This phone smacks of good tight bass, excells on mids, and super details on treble. Go higher up the chain and the music has more warmth and alittle less bass but to each their own listening of sound. Grados comfort is to be of getting used to but once settled in the music is incredibly widestage a to almost errie which I truely love more than anything. This is my favorite to use when doing retaining wall Dallas!

None . .

I bought a Dual 1229 to play with. I had Bill at Fixmydual.com go thru it and replace the interconnects with the wire of his choice. I had a M75D (Bright) than a M91ED (Good) on it. I also tried my Grado Ref Ref 1.5mv cartridge. Not good on the Dual, noisy. The Grado Ref Ref is great on my Thorens TD 124.

I bought 2 of these, as I seen the prices going up. Sounds great in the dual 1229 straight out of the box. Sounds similar to my Van Den Hul MC10 Special on my VPI Aries. Very easy to listen to and low noise. Lots of detail and great solid bass, played thru Von Schweikert VR-4 speakers I find the MM preamp in my Marantz PM17 MKII works well with it.

It played the HIFI Test record torture tracks perfectly at 1.25 gm.

The M97XE is just right for the Dual 1229, not to hot and not to cold.

I have a modified Technics SL1210 with SME 309 arm (latest 2010 version) and external power supply, isonoe isolators etc. I also upgraded to a Lehmann Black Cube Series 2 phono pre-amp. I kept my M97xe and fitted it with a new stylus and I am amazed at how well it performs. It obviously benefits hugely from the SME arm (which is a high end item designed for more expensive cartridges). The main thing is how secure the sound is with no mistracking or end of side distortion. The sound is well matched to my system with good imaginary, plenty of detail and punchy base. Clearly this is a very good cartridge and at the moment I see no need to upgrade. As a bonus it is not expensive to change the stylus if needed and no need to send away to be re-tipped. Tracking force is 1.25gm - I dont use the stabilizer. Highly recommended

I use this cartridge on a Technics SL-1200 mk2 turntable with a Rega RB600 arm. I really like this cartridge, for it is a nice match with the Technics. The overall performance of this cartridge is really good for the price; in fact, it is dynamic, soft, warm and essentially neutral. The tracking is amazing with the Rega RB600 arm, so it doesn't have any difficulty to play wraped records. It is not as detailed as a Denon DL-110, but it is an enjoyable one. In all, a nice product at an affordable price and a 5 stars for its good value.

Best phono cartridge for the price, and to tell you the truth much better than others 3 times of its price. Needs more than 100 hours of play to show its amazing sound.
Be patient when you alighn it. I use a technics sl1210mk2 and took me quite some time to alighn it with the technics protractor.
Neutral sound, which means that if you have a record with bad production you better not use it with this cartridge.

Lovely smooth sound at 47 k but with improved treble at 62 k and generally optimised elecrical 'loading' (resistance and capacitance). Excellent tracking ability.

Very slightly low outpiut compared to typical moving magnet cartridges, but not a serious issue.

I had already tried to post a review of this cartridge, but sadly after all my efforts it disappeared into cyberspace somewhere never to be seen again it would seem! I admit to being a fan of the M97xE. I now have three at fitted to different turntables and all giving great service. I bought my first M97xE in 2004 and I admit that I was somewhat disappointed with it.

However I've since come to realize that my basic lack of knowledge was the main reason for the poor perceived results. A couple of things to watch. Correct overhang adjustment (yes it is a fiddly process), and careful attention to optimised tracking weight with due compensation for the dynamic stabiliser which is always is used in my set-ups.

The third thing to watch is optimised electrical 'loading'. The M97xE is often described as 'dull and/ or boring' and this is primarily due to a slightly rolled off high frequency response. Whilst this slightly rolled off treble can actually be useful as a means of taming overly bright systems, there are actually ways to 'flatten' the high frequency response. This is a relatively new area of research but essentially this is one cartridge that does not show its best at the standard 47 k input impedance of typical moving magnet cartridge phono preamps.

