The Jico SAS/B Stylus VN 5 MR

@ledoux1238 Yes, they make, I think it was 4 different cantilevers based on "special" Japanese woods. This is a cultural thing with the Japanese. I am heavy into Japanese woodworking tools. The best plane irons are given names like "Eagle Spirit" engraved into the tool by the maker. Irons like these can go for thousands of dollars depending on the reputation of the maker. Every material used has special connotations. You are not just listening to a cartridge, but to special wood painstakingly manufactured by a little old man sitting at a coal fire. Koetsu did the same thing putting the same cartridge motors in different bodies ascribing a certain spirit to each one. IMHO all they did was give the cartridges different effective masses, but what do I know. I have another V15 VMR body. Maybe I'll try one. If you go here https://imgur.com/gallery/stylus-photomicrographs-51n5VF9 you can see pictures of several styluses including the JICO SAS stylus. You can easily see the it is full of contamination which softens the diamond. The very tip is well shaped and polished, but otherwise it can not match the quality of the other styluses. For $300 it remains a great value even if it has 1/2 the lifespan. 

In the meanwhile I have ordered all the parts to construct any of the loading schemes mentioned in this thread. I won't be commenting for at least a month probably 2 

@mijostin  You wrote "Yes Richard they were, but they also did not do a direct comparison with my other cartridges and my system is also very commanding from a visual perspective. It did not take me long to make the realization that the Shure was not up to the other cartridges performance. But I am not giving up yet. I will try Lew's suggestion."

I am interested in this thread because I was handed a Shure V15 type III, and discovered the Jico SAS/B stylus was available. However for about the same money, I bought a new Audio Technica VM540ML which seems to have the same stylus shape and very similar specifications.  (It was a TAS top 50 best buy recommendation).  I understand that both are moving magnet designs and are considered inferior to moving coils!

For about the price of one of your other cartridges, if I had the spare cash, I would probably buy a tangential tracking Holbo deck with air bearing and a Kiseki moving coil cartridge.  I am still agnostic in the digital / analogue debate!  Learning all the time ...

@mijostyn  First time I've been accused of being promiscuous, at least over a few old records!  I'd like to say that I've spent my money on wine, women and song:  the rest I've wasted.

As a ten-pound pom, I immigrated to Wollongong which had the biggest steelworks in the British Commonwealth.  The public library had a big collection of classical records which it lent free.  It also has 25 patrolled surf beaches, so it is no great surprise to find a surfing violinist, Richard Tognetti, heading one of the world's great orchestras, the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Now I am not sure what moving mass is in a cartridge?  Another factor in my mind is that Audio Technica claims 1000 hours life versus half that for the Jico SAS which seems to have the same diamond pattern.  Usually, like Oscar Wilde, I am easily satisfied with the best.  Obviously at this price point, one can only expect good - hopefully good enough!

For what it is worth, here's TAS' list of cartridges from 2020 "50 Top Bargains in High-End Audio":

1:  Enry Level: Grado Prestige Black2 phono cartridge, $75

2.  A step up: Audio Technica VM540ML and VM760SLC phono cartridges, $249/$649

3.  Mid-priced: Hana SL phono cartridge, $750

4.  Upper End:  Kiseki Purple Heart phono cartridge, $3199

5  Ultra High End:  Lyra Etna Lambda phono cartridge, $9999

I have not read a review of the ATs which says anything bad about them, not that I always trust reviewers.  Home Theatre HiFi did a very comprehensive review of the Reavon UBR-X200 universal disk player but completely missed that it down-converts DSD to CD quality through its analog outputs - something I immediately noticed.

While I have your attention, I forgot to mention that Presto Classical also carries an extensive Jazz selection, and carries vinyl as well as silver disks, streaming and downloads.  Highly recommended.  Happy listening