NOS Shure V15 type III cartridge opinions

FWIW, while surfing found a NOS the seller is saying is new in box for 499.00. Looks exactly like mine. Y'all go get it.

That would be my pick for a non-OEM and non-SAS option. Just keep in mind that it is not near the SAS in performance.

Dave

Ralf it’s no penalty for trying existing one first
The way original needle sounds is unbeatable by any aftermarket .
In room conditions without usage it will stay just fine for century...
the suspension of most vintage needles is visible with pocket microscope for jeweler

The needle will last forever, but the suspension on any Shure I've ever had never made it more than two years whether I used it or not.

If the cantilever appears to be fine, but won't hold the cartridge up when set up with the correct tracking force, this is a sign that the suspension has perished. OTOH, sometimes when it perishes it simply gets hard; at that point the cartridge sounds 'tinny'. Out of desperation when I had a cartridge do that, I put a tiny drop of brake fluid into the suspension area and let it sit with the cartridge pointed up for about a week. After that it played much better for about 6 months. Then it became really obvious that I simply had to replace the needle assembly.

Hi,
I just bought a Shure V15 111 off eBay.
It had the original hypereliptical VN 35 E stylus which, given its age, I was not expecting much of.
The stylus tip looked ok under eyeglass although the cantilever looked like it had been dug up from the North Sea.
As a matter of logic the suspension was unlikely to be in great shape unless it had been stored in a cigar humidor.
Amazingly it sounded pretty good mounted in an FR66s tonearm, a match that was supposed to be made in hell according to the perceived wisdom of using high mass tonearms with high compliance cartridges.
The first thing I did was replace the charity shop tonearm wires with some half decent silver ones. That made a remarkable difference.
At that point the sound was very nice. By “very nice” I mean you could hear a great cartridge in there, but it was clearly worn - the high frequency crescendos in classical music were a tad shouty and hard.
I then got a JICO replacement VN35E (not the SAS version) which is supposed to be a direct replica of the Shure VN35E.
That immediately cured all of the old age symptoms (the shoutings/ hardness referred to above).
So what’s the verdict ?
To put things in perspective I have a collection of cartridges, London (Decca) Reference, Koetsu Jade d/c, Koetsu Vermillion, various FR7s, SPU Synergy and Classic + various original and souped up Denon103s.
It might be negative confirmation basis, rooting for the underdog, partial deafness or just plain lack of refined understanding, however the VR15 111 with the new stylus and cantilever (and suspension as this is included in the assembly which simply unplugs to replace) does not suffer by comparison with any of them in musical listening enjoyment.
Given that you can pick one up second hand for under £150, then drop say another £100 on a JICO (the SAS is more) then this begs the question what progress there has actually been in cartridge performance in the last 30 years.
I’d be happy with the Shure as my only cartridge ...

Ps in my above post I meant to say “replace headshell wires” rather than tonearm wires !