Paul C
Super Member
Years ago I found the Radio Shack / Shure cartridges to be excellent values, especially the RXT4, RXT5, and RXT6. The RXT4 was a rebadged Shure M97ED. The RXT6, which looked to me to be identical to the RXT5 (M105E?), was a rebadged Shure M111E.
So, why do I like these cartridges? First, they were relatively inexpensive. They were just a slight step down from the V15 series available then, but at much less cost. And even now, bearing the Radio Shack/Realistic label, they get no respect... therefore they don't bring the kind of prices on auction sites that the identical Shure cartridges bring. And though the original Shure replacment stylii have all but disappeared, there are plenty of excellent aftermarket replacements available for reasonable prices.
The RXT6/M111E (or M111HE if equipped with the hyper elliptical stylus) is a P-mount cartridge that came with a 1/2" adapter.
Here are a few photos. This is an RXT6 I just bought from that famous auction site. It was mounted on a BPC turntable for a BIN of $25. I had the seller ship me only the cartridge and discard the turntable, which saved a lot of shipping hassle for him and shipping cost for me. I have it mounted on a Tonar headshell from Turntableneedles.com. This cartridge came with a perfectly usuable original stylus, which was just icing on the cake. This stylus is the Radio Shack R16X, which is the same as the Shure N111E but for the color of the brush guard. As you can see, it is similar to other Shure stylii with the brush-stabilizer.
This next one is an RXT6 I've had for some years now. It's mounted on the Technics headshell that came with this Technics SL-D2 turntable.
I previously had the nearly identical RXT5 and needed a new stylus. I went to the Rat Shack for a new stylus and instead bought this RXT6 on sale for about $30, if I remember correctly. A real steal. Hindsight being 20-20, I should have bought several. Being P-mount, I simply unplugged the RXT5 and plugged in this RXT6. I now wish I had saved the old RXT5 cart body.
I have an LPGear.com N97HE stylus plugged into this RXT6. It required trimming a little angled plastic section on top to fit, but that was quick and easy. That piece interfered with the plastic block glued on top of the cartridge body that sticks out, as can be seen in later photos. (Is there any reason that plastic piece on top can't be pried off and discarded? I'm tempted.)
And the RXT6 doing what it does best, playing records. The little brush presses down on the record surface, and wipes away dust and supports some of the tracking force, 1/2 gram. So, if the total tracking force is set to 1.5 grams, the actual force on the stylus is 1.0 gram, and 0.5 gram on the brush. Set the Anti-Skate function to be the same as total tracking force, in this case, 1.5 grams.
Optimum tracking force for this cartridge is 0.75 - 1.5 grams without the brush. With brush, that would be from 1.25 - 2.0 grams. I use the brush and set total tracking force to 1.5 grams, which seems to work well.
The brush and the viscous damper act as a sort of shock absorber, or very low frequency filter, and help the cartridge ride over warps. It works, and works well.
The brush can be snapped down and functions as a stylus guard.
It can also be snapped all the way up, off the record, if you don't wish to use the brush-stabilizer. Adjust the tracking force accordingly.
Here is a front view. You can see that the cartridge body is the same shape as the V15-V, M97xE, M92E, etc. Unlike the M92E, the RXT6 has a plastic part on top, whose purpose escapes me, other than to prevent directly plugging in N97ED or EJ series stylii. That little plastic part on top(with "Realistic" molded in) is the same shape as the one on top of the Me94P, Me96P (both with "Encore" molded in), and M99E (with "Shure" molded in). In fact, I would not be surprised to find out these were the same cartridges but for the stylus. I highly suspect they are really the same.
The original stylus for the RXT6 / M111E is the R16X (Radio Shack's number) or N111E (Shure's number). Currently available stylii that will fit and work are Shure N97xE, N92E, and any other stylus made for the Me94P, Me96P, M99E, M110E, 1000E, etc. Original Shures are almost impossible to find now, but there are plenty of good aftermarket from Jico, LPGear, Turntableneedles.com, and others. N110E, N110HE, N105E, N111E, N111HE aftermarket or replacement stylii will plug right in. N97ED, N97EJ, and N97HE replacement stylii will all fit, but require trimming the plastic as mentioned before. The N97HE is hyperelliptical, and the best of those three.
Update: Hakaplan advises that Jico's N110HE, at $19.00 plus shipping, is a "best buy" in hyper elliptical stylii for this cartridge series. LPGear has a very good replacement for the Radio Shack R16X stylus that includes the brush stabilizer for $45.00.
As far as I know, all stylii that fit the RXT6 will also fit the RXT5.
Camera technique... I got back about 18" and used the Zoom to close in. Also I set the camera to close focus. The flash was too much, causing a white glare, so when taking these photos I covered about 3/4 of the flash lens with my finger. This seemed to work well.
