Original US model Shure SC35C
Thanks to Darren (Kiningin), who sourced them from the States, I'm about to take delivery of one of these babies (the other being Darren's):
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/663/shuresc35c.jpg
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/2572/shuresc35c2.jpg
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9503/shuresc35c3.jpg
As you can see, both cartridges come with a spare NOS original stylus, which is a nice bonus! :)
Like Darren, I was intigued when I read this post by 'Vinyl Junkee' on Vinyl Engine: http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21307
Quote:
Used for all vinyl replay by the British Broadcasting Corporation from the early seventies until the seedy takeover ousted vinyl. Engineering carried out extensive tests over a period of time on the SC35C before using it, to ensure that it came up to their (at that time) very high standard in terms of sound quality, robustness and low record wear, 'cue burn' in particular.
To work properly each channel has to be loaded with a capacitance of 450pf, which typically means adding 220pf to the preamp input (both channels). Correctly loaded this cartridge gives very fine sound quality - it is actually the professional version of the esteemed V15.
Back in the early eighties we AB tested this against other professional cartridges including the Denon 103 coil and the Shure wiped the floor with all of them! We had a Kisiki Blue moving coil as a reference and there was no audible difference between this and the SC35C. Now of course all this was many years ago and today it is a very different story.
You can still buy an SC35C but it is a very different animal from the original model from Evanston. I am very fortunate in having 3 USA SC35Cs from the late seventies plus a V15IIIHE and the sound of the new is absolutely nowhere near the quality of the originals.
If you want to evaluate one - try and get an original US model, it will have USA printed on the body above the pins. The replacement stylus is a problem - don't go for one with 'Shure' printed in black on the front - it won't be a fake, but the quality will be so different from the earlier ones printed in white. This is the big problem, getting a decent replacement stylus, there are some NOS about but we use Jico in Japan - theirs are fine and as good as the originals.
Sorry to go on at length here, but I am a big fan of these cartridges. Just one last thing - conical stylus playing at 4.5 grammes! Shock horror I hear you cry - not a bit of it, I have loads of LPs played hundreds nay thousands of times and none have any trace of wear- in fact that bit of extra weight is ideal for dislodging minute particles of dried spittle which would cause a lighter cartridge to stick.
Full report, with pics, to follow.... I already own a 'basic' SC35C, which is good, but not overly special. However, I have fond memories of one I used in the 80s, which sounded fantastic, and WAY better than the one I have now.
Could this original US model sound as magical as I remember the one I used before did (and how VJ describes it on VE) and be another vintage cartridge marvel (and 'giant-killer') for the Marco-boy? All will be revealed soon, folks! ;)
Marco.
US Shure SC35C vs. Goldring G800
Guys,
Just a quick update on the comparison I've done between both cartridges....After having lived with the Shure now for a few days, I've gotten a pretty good handle on its sonic and musical characteristics. First of all, having experimented at some length with VTF, the sweet spot in my system is definitely 3.5g, any more than that and you can definitely hear the sound start to thicken and become 'plummy' (the recommended 4.5g is simply ridiculous). So, Darren, if you're still using it at 3g, I'd up VTF to 3.5g, and see what you think :)
The Shure also likes some mass, and after much experimentation, the optimum to my ears is 13g, which is purely headshell mass, excluding mounting hardware. Including a 13g headshell, take it as a given that this cartridge needs a high-mass arm, in order to perform optimally, such as the 'studio tonearms' (EMTs and such like) it would've been partnered with in radio stations. For that, look in the region of 15g, excluding the aforementioned high-mass headshell.
With any less mass than this, the SC35C gets a little 'shouty' with highly modulated and/or closely-miked material, such as 'busy' pop music, female vocals and jazz instruments. For reference, it doesn't possess the 'air and space', delicacy or anything like the overall musical refinement of my SPU, or any quality low-output MC cartridge I've heard, which is to be expected. The Shure, after all, has its limits!
However, tracking at 3.5g, in a NOS Sansui headshell, with quality lead wires attached (I'm using VDH MCS-300 solid-core Matched Crystal Silver), on my Jelco SA-750 tonearm, the vintage Shure sails through, with aplomb, any genres of music you care to throw at it, although it is most certainly biased towards rock, pop and dance music, where it *really* shines and gives music an up-beat, 'boppy' and fun sound, full of vim & vigour. You can hear exactly why it was chosen as a broadcast cartridge in radio stations, playing mainly pop music, across the world. It does not in the least sound flat and rather rolled-off in the treble, like its modern counterpart.
There is, however, one more tweak to come. At the moment I'm using it in a NOS Sansui headshell, with added mass. The Sansui is a quality headshell, but it's not the *absolute* best, and so when I get my Fidelity Research S5 back from Neil (Dalek DL), who's currently borrowing it, it'll be interesting to hear what that brings to the party. I'm expecting a soupçon more solidity and refinement.
Substituting the Shure for the Goldring G800 is interesting....
The first most obvious thing one notices is that the Shure is a better tracker, as the G800 (fitted with a previously unused NOS Goldring conical sylus), tracking at 2.6g, tends to slightly emphasise sibilance, which can be a problem in cartridges fitted with spherical-tipped styli. However, it's far from disastrous, and only really noticeable with 's' sounds on closely-miked material. With the Shure, that effect is all but absent, and it sails through 'difficult' material that the G800 sometimes struggles with.
However, what also becomes obvious with prolonged listening is that the G800 has a nicer 'tone', making the Shure, in comparison, sound 'cooler' and a little more clinical. The bass of the Shure has more grip and extension, whereas with the G800, low frequencies are just a tad looser, but also have more 'analogue warmth', which suits jazz and classical music rather well.
In comparison to the G800, the Shure can sound slightly ragged and a little too 'insistent'. The midrange of the G800 is also marginally more refined, giving vocals in particular a 'creamier', more mellifluous, quality. It is also less 'rushed' in its overall presentation. Where the Shure is wearing its 'party hat' all the time, infectiously injecting joie de vivre in everything it tracks, the G800 is a little more reserved and less 'showy', but nonetheless, never less than entertaining with it.
In short, overall, the G800 has more musical finesse than the Shure, but how much of this effect is because it's currently fitted into a better quality headshell (My Audio Technica LT-12), is unknown. I'll know more when I get my FR S/5 back. The Shure is definitely the best choice for those who predominantly listen to rock, pop, and dance music, as its top-end 'sparkle', midrange alacrity and shpincter-tight, rhythmic, impactful and extended bass, make listening to 12" dance singles, for example, a huge grin-inducing experience. It's pretty much in that respect like no other cartridge I've heard, save something like a Denon DL-103R, through my modded Lentek MC head amp.
However, both the original US version Shure SC35C and Goldring G800 represent superb cartridge bargains, if you can find them, particularly equipped with NOS styli. If so, and they are partnered correctly, then with either one you'll be guaranteed excellent sonic performance and musical satisfaction from the respective genres that both cartridges excel in, so start hunting on eBay now!! :cool:
Marco.
