Shure Replacement Policy changes and Rega TT Questions

[thebes 3868]

Following on the heel of Audiokid's recent thread on the demise of the Shure V15 cart I called them and asked for a stylus replacement expecting a $50 trade-in replacement as others on the Forum, including fini, have taken advantage of in the past.

Oh, oh, not only are the styli on what seems like a permanent back order, but they will no longer do this $50 deal unless it's due to "manufacturing defects". In other words the very attractive upgrade/trade in deal is over.

If they do get the stylii back in they will cost $110.

Thought you'd want to know.

On another but related front I am now the proud owner of a Rega Planar3 with RB 300 tonearm and glass platter. Purchased off of Audiogon for about $4 bills with a Rega Bias cart. It's new, with cosmetic damage on one corner and broken finger lift-shipping damage according to seller.

Wow! It sounds fabulous, leagues better then my Direct Drive Sony with the V15Type3 cart, but you know, one can always do better so let's get to the meat of the matter.

First, Shure Parts is recommending the M97xE cart as the comparable replacement for the V15Type3, list $140 but available at Amazon.com for $57.

What I'm wondering is this really a good trade-off and would it be a step up from my Rega Bias cart which is Rega's bottom end cart? Or should I try to track down a stylus for the Type3 which is probably at least 5 to 10 years old?

Also should I pick up a stylus force tracking gauge or is that overkill?

Also, this is a fully manual turntable, so what if I'm out of the room when the record ends. Will I hurt the needle, will my tonearm get dizzy from spinning around, around and around?

Finally I want to thank Colin for the EnjoytheMusic.com website where I picked up a free alignment gauge so I could set up the cart. Pretty cool sight, which I continue to visit from time to time.

[Cal Blacksmith 126]

I have a planer 3 also and I love it. Yes I know there are better TTs out there but for my tin ears, this is all I need. I was lucky with shipping as mine came from back east with little use and a Grace 747 tone arm and a Grace f9e cart. The cart is out of manufacture but it sure does sound great. In shipping, the sender did not fasten the tone arm to the rest, he only put in the little snap hook. When I opened the box, the tone arm was flopping around like a fish out of water The anti skate weight was knocked off and the cap on the let down damper had been knocked off and the motor had been jarred loose from the suspension. A little TLC and it was good to go with no permenant damage. I did replace the belt and that made a big difference. I'm sorry yours got banged up.

As I do not have your arm, I have no good ideas for a cart to use. I am sure that there will be someone who is more informed than myself that will give you guidance.

[D0N 0]

I did the shure replacement styli thing about 6 months ago. The styli I sent them was broken right off. All that was left was the plastic piece. I sent it in with a $50 and they sent me a brand new VN35 stylus.

Their policy was that they would retip your styuls for $50. Any stylus that couldn't be retipped wasn't eligable for the program. They went out of their way to hook me up.

[3dzapper 1]

Good deal Thebes!

Many tweakers take the finger lift off their RB-X00 arms as this is thought to eliminate unwanted resonance. The previous owner has saved you the trouble.

If you like the "classic Shure" sound the M97 will fit the bill but your V-15 III is a better cart. VR-35 styli come up on ebay quite often and usually go off in the $75 range. There are a lot of different cartridges out there at all price ranges each has it's strenghs and weaknesses. The good part is that almost everything will mate well with that Rega and it's RB-300.

Have fun entertaining the twins!

Rick

[radiob 0]

You could replace it with an AT 440 ml, somewhat cheap new. Great sounding cart for the money.

[thebes 3868]

Thanks for the info but I've got worse problems. An hour ago I managed to break the needle and break two of the wire leads on the tonearm (don't ask but I was trying to swap out the cart and really screwed up-ham fisted is the word). Pried out the little rubber stopper which the leads run into on the arm and damn the internal wires are tiny. Can I simply solder them together and bypass the little plug? Or am I going to have to order up some new wires or connectors? Not a lot of room to work in either.

[dodger 3]

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On 12/16/2004 5:56:23 PM thebes wrote:

Thanks for the info but I've got worse problems. An hour ago I managed to break the needle and break two of the wire leads on the tonearm (don't ask but I was trying to swap out the cart and really screwed up-ham fisted is the word). Pried out the little rubber stopper which the leads run into on the arm and damn the internal wires are tiny. Can I simply solder them together and bypass the little plug? Or am I going to have to order up some new wires or connectors? Not a lot of room to work in either.

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Hi Thebes:

I believe wire replacement is in order.

Maybe someone will have a better solution.

Colin's recommendations, writing and site are excellent!

Congratulations!

dodger Win

[fini 52]

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On 12/16/2004 5:56:23 PM thebes wrote:

Thanks for the info but I've got worse problems. An hour ago I managed to break the needle and break two of the wire leads on the tonearm (don't ask but I was trying to swap out the cart and really screwed up-ham fisted is the word). Pried out the little rubber stopper which the leads run into on the arm and damn the internal wires are tiny. Can I simply solder them together and bypass the little plug? Or am I going to have to order up some new wires or connectors? Not a lot of room to work in either.