* About those headshells... even though they look identical but for color, and Tonar labeling instead of Technics, the weight is different. I have to balance and reset tracking weight if I change headshells, even though both cartridges are the same.
So, why do I like these cartridges? First, they were relatively inexpensive. They were just a slight step down from the V15 series available then, but at much less cost. And even now, bearing the Radio Shack/Realistic label, they get no respect... therefore they don't bring the kind of prices on auction sites that the identical Shure cartridges bring. And though the original Shure replacment stylii have all but disappeared, there are plenty of excellent aftermarket replacements available for reasonable prices.
The RXT6/M111E (or M111HE if equipped with the hyper elliptical stylus) is a P-mount cartridge that came with a 1/2" adapter.
Here are a few photos. This is an RXT6 I just bought from that famous auction site. It was mounted on a BPC turntable for a BIN of $25. I had the seller ship me only the cartridge and discard the turntable, which saved a lot of shipping hassle for him and shipping cost for me. I have it mounted on a Tonar headshell from Turntableneedles.com. This cartridge came with a perfectly usuable original stylus, which was just icing on the cake. This stylus is the Radio Shack R16X, which is the same as the Shure N111E but for the color of the brush guard. As you can see, it is similar to other Shure stylii with the brush-stabilizer.
This next one is an RXT6 I've had for some years now. It's mounted on the Technics headshell that came with this Technics SL-D2 turntable.
I previously had the nearly identical RXT5 and needed a new stylus. I went to the Rat Shack for a new stylus and instead bought this RXT6 on sale for about $30, if I remember correctly. A real steal. Hindsight being 20-20, I should have bought several. Being P-mount, I simply unplugged the RXT5 and plugged in this RXT6. I now wish I had saved the old RXT5 cart body.
I have an LPGear.com N97HE stylus plugged into this RXT6. It required trimming a little angled plastic section on top to fit, but that was quick and easy. That piece interfered with the plastic block glued on top of the cartridge body that sticks out, as can be seen in later photos. (Is there any reason that plastic piece on top can't be pried off and discarded? I'm tempted.)
And the RXT6 doing what it does best, playing records. The little brush presses down on the record surface, and wipes away dust and supports some of the tracking force, 1/2 gram. So, if the total tracking force is set to 1.5 grams, the actual force on the stylus is 1.0 gram, and 0.5 gram on the brush. Set the Anti-Skate function to be the same as total tracking force, in this case, 1.5 grams.
Optimum tracking force for this cartridge is 0.75 - 1.5 grams without the brush. With brush, that would be from 1.25 - 2.0 grams. I use the brush and set total tracking force to 1.5 grams, which seems to work well.
The brush and the viscous damper act as a sort of shock absorber, or very low frequency filter, and help the cartridge ride over warps. It works, and works well.
The brush can be snapped down and functions as a stylus guard.
It can also be snapped all the way up, off the record, if you don't wish to use the brush-stabilizer. Adjust the tracking force accordingly.
Here is a front view. You can see that the cartridge body is the same shape as the V15-V, M97xE, M92E, etc. Unlike the M92E, the RXT6 has a plastic part on top, whose purpose escapes me, other than to prevent directly plugging in N97ED or EJ series stylii. That little plastic part on top(with "Realistic" molded in) is the same shape as the one on top of the Me94P, Me96P (both with "Encore" molded in), and M99E (with "Shure" molded in). In fact, I would not be surprised to find out these were the same cartridges but for the stylus. I highly suspect they are really the same.
The original stylus for the RXT6 / M111E is the R16X (Radio Shack's number) or N111E (Shure's number). Currently available stylii that will fit and work are Shure N97xE, N92E, and any other stylus made for the Me94P, Me96P, M99E, M110E, 1000E, etc. Original Shures are almost impossible to find now, but there are plenty of good aftermarket from Jico, LPGear, Turntableneedles.com, and others. N110E, N110HE, N105E, N111E, N111HE aftermarket or replacement stylii will plug right in. N97ED, N97EJ, and N97HE replacement stylii will all fit, but require trimming the plastic as mentioned before. The N97HE is hyperelliptical, and the best of those three.
Update: Hakaplan advises that Jico's N110HE, at $19.00 plus shipping, is a "best buy" in hyper elliptical stylii for this cartridge series. LPGear has a very good replacement for the Radio Shack R16X stylus that includes the brush stabilizer for $45.00.
As far as I know, all stylii that fit the RXT6 will also fit the RXT5.
Camera technique... I got back about 18" and used the Zoom to close in. Also I set the camera to close focus. The flash was too much, causing a white glare, so when taking these photos I covered about 3/4 of the flash lens with my finger. This seemed to work well.
* About those headshells... even though they look identical but for color, and Tonar labeling instead of Technics, the weight is different. I have to balance and reset tracking weight if I change headshells, even though both cartridges are the same.
