RIP the Shure M97xe – advice for best alternative?

Hi-Fi Corner
1

Hi all

My Shure M97xe has finally given up working and I see they’ve been discontinued, which is a chore because I was always really happy with how the Shure sounded.

So my question is: what’s the next best alternative?

Deck is Thorens TD160 Super with a SME Series III S arm. So, as I understand it, that means I need a high compliance cart, hence how I got to the Shure (from memory).

Why I liked the Shure was the smooth balance and punch. It had solid, focused bass with slam and was musical, unfussy. It just got on with it and disappeared.

I listen to all genres so it’s much more important to me that the cart is reasonably forgiving than the last word in detail. Most important, I can’t stand brightness in the treble or upper mids - so a smooth top end is essential with no forwardness.

System is 32.5/110/hicap/EposM12.
Cartridge budget is £150-200ish

What I’m considering after a bit of reading:

Sumiko Rainier - might stretch to an Olympia.
Audio-Technica VM530 or might stretch to VM540ML if it’s the one
Goldring 2100

Welcome experiences with those, especially on a SME Series III arm.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

2

If you like the Shure then perhaps just consider a new stylus for it. Even if you can’t get an original from Shure, you could try one from a high quality 3rd party such as Jico.

3

I agree with Richard, no need to give up…
Look for Jico or Tonar there are some fine options to revive your M97, that indeed deserves to be used

4

I run a TD160S with SME IIIS too. My cartridge is a Grado Reference Sonata but this is outside your current budget (and stylus is not user replaceable). Before the Sonata I had a Grado Prestige, never had any compatibility issues and loved its presentation. If keeping the Shure going turns out to be problematic then Grado well worth considering.

5

HI Richard, thanks for the reply.

The cart has dropped to one channel after a being a bit on-off dodgy for a while.

I read this is a known problem with the M97xe and it’s because of the connection points on the cartridge huosing itself not the stylus, but I don’t know if that’s correct…

6

I’ve found the sound of the M97xe very difficult to match with other, current MM cartridges in the same (1x - 2x) price range. Reading the internet analyses of the frequency response/preamp loading offers insights as to why this is.

You may just want to get a used body and a new replacement stylus as I think you’re going to have difficulty finding a suitable alternative.

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