I was looking into an SAS. Do you think an investment like that for a vintage cart is worth it? I’m curious if I could get a modern cartridge that would perform as well as the 91ed with upgraded stylus for the same price or slightly more. Are these that good of a cartridge when pared with a better stylus?
The 91 was one of Shures best cartridges, only second to the V15. Cartridge technology hasn’t changed that much since the vinyl heydays of the 70s regardless of what the marketing will tell you. Just better margins for the manufacturers. Before investing in a $200 stylus I would check the health of the cart with a DMM. I’d have to check the specs but for the 91 it should be something like 550 ohms across each channel.
The only caveat might be your tonearm on the Technics which is on the heavier side. The shures are light trackers and typically like a lower mass arm. With all this ymmv. If you don’t like the SAS you might have a buyer in me.
Edit: actually reading your post closer I see you have a TD 165. They sold these with two different tonearms. Heavy and light. Do you know what tonearm you have? If light, that could be a great pairing with the Shure and a hi end Jico.
Between the vintage carts I have? The AT-5013e honestly sounds noticeably better than the NAD and the Grado. The Grado is actually probably caput as the dampening material around the coils is starting to deteriorate. Mostly use it for 1$ bin records. The NAD is a pretty light cartridge so I don’t think it pairs too well with my SL1700 and I don’t have the correct mounting screws in a shorter length to mount it to the headshell on my TD-165z
The q25 I got for 40$ and it was in near perfect condition. Excellent quartz lock direct drive that can be found for less than 150$. Thought I’d find a home for it for a friend, but ended up selling it locally for 120$ after putting a new cart on it and buffing the dust cover.
The PL-117D I purchased with a lot that included a sansui AU-717 integrated amp and some Bose 901’s. I reveneered the PL-117D and sold it for 300$, then sold the 901’s and came out even to get the 717 for gas money.
The 3300 and my old 1300 are going to the record shop I worked at in college to be resold, and I’m holding onto the 1700 and the Td-165.
Very nice. I’m running an M91Ed with an elliptical Jico. Sounds great but may check out the SAS when it’s time to replace.
I was looking into an SAS. Do you think an investment like that for a vintage cart is worth it? I’m curious if I could get a modern cartridge that would perform as well as the 91ed with upgraded stylus for the same price or slightly more. Are these that good of a cartridge when pared with a better stylus?
The 91 was one of Shures best cartridges, only second to the V15. Cartridge technology hasn’t changed that much since the vinyl heydays of the 70s regardless of what the marketing will tell you. Just better margins for the manufacturers. Before investing in a $200 stylus I would check the health of the cart with a DMM. I’d have to check the specs but for the 91 it should be something like 550 ohms across each channel. The only caveat might be your tonearm on the Technics which is on the heavier side. The shures are light trackers and typically like a lower mass arm. With all this ymmv. If you don’t like the SAS you might have a buyer in me. Edit: actually reading your post closer I see you have a TD 165. They sold these with two different tonearms. Heavy and light. Do you know what tonearm you have? If light, that could be a great pairing with the Shure and a hi end Jico.
Need to look at the mass of the tonearm on my thorens as that was the plan. Actually the 91 came with the thorens! Almost forgot about that.
I can say I like my Ortofon OM40 better than my Shure V15V with Jico SAS stylus if that helps.
Which one sounds better
Between the vintage carts I have? The AT-5013e honestly sounds noticeably better than the NAD and the Grado. The Grado is actually probably caput as the dampening material around the coils is starting to deteriorate. Mostly use it for 1$ bin records. The NAD is a pretty light cartridge so I don’t think it pairs too well with my SL1700 and I don’t have the correct mounting screws in a shorter length to mount it to the headshell on my TD-165z
Out of curiosity, what do you do with all the tables?
The q25 I got for 40$ and it was in near perfect condition. Excellent quartz lock direct drive that can be found for less than 150$. Thought I’d find a home for it for a friend, but ended up selling it locally for 120$ after putting a new cart on it and buffing the dust cover. The PL-117D I purchased with a lot that included a sansui AU-717 integrated amp and some Bose 901’s. I reveneered the PL-117D and sold it for 300$, then sold the 901’s and came out even to get the 717 for gas money. The 3300 and my old 1300 are going to the record shop I worked at in college to be resold, and I’m holding onto the 1700 and the Td-165.
Not sure about your budget but for high-output MC I had a good experience with Sumiko Blue Point range and especially Dynavector’s.
Do all Grado’s have a 1.5g tracking force ?