@elliottbnewcombjr The V15 cartridge, any version, which used to be ubiquitous and therefore, we took for granted is now a kind of a tricky item to set up. I still have my V15Vmr, but the stylus is a Jico. I am going to set it up on my Series III arm on the HW19 when we get back up to NH and give it a serious listen. It has been too long since I did that, Years ago I thought there was no better cartridge, but the last time around with the Vmr I was somewhat disappointed. It might have been circumstance. A lot has changed since then. It would not surprise me if my AT VMN60xSL beats it though. I continue to be stunned by this cartridge. It compares favorably to my AT 33PTG/II, which just boggles me even to post such a statement.
Notice That There Are Not Many Survivors of the MC from the early 19080's or so?
Every once in awhile I will see an odd Audioquest 404 for sale. But otherwise not too many cartridges from this generation. I have always wondered about whatever happened to the Sumiko SHO cartridges. Were they the predecessor to the Blue Point or the Blackbird? Always wondered how they sounded, never got to hear one.
I wonder if it is the use of the hollow rod cantilevers that caused them to become lost cartridges. I don't think you could retip them, but the best you could do is trade them in for a discount.
The other cartridge I see from time to time are the Shinon, and every once in a great while I will see one come up for sale. Oh an odd Ortofon or two, and that is about all I remember for this era of moving coils ever coming available.
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bill I have the Jico SAS stylus for the V15Vxmr body, I will compare it to the new Shure OEM stylus. Perhaps my NOS stylus needs to be broken in some? Suspension limbered up, perhaps I’ll play it more before comparing. Meanwhile, I can compare the Sumiko Talisman S to the AT160ml. I already know they both have excellent imaging, and very involving sound, the question is whether I can detect any subtle difference that must be there. I’ll get my young audiophile friend to listen with me. Like you and your AT-VMN760xsl, I just love it, I have two AT160ml, and one at150 body with an AT160ml stylus. All great prices at Yahoo Japan Auctions, and they all came with AT Magnesium headshells with azimuth and overhang adjustment. btw, when worn, if Steve cannot put a new stylus in the beryllium cantilever (that microwall be is so brittle, risky to mess with), I can put any VMN stylus on the AT160 or AT150 bodies, it’s the same outer design as your 760 body Lastly, like you, out comes the MC AT33PTG/II to compare to the winner of the above. MC if the Sumiko, the others are all MM. I think this time I will take the trouble to use the SPL meter to find the volume knob locations for each for proper listening. |
I had an AT 150, the seller called it an AT160ml. It turned out, only when I removed it from the headshell, the identification was only on the top of the cartridge, how stupid is that. That's my AT150 body with an AT160ML stylus (which is why the seller thought it was an AT160ml. I ask for 1/3 refund and seller agreed. You might remove yours, and find info on the top of it. |
Crazy that I just mounted a Sumiko, Talisman Alchemist S. These were supposed to be 80's gold standard HO MC cartridges. I use a Van den Hull MC ONE which is fantastic but looking forward to spending time with this new & interesting find @elliottbnewcombjr kinda driving in parallel audio lanes, lol |
@elliottbnewcombjr yea, I thought that may be the case, but I dont have the energy to dismount it yet, so long as it's working. One of these days it will be time for a cartridge swap. thanks |
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