Popped the M55e with Jico SAS back on the VPI rig last night to check it out after a year off from using this combination.
I remember this combo being rather special and wondered if it sounded as good still or was thinking if it through rose tinted specs/ears? Nope, the magic is still there! I painstakingly set the M55e up and was surprised it rather liked the VTA position I had used for the 2M. Don't forget this killer combination only cost me £180 to nail together and wow is it good.
The Jico SAS stylus has the original boron pipe with micro ridge diamond profile and is tiny. Magnifying glass and best specs had to be used throughout the set up. Tracking 1.5g and overhang was set using the excellent VPI tool so I could get it bang on. I must admit the cantilever looks a bit odd in the M55e cartridge body but the fit is good although the overhang position is way different to a standard M55e stylus. Luckily I had no compliance issues so it suits a medium mass tonearm, the one I am using is the VPI 9t which is a unipivot and damped internally.
Sound is sweet, detailed and portrays vocals and instruments superbly, as good as the 2M Black which is my usual daily runner. Bass is better defined and tighter than the 2M which is saying something but the overall sound is less clinical and there is much less surface and groove noise. The only area it looses out to the 2M is air and soundstage presence. I would say the 2M has more oomph but it probably has a higher output to the M55e.
Considering the M55e cartridge is 40 years old this is quite amazing. I am going to run this cartridge for some time now and will pop in the NOS N55 stylus sometime to listen to how the original M55e should have sounded and will write up my thoughts, but in the meantime I am going enjoy this wonderful combination.
Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702
Second System : Goldring Lenco GL75 / AT95EX / Pioneer SX590 / Spendor SP2