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Shure M97XE compatibility with Thorens TP16 headshell

Mr. Lin

Mr. Lin

Lunatic Member
I purchased a Shure M97XE cartridge a few weeks ago (apparently just in time) for my Thorens TD-125 MKII. The tonearm is the original TP16.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to install the cartridge, but looking at it tonight I'm wondering how this it going to work. The headshell has very short threaded holes for the screws, and you can't thread the screws through the top like some headshells. The screws that came with the M97XE are not very long, but it doesn't look like they'll be able to screw deep enough into the headshell to secure the cart.

Does anyone have any experience with this combination? I know this tt and the Shure cart are both rather widely used, so perhaps someone has done this already. If anyone has any advice about how to work around this, please let me know.
 
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Do NOT use the screws that came with your Shure -- they will strip the thread holes in your headshell.

What you need to do is go to The Analog Dept and order some proper Thorens screws in various lengths. You will need them in the future.

Somewhere there is a listing of which length screws are needed for which carts. Probably published prior to the M97XE, but I'd guess that any on the V15s would have the same length.

If I find that chart, I'll paste it here.
 
I did set up that shure cart on a TP16. I had to use alternate mounting screws to get it right.
The combination was "ok". Personally I find the Shure a bit "bland". It was fine though and got much better after about 20 hours of play. I eventually replaced the TP16 with a Rega 250 and a Ortofon Super 30 and now it's fantastic. Very bright and detailed, presence is excellent. I feel it's now a fantastic set up.
 
bangsezmax said:
Do NOT use the screws that came with your Shure -- they will strip the thread holes in your headshell. What you need to do is go to The Analog Dept and order some proper Thorens screws in various lengths. You will need them in the future.
Click to expand...

AGREED! They sell a nice selection bag of screws that will work on any Thorens headshell.

However, I don't think that cart is a good choice for that arm. Do some RF calcs on them...you'll probably find they're not a good match.
 
Thank you bangsezmax, I had no idea the Shure screws weren't compatible with the headshell, and that could have been disasterous. I just ordered the screws from the Analog Dept.

This cart may not be a great match with the TP16, but others on Audiokarma have said it should work. Honestly I just bought the M97 to replace the lackluster Shure M75-6 my TD-125 came with, and since I'm fairly new to all this, I figured the M97 would be a decent one to start with. Plus I got one of the last ones available on Amazon for $60.

That said, anyone have other suggestions for either a MM or MC cart with this tonearm? I'll look into the Stanton 680/681, but I was also considering getting a Dynavector 10X5 somewhere down the line. I'm open to pretty much anything that will give great results, but I prefer not to go through the hassle of replacing the tonearm just yet.
 
JJJimmy said:
However, I don't think that cart is a good choice for that arm. Do some RF calcs on them...you'll probably find they're not a good match.
Click to expand...
If the compliance is at 20mm/µN (which is what I found on one website), then the RF is going to be about 7 Hz. Not optimal, but not terrible either. However, that's not taking into account the dynamic stabilizer brush, which is designed in part to make the cart compatible with a wider range of arm masses.

If you want to look for carts (really, the stylus is the thing) that are supposed to match well with the TP16, go out to the tonearm database at http://www.cartridgedb.com/default_arms.asp and poke around. Good stuff there.
 
bangsezmax said:
If the compliance is at 20mm/µN (which is what I found on one website), then the RF is going to be about 7 Hz. Not optimal, but not terrible either. However, that's not taking into account the dynamic stabilizer brush, which is designed in part to make the cart compatible with a wider range of arm masses.
Click to expand...
Right, and this is why. Assuming 7Hz is correct, if you were to use a test record and play a pure tone at 7Hz you would see the cantilever start to jump or jiggle around. That is the result of the resonant frequency. If too low, and 7Hz is borderline, the tonearm/cartridge/cantilever could be susceptible to warps and footfalls which sometimes produce that frequency. With the brush down, you will see no movement at 7Hz. That is called resonance damping, it works well, and it's one of those things Shure was famous for.
 
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