Hi folks,
the question of stylus interchangeability between Shure cartridges has been bugging me for a long time.
This evening, I bit the bullet, pulled out my vernier and a lightly magnetised screwdriver and measure magnet locations on a bunch of intact and broken Shure styli.
What I did was plonk the stylus on my coffee table - and gently move the screwdriver up the shank until it was clearly attracted by the stylus magnets (pretty obvious when it happens) then I used a CD marker to mark the spot and measured it with a vernier, from the back of the plastic mount where it contacts the body, to the mark on the shank.
So here are my results:
Stylus Brand Colour Front of body to Magnet distance (mm)
N92e ?? Red 4.66 New
V15HRP Shure Black 3.05 Used good
N72EJ Shure Light Olive green 3.39 Used
N99e Shure Blue 2.79 damaged (suspect?)
N99e Jico Blue 3.75 New
VN5VPSR Shure Grey 3.75 Slightly bent cantilever (suspect?)
?RXT6? Shure Light Grey w. Brush 3.05 Snapped cantilever (suspect?)
N70B Shure Cream 3.46 Used
This was all generated by my SAS stylus falling off its plastic holder - I now have a SAS "Shank" - which I can fit into any of the above cartridges except the V15V.
In terms of the slot in the cartridges - I can confirm that the standard Shure cartridges ALL use the same shank fitting. (my standalone SAS shank fits them all)
I am trying to work out exactly how to align and reseat my SAS on its holder - but am not sure where it was fitted precisely - and this would affect the magnet location - hence my doing all these measurements.
(although I may just contact Jico and see whether they will exchange it...)
In any case - there has been some discussion in the past and comments from Shure that the magnet poles are located differently in the V15 series to the others - so that should show up here.
And there is a belief in the community that all the non V15 shanks are interchangeable (and possibly the V15Vx as well).
The three most interesting "intact and trusted" styli are the Jico N99e, the Shure VN5VPSR (V15V P-mount), and the Shure VN5HRP -(last production V15 p-mount - takes standard shank size same as the V15VxMR)
The N99e and the VN5VPSR have the magnets at apparently the same location. The VN5HRP has it about 0.75mm shorter - is it the same with production variations, or does that mean it is different?
Both square bodied shures (N70 & N72) have the magnets at 3.4mm (I would allow +/-0.5mm accuracy in any case!)
The cheapie N92E is way out at 4.66mm (rechecked this several times...) - seems like it is a cheap and nasty no-name brand, and most likely out of spec.
The others measured are all damaged, and the magnets may therefore not be in the right position....
Has anyone else tried to measure the magnet locations on the shank of their Shure styli?
Can anyone contribute measurements of the magnet location on the shanks of their shures?
I would be particularly interested in the N97xE styli and the V15VxMR (which will once and for all determine whether they really are or are not compatible!)
Also multiple measurements of the same stylus types would be useful to identify what manufacturing variability is... (in other words, if you have one of the styli that have already been measured and posted, the measurements of your sample would also be appreciated.)
thanks & bye for now
David
