Shure M3D - yet another truly great classic cartridge

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yes marco, thats the main issue.. thats why i have tried so many stylus
i've not totally eliminated it ... but its good enough now.. it tracks as well as most carts do in my experence..

the softer the stylus, the better
thets why with a well used stylus, the suspension gives.. improving things in my experence ( i'm talking m3 here)

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Hi Steve,

Interesting what you say about "softer" styli. The suspension on the original stylus which came with my M3D had definitely 'given', I thought due to misuse. However, there's no doubt that the newer, 'stiffer' stylus sounds better, probably due to the other one being worn. I will certainly continue using it, letting it run-in and become 'softer'.

What VTF do you use with your N3D?

Marco.

wow this one went a bit high - managed to sneak mine on ebay the other day for £30 and thought that a bit dear - I bid £50 on this and was no where near

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=400047782366

someone other than you and steve must rate these Marco

rgds
darren

Oh there are a few people around with sophistication and taste... ;)

That was for three of them, though, no? They normally go for around £100 each so the £30 you paid was a bargain!

Marco.

P.S you have a PM.

So, any feelings on the N21 stylus yet?

The canadian Astatic site looks interesting, but I don't know where the styli are sourced from. Jico's site looks good and I'd hope that their re-makes of all sorts of styli would if anything be better than the originals (I've been looking at the horrendous nails fitted to a number of M75-ED's recently - ughhhh!!!!

someone gave me an M75ED are they any good? mine looks a little wobbly but sounds fine on the garrard at the mo

rgds
darren

Marco

fitted my M3d this morning as I now won't be coming over on friday I thought might as well give it a go (impatience got the better of me)

anyway its a bit rough (distorted) but the remarkable thing is the volume unamplified - loud enough for low level listening (though a bit trebbly and weedy)

have I fitted the stylus wrongly (just pushed it in) or is this normal for an M3D to be so loud sans amplifier?

its only playing a robbie williams album at the mo (can;t trust my set up on a decent albium) but will run it a bit to see if it improves with run in

rgds
darren

yep mm - built in to the air tight atc1

worked fine with the shure M75Ed I took out to pop the M3D in - I suspect I haven't set it up right ut followed the instructions re fitting the stylus and did me best on cart set up (which worked ok for the M75ED I set up last week)

as stated elsehwhere I am no vinyl set up master but I am having a go at these things with a view to getting better

it sounds distorted but otherwise plays ok - the really big thing is the volume I get with no amp - never heard it go that loud from an unamplified cart and arm before - its not loud enough to listen to but you can certainly hear it clearly accross wthe room

any suggestions gratefully recieved

rgds
darren

The M75-ED was the seventies version of the Linn K9... All the "in" dealers sold shedloads of 'em, but very few would actually own one themselves I think...

See reviews from 1977 below. The V15 III was just coming to the end of its life (and was thought outclassed by the ADC XLM/ZLM and the decendant Sonus Blue, which I still think sounds amazingly good, top Empires and MM Ortofons back then. MC's had just begun their resurgance and the FR's, Supex etc were making their mark.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ureReviews.jpg

By the time the Me75-ED got going, it had been well and truly annihilated by the budget competition IMO.




Marco, I'm glad you love the Devon's. They have a magic all their own and had been all but forgotten in the mele for the big ones. Keep them if they're in good nick, or offer them to HiFi Dave for his collection, as he keeps missing out on these and bought some vicious LGM's instead ;)

Berkeleys can be frighteningly thuddy and boxy and the surround foam-life on all the HPD's has been done to death already. I really think the DMT's being later and with more solid boxes would be the best choice - far better developed after Tannoy went to town updating the concept in the early eighties.....

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I suspect I haven't set it up right...

...any suggestions gratefully recieved

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Darren, what are you tracking it at? The optimal is 3g - any less than this and that'll explain why it's sounding the way it is.

You will also need to add some mass to the headshell of the Alphason - 2p coins Blu-tacked on should work if you don't have anything better. Try two of them to start with and see how you get on.

Also, have you aligned the cartridge properly in the headshell and is your arm set at the right height (parallel to the record surface)?

If in doubt, bell me - I'm in :)

Marco.

You know guys, I'm inclined to suggest an M97-EJ if you want a more "solid" sounding Shure for the Aphason arm. It was preferred to the ED version as I vaguely recall and the XE stylus should also fit I think.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=170330630085



The Aphason would be far happier with an AT120E or 440MLa (I don't know the others in between). As Marco suggests, try adding loads of mass and even have an engineering shop turn up a bigger counterweight if necessary (Audio Origami may be able to assist here as Jonny seems ok to turn up spacers for Rega arms etc...