristic would have gone away. Anyway, even the times that I've heard an M97 which was known to be properly aligned and at the right tracking force, I found it hard to fault in any particular sense but not really engaging. It struck me as very "Honda Accord".

I recently purchased one of these for $57 dollars. I posted a few times about getting a lot of surface noise which can be best described as a "rumble". This was vs. my Oforton LM10 cart/stylus on a Dual 704 TT. Felix (Catman) has been helping, and to further pinpoint the issue, I put a Digitrac 200 stylus on on the LM10 cart, and the same rumble is there. The digi200 is comparable to a OM20 stylus I read, so its got to be better than the LM10.

Regardless I had the same rumble with the Digi as I did with the Shure. So I'm certain its an issue with my setup/table. I just wanted to post this up so people don't base my experince on what seems to be, a very nice cartridge.

I will definitely keep the Shure and get my TT/setup sorted out. And thanks again to Felix for his help.

...The only quibble I have with it is the brush. It's said that for a medium to heavy arm (which I have on my PL-560) the brush is a definite plus. The problem is the pivot for the brush on my stylus is too stiff. It was from day one. This really screws up the tracking so I don't use it.

One day I'll get a JICO for it but in the meantime I'm pretty pleased overall.

John

You do have to dial in 0.5~1 gram additional TF with the brush down. The brush hinge is designed to lock into place, with the bristles becoming the shock absorber :)

You do have to dial in 0.5~1 gram additional TF with the brush down. The brush hinge is designed to lock into place, with the bristles becoming the shock absorber :)

Yup! Did that and also did 0.75 g to see if it was an improvement. It wasn't. I don't think I went as high as 1 g but, as you'll see below, that wouldn't have mattered.

The problem with my stylus is that the brush doesn't pivot freely. If you raise the brush fully (but not clipped in) Shure says that it's supposed to descend slowly, reaching the bottom of its range of free travel (between locked up and locked down) in from 1 to 3 seconds. Mine doesn't move at all.

If I repeatedly move it manually from one end of its range to the other it'll free up and descend on its own within the recommended time but, given enough time, it stiffens up again.

Shure tells you that if the brush descends too rapidly you can use it as a dust brush but it won't give you any damping. On the other hand, if the brush doesn't descent or descends too slowly you can't use it at all.

Edit: Oh, and the brush isn't supposed to lock into place. It's just the opposite. It's supposed to float. The brush needs to be free to move up and down so that a combination of the actual weight of the brush assembly, the compliance of the bristles and the resistance offered by the damping fluid can all combine to do their thing.

John

I have the ability to switch cartridge loading on my NAD preamp. I've tried a few carts with it, and adjusted the capacitance expecting to hear some kind of difference as many people have written, and as test results suggest...but the difference between 100, 220 and 320pf was not intelligible to me on any of the ones I've tried(ADC XLM, Ortofon OM10, Ortofon ULM 50, Denon DL110). Maybe some carts are more sensitive to loading than others, but so far, my experience seems to indicate that proper cartridge loading being such a critical factor...is an overhyped sham. None of my cartridges sounded any different at any capacitance setting which is very counterintuitive to "established wisdom". Even with headphones I had to strain to detect any change. I use a very short low capacitance phono cable right now and even then...no dice.

My proton preamp has the same 110, 220 & 320pf settings as your NAD... I didn't notice much difference in these settings with any cart. I made a few changes recently by swapping the Pioneer PL-518 TT for a Realistic LAB-400 and adding a Realistic equalizer to the rig... Now I notice huge differences in sound via the the cap loading. Maybe I'll try bypassing the equalizer to see if the change is the TT or the EQ.

G'day mate, here is an excllent article on the possibilities of mainly resistive loading alterations as I have done with my M97xE's, but capacitance shift can have a similar if not so large, effect on the upper frequency response.

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/load_the_magnets_e.html

Regards, Felix aka catman.

Got my setup and TT issues resolved...for the most part. Now using this cartridge full time. I'm so far, finding it a great improvement over my LM10 and even the Digi200 (which is supposedly comparable to a OM20).

Now I just got to break it in.

Just to add...

Case and point...

Our Frank Sinatra LP, My way...never sounded so good. And this was from my wife, who listens to my setups without knowledge of me changing things. She said tonight...it sounds better tonight, "I can hear more".

Just thought I would share, and this is considering that the stylus is not yet broken in (100 hours is the consensus).

...for my Pioneer PL-518. Darn, I like the cheap AT that was already on the table better! The reviews that say the Shure is dull and boring sounding are right on the money, for tastes at least. I should have gotten an AT 120e instead. Oh well, live and learn...

Live and learn....sorry man, been there, done that. But I will never mount another Shure M97Xe onto a table of mine by choice ever again...
Furthermore, I keep reading about break in and loading...hogwash, there are plenty of cartridges that sound miles ahead of the M97Xe right out of the box without all the drama....:thumbsdn: