New cartridge for a Pioneer PL 530

Hello,
I was considering a new Shure M97xE as a reasonably priced option.
Does anyone know if this might be a good match for the PL 530 turntable?
I know it's not a V15, but I believe it has some of the characteristics.
(not even sure if a V15 would be a good match, just assuming)
The TT is a gift to my son who needs a serious upgrade,
and is still somewhat green.
A good balanced workhorse I suppose.
Any other ideas of cartridges that might work?
BTW I recently convinced him to pick up a Marantz 2245 so that would be the system's receiver.
Thanks in advance.
Lance

Shure M97xE is a good choice...

Later he can upgrade it with a SAS stylus and get very V15 like performance...

The one caution is that recent quality control at Shure has been very lax - buy it from somewhere you can return it if the stylus is skewed, misaligned etc...
A number of people have had to swap over styli 2 or 3 times before getting a good one.

The cartridge/design is excellent

bye for now

David

Lancerika said:

Hello,
I was considering a new Shure M97xE as a reasonably priced option.
Does anyone know if this might be a good match for the PL 530 turntable?
I know it's not a V15, but I believe it has some of the characteristics.
(not even sure if a V15 would be a good match, just assuming)
The TT is a gift to my son who needs a serious upgrade,
and is still somewhat green.
A good balanced workhorse I suppose.
Any other ideas of cartridges that might work?
BTW I recently convinced him to pick up a Marantz 2245 so that would be the system's receiver.
Thanks in advance.
Lance

Click to expand...

Hard to beat that M97xE in terms of bang for the buck.

I have both the M97XE and V15 IV and listened to them on a PL 540 and a PL 610. I have them in different headshells so I was able to just change shells, balance the arm and play the same song at the same level. They are VERY close sounding. I think the M97XE is a lot of cart for the money and would work great for what you want. I picked the M97XE up on Ebay for $58 with free shipping. Brand new in the case with all the candy.

I agree M97XE. Can't beat it for the $. :thmbsp:

Just put on a pot of joe, and listening to Steely Dan on my 530 with a Shure M97xe cart. Sounds fantastic! Please forward a billing address, and I'll send you my R&D fee's.

I can say that the m97xe is a fine match for the PL-530, as is the V15iii. Currently my PL-530 is using a Stanton 681EEE and I am finding this combination to be excellent. Bang for the buck the M97xe is the winner.

Thanks all.
Seems like I am on the right track, no pun intended.
Is the recommended tracking the best way to go or are there some variations?
Lance

Hey guys - I just bought a mint PL-530 with a Shure V15 III. But...the previous owner broke the stylus when cleaning up the unit for sale. So, my question is...should I just get a new stylus or buy a whole new cartridge like the M97XE? I listen to mostly rock stuff through a Pioneer SX-1250. Of course, any other suggestions would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance!

I'm suprised by all the PL-530 talk and yes I just put a M97XE on mine. Paid $79 from Music Direct. Oh yeah it sounds great.

Thanks Parman - But is the M97XE better than the V15 III? I know that this is an older cartridge and don't know if they go "bad". I'm just trying to figure out if it would be better just to replace it with something new or just get a new stylus for the V15. Thanks!

Locorico said:

Hey guys - I just bought a mint PL-530 with a Shure V15 III. But...the previous owner broke the stylus when cleaning up the unit for sale. So, my question is...should I just get a new stylus or buy a whole new cartridge like the M97XE? I listen to mostly rock stuff through a Pioneer SX-1250. Of course, any other suggestions would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I suppose the answer depends upon your budget. You can get a new M97xE for around $60.00 and it will sound fine or you can spend $ for a JICO SAS stylus for the V15 Type III for a little more than double the price.

John

Locorico said:

Thanks Parman - But is the M97XE better than the V15 III?

Click to expand...

No, not as good. Also, there have been quality control problems with the styli for the M97xE. A lot of them are misaligned, have defective stabilizer brushes, etc. If you get a good one it's a very pleasing cartridge but not up to the V15 Type III.

I know that this is an older cartridge and don't know if they go "bad".

