Mijo, don’t forget to add in the input capacitance of your phono stage. In proportion to their gain factor all phono stages present a capacitance, both tube and solid state types, especially those with op amp input stages.
The Shure V15 V with a Jico SAS/B stylus VS The Soundsmith Hyperion MR and Lyra Atlas SL
On a sentimental lark I purchased two Shure V15 V bodies and one SAS/B stylus. I was always a realistic about the Shure's potential. Was comparing it to $10k+ cartridges fair? Absolutely. The Shure was considered to be one of the best cartridges of the day. Why not compare it to a few of the best we have today?
The Shure has always been considered to be unfailingly neutral. Famous recording engineers have said it sounded most like their master tapes. I do not have an original stylus for the Shure and I can not say that the Jico performs as well.
My initial evaluation was quite positive. It worked wonderfully well in the Shroder CB. With a light mounting plate and small counterbalance weight a resonance point of 8 hz was easily achieved. There was nothing blatantly wrong with the sound. There was no mistracking at 1.2 grams. You can see pictures of all these styluses here https://imgur.com/gallery/stylus-photomicrographs-51n5VF9
After listening to a bunch of favorite evaluation records my impression was that the Shure sounded on the thin side, lacking in the utmost dynamic impact with just a touch of harshness. I listened to the Shure only for four weeks as my MC phono stage had taken a trip back to the factory. I was using the MM phono stage in the DEQX Pre 8, designed by Dynavector. I have used it with a step up transformer and know it performs well. I got my MC stage back last week and cycled through my other cartridges then back to the Shure. The Soundsmith and Lyra are much more alike than different. I could easily not be able to tell which one was playing. The Lyra is the slightest touch darker. The Shure is a great value....for $480 in today's money, but it can not hold a candle to the other cartridges. They are more dynamic, smoother and quieter. They are more like my high resolution digital files. Whether or not they are $10,000 better is a personal issue. Did the DEQX's phono stage contribute to this lopsided result? Only to a small degree if any. I do have two Shure bodies and they both sound exactly the same. The Shure may have done better with a stock stylus. I do not think the age of the bodies contributes to this result at all.
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@lewm You know, I never noticed that my meter does indeed measure capacitance. So, thanx for pulling my chain. On the cable I get 0.04 nF (40 pF) For some reason I can not measure on pins 2 and 3 of the phono stages input. The meter just says RUN. I guess I should get s 200 pF cap and put it across pin 2 and 3 of the input? What kind of cap would you use? |
I am not sure you can measure input capacitance in such a simple manner, because the input capacitance is only present when current is flowing. That information you probably need to get from the manufacturer. I am impressed if your meter can measure 0.04nF. Today I had reason to check the specs for my Fluke 87V in the owners manual, and I think the lower limit of its sensitivity is 1 or maybe 10nF. I was going to go on here and apologize. I also have a Sencore LC meter that is crazy sensitive, and with it I can certainly measure pF's and have often done so. If you want to add capacitance, then yes I think you can install a capacitor across pins 2 and 3. I would use polystyrene. Michael Percy Audio sells them; his catalog is on line. But maybe hold off until you find out the input capacitance of your phono section. |
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