Shure V15vxmr ?

[Slippers On]

Hello analoguers,

It's getting harder and more expensive here in Europe to locate the Shure V15vxMR cartridge, or even the replacement stylus VN5xMR for it.

With the UK pound quite strong at the moment I wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction to pick up some of these spares in USA or perhaps elsewhere.

Maybe you've got an extra one hidden away or you know a store which still stocks them.

Any help appreciated.

Slippers On

[nobody]

I wish I knew. I've got the cart, but the needle got damaged when it slipped out of my hands in a freak accident. The only stylus I've even broken in my life and it just happens to be my favorite one I've ever had and just about impossible to find without spending ridiculous amounts of money these days. I have seen them pop up on Audiogon now and then, but the last couple that were posted for $250 went really fast. You can still find 'em online a couple places if you're willing to shell out 5 or 6 hundred bucks.

You can use a Shure N97xE stylus from the M97xE and it will fit and work nicely. But, it does loose some performance that way.

I'll be keeping an eye out here too if anyone knows where to get the VN5xMR at a reasonable price.

[BRANDONH]

Hello analoguers,

It's getting harder and more expensive here in Europe to locate the Shure V15vxMR cartridge, or even the replacement stylus VN5xMR for it.

With the UK pound quite strong at the moment I wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction to pick up some of these spares in USA or perhaps elsewhere.

Maybe you've got an extra one hidden away or you know a store which still stocks them.

Any help appreciated.

Slippers On

but man is is expensive!!!
http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc..._Code=SHVN5xMR

[Woochifer]

but man is is expensive!!!
http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc..._Code=SHVN5xMR

I guess this is supply and demand in action. Dwindling supply coupled with constant demand (given that everybody with a Shure V15 will have to replace the stylus at some point) equates to huge upticks in price. And to think an entire V15 cartridge used to only about $150 when that model first went out of production in the early-90s. Only when it came back as a low volume-high margin product a few years later did the prices on those cartridges begin to spike upward.

I recall that Shure committed to keeping a five-year inventory of replacement stylii on hand when they discontinued the V15 cartridge. But, it seems that Shure's announcement created a panic and V15 owners began hoarding whatever replacement stylii they could get their hands on. I know that the Needle Doctor's stock ran out a while ago, and they haven't gotten more since then.

I remember that the first time Shure discontinued the V15 cartridges, dealers in my area still had them in stock for years thereafter. But, back then the V15 was a high volume product, and when it came back, Shure kept the price points high and production volume low, so this time there might not be a big inventory to absorb.