Thoughts and Non Thoughts

After Shure announced they would stop producing phono products (read cartridge and stylus), I quickly ordered another M97xe before prices took off. But I was too late for the M44-7 (and M44G) as prices already doubled, so I decided to take stock of my inventory. Found two M44-7 cart bodies and one near mint stylus. Also found a M55E with N55E that I've forgotten. So maybe these carts will last me a lifetime. But I needed to match them with stylus so ordered some from Jico Japan. They came in nice jewel cases. These are diamonds after all.  😊 After some testing and mix and matching, found some viable combinations, but this is the one I'm currently enjoying. M55E body with Jico N55E stylus tracking at 1.70 g. Sounding quite nice.  😊

Now that Shure has announced that thry will discontinue their phono products (Shure announcement) some DJs and audiophiles are suddenly taking stock of their Shure cartridges and styli. "Turntablists" specially are talking about the M44-7, which has become the standard DJ cartridge. It is now out of stock at Amazon, except for some vendors selling at $150 (previously $79). The M97xe, aimed at audiophiles, doesn't have the mid-bass hump that the M44-7 has, and has a lower output. There were some quality-related issues reported, particularly incidences of a channel going dead. Nevertheless, for those who got good copies, not a few preferred the M97xe for home audio listening. Save for a couple of years when I put in a Rega Exact on my Technics SL1200 mk2 (the Exact is now happily singing on a RP3), I have been using a M97xe on this table. I got it for $61 when it went on sale at Amazon almost 9 years ago. I can say it's the best $61 I've spent on analog gear...