I have modified my own DIY preamps for a (resistive) input impedance of 62 k with significantly improved upper treble. Sadly though, altering the input impedance involves component replacements which is essentially impossible for most listeners unless one is conversant with electronics construction, however another approach works almost as well, and that is keeping the overall input 'shunt' capacitance to the recommended Shure value. This includes tonearm and interconnect cable capacitance and well as phono preamp input capacitance. Too much capacitance simply results in very heavy treble roll off! A capacitance meter is an easy way of measuring overall capacitance, but remember to remove the headshell (and cartridge) for this measurement of course! A value of around 200 picofarads is optimal. Getting the right value of input shunt capacitance really makes a difference. I also have several other top notch moving magnet cartridges, but the M97xE continues to be my favourite with lovely, smooth, musical playback audio quality that I find most endearing.

Customer Service

Excellent.

Similar Products Used:

Ortofon Super OM and Ortofon 2M Red cartridges.

Great tracking and top notch 'musical' sound when electrical loading is optimised, otherwise noticeable treble roll off is apparent.

Very slightly low output, but no a serious problem.

I've just purchased my third M97xE. The other two are all fitted to other tuntables and get regular use. I love this cartridge although I've had a love/ hate relationship with it, in a sense.

My first M97xE purchased in 2004 was disappointing however in intervening years I've realized that my lack of knowledge about proper set up was the main reason. Things to watch are 1: proper overhang adjustment. 2: correct tracking weight, including proper conpensation for the dynamic stabiliser. 3: optimal electrical loading.

Into the 'standard' 47 k the M97xE does indeed exhibit noticeable treble roll off, which is a good match for overly 'bright' systems, however there is a solution if a flat frequency response is wanted (as I do). Although this is difficult to do unless one is familiar with electronics, the solution is to alter the phono stage resistive input impedance to a different value. I have found 62 k optimal with my set up. Doing this flattens the high frequency response, and the cartridge then has all the high frequency response one could ever want!

As I am an avid DIY electronics person, this was easy for me to do, however for most listeners this modification is practicalluy impossible for obvious reasons. However the second best approach is to stick to the Shure recommended value of load 'capacitance' as this also affects the high frequency response. A value of about 200 picofarads overall is optimal. This includes the capacitance in the tonearm wiring , interconnects and the phono stage itself. The M97xE tracks very well and despite owning other top notch moving magnet cartridges the Shure M97xE continues to be my favourite phono cartridge!

Customer Service

Excellent.

Similar Products Used:

Ortofon Super OM cartridges, Ortofon 2M Red.

Tracking, smooooth sound, and as good-looking as its brother.

Takes a while to get it aligned properly.

Bought the M97xE and mounted it in a brand new Technics SL-1200 MkII after selling my V15VxMR and previous turntable/arm. The M97xE is not the performer that the V15VxMR was, but I like it better... so smooth and easy to listen to. Like its brother, it's not very easy to align, owing to its general lack of straight lines, but persevere, and you'll get it. I run mine at 1.5 grams net using the stabilizer.

Similar Products Used:

Shure V15VxMR
Sumiko Pearl
ADC XLM MkII (improved)
Grado GF3E+
Pickering XSV3000

Comes with a beautiful metal box.

Tracks horribly, not as harsh as other cartridges, but still not smooth. I spent 2 days trying to dial this thing by getting the overhang just right and experimenting with different tracking force and it would not track a whole record without a skip. The "dynamic stabilizer" brush just made things worse. Sound quality is better than my old Audio Technica, but tracking is far worse. The old AT never skipped, but sounded more icky than the Shure.

Not as good as expected. Shure makes some of the best dynamic microphones money can buy and I really expected to be impressed by this cartridge. The problem may be that is just not compatible with my turntable, but nonetheless...After fooling around with vinyl for a couple of months I have a new appreciation for the redbook CD and my heavily modded Yamaha CD player.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Technica, Grado

See above

underestimated my the audiophile sect.

Bought to replace a MC 10s Ortofon and to be mounted on my vintage Thorens TD 160.
In the 70's a commun rule was to obtain the best synergy between cartridge and loudspeakers, whatever sytem which would go in between.
It is still the case and as soon as I replace my main loudspeaker for a better ones, (very accurate and transparent), it became all too apparent that the MC10s cartridge, though being good stuff was a bit too weary and thin sounding for my taste.
Entered the M97XE which considerably solved the problem: all came back in place:
The music flows in a better balanced fashion and I do appreciate this MX97 XE everytime the needle hits one of my favourite LP.
I used many Shure cartridges with my old Thorens and this one is the best to my taste.

Similar Products Used:

Ortofon, Supex, many Shure......