Click to expand...

Generally, cartridges last indefinitely and when they fail they fail as opposed to slowly losing quality.

I'm just trying to figure out if it would be better just to replace it with something new or just get a new stylus for the V15. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Getting a JICO SAS stylus for the V15 is the better route as far as quality goes but the price of admission is a good bit higher. On the other hand, if you get the M97xE, you can get a JICO SAS stylus for it when the original wears out. Then you'll have a cartridge very close to the V15 in quality.

John

Will spending double make it sound twice as good? Or, would my ears be perfectly happy with the M97XE? Budget isn't really an issue...but paying double for the same result certainly is! Thanks!

Locorico said:

Will spending double make it sound twice as good?

Click to expand...

No, but better. (or maybe twice as good if you get an M97xE with a bum stylus)

Or, would my ears be perfectly happy with the M97XE?

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone but you can answer that one.

Budget isn't really an issue...but paying double for the same result certainly is! Thanks!

Click to expand...

It's not the same result. The V15 III is a better cartridge than the M97xE and the JICO SAS styli are better than the Shure styli for the M97xE.

Of course, you've never heard either cartridge, right? Heck, you might not even like them!

John

Couple of thoughts...

The SAS stylus for the V15III will make it better than new (or at least as good as new!). - It is a great cartridge.

BUT: The V15III was never a great match for the PL530 as the arm is a bit heavy for the very high compliance V15III. (The SAS is lower compliance than the original and therefore a better match, but still a high compliance setup)

The M97xE and the other Shures with the brushes (V15IV, V15V, M97HE, etc..) - were specifically designed to allow the Shure high compliance setup to work properly with a higher mass arm.

The V15IV was basically a V15III with the damping brush fitted.

The M97xE has the damping brush and is therefore a better match for that arm - it can also be upgraded to a SAS stylus (with brush...).

The M9x was always an economy version of the V15 series... the M91 was the economy version of V15I/II, M95=V15III, M97=V15IV.
Only the V15's got the top of the line beryllium cantilevers - and their internal construction was a notch better.
The cantilever construction is the #1 biggest impact on a cartridges performance... an M97 with SAS will definitely fight on a well matched basis with a V15III or V15IV.
An M97xE with the standard Aluminium stylus is also a really good cartridge in its own right, and a top performer... the SAS just takes it another notch up.

bye for now & I hope this helps

David

Locorico said:

Hey guys - I just bought a mint PL-530 with a Shure V15 III. But...the previous owner broke the stylus when cleaning up the unit for sale. So, my question is...should I just get a new stylus or buy a whole new cartridge like the M97XE? I listen to mostly rock stuff through a Pioneer SX-1250. Of course, any other suggestions would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Get a new stylus for the V15 Type III - it should be slightly superior in sound to the M97xE. The M97HE (predecessor to the M97xE) was an Era IV cartridge, introduced just after the V15 Type IV, and was second best of the Era IV cartridges, but the Type III was still slightly better. Some of the technology introduced on the Type III, which was improved on with the Type IV, such as the lightweight moving section (cantilever, stylus tip and magnet), still wasn't fully used on the M97 cartridges, in order to keep them below the V15's. In fact, some of the Era IV and Era V improvements were introduced to the Type III, with HE and MR replacement styli introduced to keep them ahead of the "second best" Era III and IV cartridges (M95 and M97).

Having said that, the M97xE would probably be a better match for your tonearm, as it isn't as compliant as the Type III, so will suit your medium effective weight tonearm better. It's a tough call - better sound most of the time (Type III), or perhaps slightly better tracking on difficult records (M97xE).

You don't need to get a Jico SAS - there are much cheaper elliptical and hyperelliptical generic styli available for the Type III, that should deliver similar performance to the original Shure elliptical that was fitted. Anything from Switzerland or Japan should be OK - both countries developed their expert diamond stylus cutters through their jewel shaping expertise in the watch jewel bearing manufacturing industry.

You've probably made your choice by now, but here's another source for styli that you might want to investigate: http://www.edsaunders.com/

Best Regards,
Charlie