Jico SAS stylus available for the M97 and M91 (N97HE, N91ED)

[fxsuperglide]

A while back, there was talk about a quality aftermarket replacement stylus for the Shure V15 III and IV cartridges, and the JICO SAS is the one mentioned as being the best replacement (since the originals are now out of production). Now, JICO introduced the SAS versions for the M97 Era IV and M91 cartridges. NOTE: The M97 Era IV stylus will fit the Me97HE, M97xE, M111HE (and would actually serve as an upgrade for most), as well as being able to fit the V15-RS, V15 Pro S, and VST-III (essentially a M97 cartridge body). Of course, the M91 cartridge is legendary for those with vintage systems, and the Jico SAS stylus is even better than the original offering (which was only an elliptical stylus). www.lpgear.com is the US distributor of these. Definitely worth considering.

[OcdMan]

So the SAS stylus for the M97 Era IV will fit the the current M97xE body? That means it will also fit the V15VxMR body, right? Because the M97xE stylus fits the V15VxMR body.

[fxsuperglide]

So the SAS stylus for the M97 Era IV will fit the the current M97xE body? That means it will also fit the V15VxMR body, right? Because the M97xE stylus fits the V15VxMR body.

Actually, yes it will. I know the VN5xMR stylus fits the V15 RS as well as the M97 series (any), so the N97HE (Era IV) should fit the V15VxMR (though on the original Shure N97HE Era IV stylus, it may be best to trim off the plastic SHURE nameplate part for best fit of the stylus body onto the cartridge).

[TimB]

Actually, yes it will. I know the VN5xMR stylus fits the V15 RS as well as the M97 series (any), so the N97HE (Era IV) should fit the V15VxMR (though on the original Shure N97HE Era IV stylus, it may be best to trim off the plastic SHURE nameplate part for best fit of the stylus body onto the cartridge).
Maybe Maybe not. I have both a Shure RS V15V and a Shure V15VMR. While the VMR will fit the Radio SHack, the reverse is not true. The VMR fits a touch loose in the RS V15V. So with that knowlege, buyer beware.


Tim

[OcdMan]

Maybe Maybe not. I have both a Shure RS V15V and a Shure V15VMR. While the VMR will fit the Radio SHack, the reverse is not true. The VMR fits a touch loose in the RS V15V. So with that knowlege, buyer beware.


Tim

The original V-MR had a thinner shaft than the more recent VxMR. So whatever fits the M97xE body will fit the VxMR body but it will not fit the V-MR.

[OcdMan]

Actually, yes it will. I know the VN5xMR stylus fits the V15 RS as well as the M97 series (any), so the N97HE (Era IV) should fit the V15VxMR (though on the original Shure N97HE Era IV stylus, it may be best to trim off the plastic SHURE nameplate part for best fit of the stylus body onto the cartridge).

Thanks. Some good info there.

[fxsuperglide]

Maybe Maybe not. I have both a Shure RS V15V and a Shure V15VMR. While the VMR will fit the Radio SHack, the reverse is not true. The VMR fits a touch loose in the RS V15V. So with that knowlege, buyer beware.


Tim

Actually, I have no idea why Shure said the V15 V stylus would fit the V15 RS (yeah, it may fit, but it's definitely too loose, therefore IMHO, it really doesn't fit). What I'm saying is that the V15 RS (and it's clones) along with the V15VxMR have the same larger brass spade, and all styli between them are interchangeable (stylus A fits cartridge B and stylus B fits cartridge A - I know because I've had the aforementioned cartridges or styli and tried them all). Only the original Era IV "N97HE", N97ED, EJ, G, B, and 978E styli may require trimming of the top plastic piece (cosmetic anyways), since it touches the top of all the later "type V" styled M-series cartridges and once trimmed, will fit perfectly.

[Stax Fan]

Are the M97xE and V15VxMR the same other than the stylus assembly and badge/color on the front? The M97xE with a Jico stylus would probably be a pretty sweet little cartridge, and I know the M91 would be.

[fxsuperglide]

Are the M97xE and V15VxMR the same other than the stylus assembly and badge/color on the front? The M97xE with a Jico stylus would probably be a pretty sweet little cartridge, and I know the M91 would be.

Although the M97xE and V15VxMR are the same physically (same body, designed holder, and dimensions), Shure claims that the V15VxMR body is different (improved design) compared to the M97xE. In other words, if one were to fit a VN5xMR stylus to the M97xE, it wouldn't sound nearly as good as the V15Vx cartridge (unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to A-B test them). If the differences are true, then perhaps the V15-RS (which some claim the V15Vx cartridge is based on) are just a bit better than the already nice sounding M97 series cartridge. So to answer the question, the Jico SAS stylus on the M97xE may indeed be an upgrade over the original elliptical stylus - same is true for the M91.

[benintune]

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=SHN097HESAS

Is this the replacement stylus you're talking about?

[fxsuperglide]

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LG&Product_Code=SHN097HESAS

Is this the replacement stylus you're talking about?

Yep, that's the one

[pbthal]

I bet tracking will improve on the M97xe

[benintune]

I emailed lpgear asking for performance specs and they said there aren't any.

Any idea what kind of improvements I could get on a M97xE cartridge?

The frequency range for a regular M97xE is 20hz - 22khz and channel sparation is 25db at 1khz. Output is 4.0 mV.

[Solaris]

I emailed lpgear asking for performance specs and they said there aren't any.

Any idea what kind of improvements I could get on a M97xE cartridge?

The frequency range for a regular M97xE is 20hz - 22khz and channel sparation is 25db at 1khz. Output is 4.0 mV.

This is interesting. I just ordered a replacement stylus for my M97xE, too bad I didn't know about this before! Improved tracking would be very welcome. Would the tone be different at all?

[Solaris]

bump

[CardinalFang]

Has anybody tried using this stylus on the V15VxMR?

[CardinalFang]

Has anybody tried using this stylus on the V15VxMR?

bump

[barzzz]

I use the stock stylus on my n97xe on my vn5xmr, and while not as good as the original, it fits, and sounds great.