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Congratulations! You just joined my club! Wanna hear how I f***ed-up a pair of K-77Ms?

You and I should get together and do some ballet, or something.

[Kudret 2]

It's too bad that Shure has discontinued their generous stylus exchange policy. I took advantage of this offer and received a brand new VN5xMR about a year ago.

BTW, I have not used this stylus much and I would be interested in trading my V15Vx/VN5xMR with an Ortofon SPU G/T.

Kudret

[thebes 3868]

fini, I could teach a course on how to take perfectly good stuff and screw it up. I can't believe I broke my Christmas present to myself and it's not even Christmas morning!

Major bummer and the internal wiring is really, really small-like one strand of copper, the leads were soldered in and then run through a small rubber plug and then the leads were glued to the plug so the first tug on them and there gone. My 20 year old mass market TT has a better, sturdier setup. The Rega sounds wonderful, but you gotta wonder what the hell they were thinking.

British engineering strikes again. These are the same clowns that converted all their tools to US specs when all of europe was going metric. Before that they were the only country in the world using something called Whitworth. Still have a set of these wrenches which is the only thing that will work on my 1962 Triumph motorcycle.

[3dzapper 1]

Thebes. Sorry to hear about your ham handedness.

Look into Origin Live and/or Incognito for a set of tone arm wires for your RB-300. Either is a worthwhile upgrade from stock as the wires run directly from the cartridge to the pre-amp eliminating the plug at the bottom of the tone arm. The Incognitos run about $219 on ebay or Audiogon from a company in Va called Brit Audio.

Rick

[scott0527 18]

Thebes,

Bummer on the tonearm wires. Those wires are way to tiny for my big fingers too. Soldering and working with those damn things in a *****.

As for letting the record spin at the end... Always bugs me so I have tried several tonearm lifts. They are a little tweaky to get them set up but I've used this nicely overpriced "lifter" for several years now and it works well.

http://www.expressimoaudio.com/lift/lift.html

I also have a tracking force gage. Just the old $15.00 Shure cantilever model. Works ok for me.

[thebes 3868]

Thanks Rick I had run across the Ortofon stuff myself, but it's good to see you say you think it's a legit upgrade.

Scotto, what's up with those teeny tiny wires-I mean the lead wires are twice or three times the size of the internal wires-couldn't I just buy the same size wire and run it through or would the size block arm movement or kill the sound?

I mean I'm looking at about 3 bills on the upgrade so would it hurt to rewire with bigger stuff before I lay out the dough?

Sorry to be shifting this away from the original post which was mostly about the end of a sweet deal at Shure that's gone by the board.

[3dzapper 1]

For those on the go with no dough:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3283&item=5736978059&rd=1

Regular wire is too stiff for tonearms. It will severly alter the antiskating adjustment. The little clips on the end to attach to your cartridge are availiable at most audio stores. Always use a small pair of needle nose pliers or hemostat(roachclip ) to put them on and off and never, never by the wire!

Rick

[thebes 3868]

Rick thanks for the explanation and a curse on your house etc.-you gave me a link for British wire the same people that built the stupid system that's causing me all the trouble.

The clips are a much better idea, maybe I can track them down this weekend and rehook the wires and then hot glue them (ie DeanG) so they won't make contact. This is more like it, a cheapskate solution to an expensive problem.

[Cal Blacksmith 126]

Lucas electrics, need I say more?

[garymd 29]

Marty,

This is exactly why, except for a few exceptions, I almost always have a professional work on my TT, especially when it comes to tonearm wiring! That stuff is just too fragile and there are certain techniques that are used when soldering. Otherwise, poof! The wires are gone in a flash. Put a soldering iron to one of those tiny wires and you'll see what I mean.

Good luck! If you'd like a local shop to work on it, shoot me a pm. I've got a guy in Silver Spring who does great work and is reasonably priced.

[fini 52]

Here's the tech team I now use for all my intricate work. In this shot, they're zapping grunge out of the grooves of that record Allan sent me.

[AnalOg 1]

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On 12/16/2004 8:20:59 PM 3dzapper wrote:

Thebes. Sorry to hear about your ham handedness.

Look into Origin Live and/or Incognito for a set of tone arm wires for your RB-300. Either is a worthwhile upgrade from stock as the wires run directly from the cartridge to the pre-amp eliminating the plug at the bottom of the tone arm. The Incognitos run about $219 on ebay or Audiogon from a company in Va called Brit Audio.

Rick

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I had this work done to my Rega/ RB-300 when I owned it. Had it installed by Brit also, a worth while investment, sonic improvements are very noticeable.

Tom

[AnalOg 1]

Another point I would like to stress, make sure the fix is done correctly. Down the line if you decide to upgrade your TT front end, someone may be more reluctant to pay the going price for your table if it is rigged together.

Also why would you need a clip to pick up a roach!

Tom