Shure V15Vmr or Ortofon OM20 Super?

If you think that the Shure is lean, you won't like the Ortofon at all. The Ortofon is much quicker sounding with better definition whereas the Shure is slower with less separation. If the Ortofon were an active component, it would remind of Musical Fidelity gear. Nice to listen to but lacking in body and warmth.

Depending on the mass of your arm and versatility of your phono stage, you might want to check into some of the various Grado cartridges. Grado's are to cartridges what Cardas are to cables i.e. warm and smooth while still retaining a good portion of high frequency articulation. Sean
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Hi Marty, I recently restylied two 20 plus year old carts, a Shure M91ED and Ortofon TM20U, at the same time. Useful Shure info/facts at:
http://shure.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/shure.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php

Good service and OEM styli from authorized Shure/Ortofon dealer at:
www.garage-a-records.com/cart.html
Guaranteed genuine and ten percent off the second stylus was hard to beat. Good people too, no relation.

Having only one headshell I ran the Ortofon first because in my case it has the higher pedigree/cost more. Of the two the Ortofon has a more refined and extended sound. The Shure is more robust and dynamic with a deeper midrange. Plus the M91ED is higher output at .5v than the .4v of the TM20U.

FWIW and all things considered, especially the phono stage in the Threshold FET nine/e which has extension to spare, the Shure works better for me. It simply has a rightness the Ortofon lacks. The Ortofon might be smoother but it's drier too, close but not quite limp in comparison to the bold Shure. Once again system matching is the key.

So, for the moment the Ortofon is back in it red velvet casket for the day my system returns to the dark side and its lighter tone is once again required. According to Shure their MM carts don't wear out. Yep, sounds unbelievable but mine sounds better than ever!

Great input, description and analysis from the pevious two, agree entirely, for what that's worth. If you find the Shure already lean, then definitely look at the Grados. In your budget range is also an NOS cartridge which appears quite often at your price, the ADC XLM MKII, which would actually be up in Grado Platinum territory in terms of ultimate sound quality, big, bold, detailed and warm all at the same time. Check ebay, and good luck.

Ortofon om20 super?? why? That would be a downgrade!! I replaced my om20 super with a shure m97xe and couldn't be happier. much more body and a more natural tone and presentation.