I never was a big fan of Shure V15, in any iteration of it. Not compared to any cartridge that is among my top 10 or so. I used a V15 for years in the 70s, along with my AR-XA turntable; that was the standard set-up for middle class audiophiles with high end ambitions, back then. Many, like Chak, do say that the Ultra 500 is superior; I have no basis to doubt or confirm that, but the majority who have heard both do make that claim.
Chak, I'd have to go check my cartridge treasure drawer to be certain, but it seems to me that the Pickering model above the XSV3000 is the XSV4500. I know you know about it, but above THAT there is also the XSV7500, which is a "low output" MM, an analog to the Stanton 980LZS and 981LZS. There is also a high output version of the Stanton that Raul prefers over the low output one, 980HZS. Back in the days when Raul's thread on MM cartridges was thriving, the Stanton 980/981 series got better "reviews" than the CS100. No one mentions any more the AKG cartridges; have you heard one? I have two, one with a van den Hul stylus, that I bought used (a rare exception) and just have never had the time to audition. They were known to break easily. I own 6-8 expensive MC cartridges; only one or two of them can play in the league with the best MM/MI types in my collection. So I tend to agree with Chakster. Paradoxically for me, my best sounding phono stages are high gain types, two of which do not even accommodate high output cartridges.
Chak, I'd have to go check my cartridge treasure drawer to be certain, but it seems to me that the Pickering model above the XSV3000 is the XSV4500. I know you know about it, but above THAT there is also the XSV7500, which is a "low output" MM, an analog to the Stanton 980LZS and 981LZS. There is also a high output version of the Stanton that Raul prefers over the low output one, 980HZS. Back in the days when Raul's thread on MM cartridges was thriving, the Stanton 980/981 series got better "reviews" than the CS100. No one mentions any more the AKG cartridges; have you heard one? I have two, one with a van den Hul stylus, that I bought used (a rare exception) and just have never had the time to audition. They were known to break easily. I own 6-8 expensive MC cartridges; only one or two of them can play in the league with the best MM/MI types in my collection. So I tend to agree with Chakster. Paradoxically for me, my best sounding phono stages are high gain types, two of which do not even accommodate high output cartridges.