Same ol' stylus questions...

[Mr. Kelly]

Hey all,

Nothing original here...

About to drop serious coin on a replacement for my Shure VN45HE from my V15 Type IV. This will sit on my Dual 601. Pretty "Shure" I'm going to do the Jico SAS.

Anyone care to talk me out of it and into the Ed Saunders version? It's significantly cheaper, and much better on my wallet. Is the difference worth the extra?

Plus, I've read on here that the brush on the after market versions doesn't quite cut the mustard as compared to the original. Is there a possibility of pulling my original brush off and placing it on the new stylus body? Anyone ever do this?

Lastly, which retailers have folks had the best luck with? I see there is lpgear.com, stylus.export.japan.com, etc., which I'm presuming is Jico direct. Any pros or cons to these places?

Thanks in advance for any input you'd like to give. I appreciate it!

[dlaloum]

The reports of the failings of the Jico brush are I think very much overstated.

My measurements on my own Jico VN5MR-SAS show the brush to be very effective.

According to some reports they have in fact improved the damping of the brush over time - mine was purchased about 18 months ago and works excellently.

I ordered direct from Jico and received the styli 2 weeks later.

LPGear and Turntableneedles have also been reputable dealers that I have used, and when I have had issues both have accepted returns without any problems. (and provided replacement or refund...)

[Alec124c41]

The Jico SAS is better than the original, IMHO.

Cheers,
Alec

[Mr. Kelly]

Would you concede that the Saunders is not as desireable as the original, IYHO?

[Alec124c41]

I found the Ed Saunders stylus to be very close to the original. It is good. But I think the SAS sounds a bit better.

Cheers,
Alec

[Dimal]

I found the Ed Saunders stylus to be very close to the original. It is good. But I think the SAS sounds a bit better.

Cheers,
Alec

I found the Ed Saunders replacement Styli for the V15-III indistinguishable in performance from an original NOS VN35E, I have set aside. This is mounted on a Jelco SA-250VB Tonearm...

Mal.

[Emref]

I found the Ed Saunders stylus to be very close to the original. It is good. But I think the SAS sounds a bit better.

Cheers,
Alec

I found the Ed Saunders replacement Styli for the V15-III indistinguishable in performance from an original NOS VN35E, I have set aside. This is mounted on a Jelco SA-250VB Tonearm...

Mal.

In my V15IV the Ed Saunders, lacks bass, have sibilance, the dumper is not a dumper, did not pass the ERA IV Shure record tracking tests, and mistracked normal records, tried with different headshells and tracking weights, nothing of this happens with the Shure M95HE cartdrige with original stylus I was using.

Now I received a JICO SAS for the V15IV, it outpassed everything as the original VN45MR did before it brokes and sounds great.
Regards
Alberto

[Bob in STL]

I have a Jico SAS on my V-15-III and find it to be excellent and much better than the stock sytlus ... however my stock stylus is very old and not expected to perform at peak level.

Bought directly from Jico, took about 2 weeks, no hassles.

[Dimal]

In my V15IV the Ed Saunders, lacks bass, have sibilance, the dumper is not a dumper, did not pass the ERA IV Shure record tracking tests, and mistracked normal records, tried with different headshells and tracking weights, nothing of this happens with the Shure M95HE cartdrige with original stylus I was using.

G'day Alberto...

I can't comment on the V15-IV as I don't own one. However, after following the advice from the seller (which included an increase in VTF to 1.5g and a run-in period of 20-30 Hrs), I can't fault the Saunders replacement. After the run-in, the VTF can be gradually lowered to 1.0g or so, without loss of performance...

Mal.

[Bran Kulez]

Dimal wrote: I found the Ed Saunders replacement Styli for the V15-III indistinguishable in performance from an original NOS VN35E, I have set aside.

I found the Ed Saunders stylus to have flabby bass, lacking detail and harsh sounding compared to my 30 year old VN35E.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=48779

[Dimal]

I found the Ed Saunders stylus to have flabby bass, lacking detail and harsh sounding compared to my 30 year old VN35E.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=48779

Yes mate, I have read through your thread and found it quite interesting. Your experience though, has not been reflected by my own in this case.

I must admit, that at first I was quite taken aback by the poor audio performance of the Ed Saunders styli, to the extent that I even asked for a refund on my purchase. However, after talking to the vendor and then taking on board their preferred run-in procedure, I'm am now more than happy with the performance of the ES styli. I then purchased a couple for my 681EEE as well and likewise, after the run-in, I'm very happy with these also. I don't think they produce these styli anymore unfortunately...

Mal.

[Mr. Kelly]

Well, I have to say... I bit the bullet, drank some scotch whiskey, and plunked down the $160.00 for the Jico SAS.

I'll tell you... this thing SMOKED from the second I put the thing in my V15 Type IV!! I haven't had much of a chance to do "formal" testing to qualify my ears, but upon first listen, it is a much better tracker than my old VN45HE. However, it has to be noted, if not obvious, that my OEM stylus was 30 plus years old (although babied, with surprisingly low hours).

As for overall tonal differences, that's a little less apparent, and I'd have to take some conversion files that I did a few years ago with my OEM, and try to compare them to ones I will make with my new SAS playing the same vinyl. Problem here is that I have a whole new digital conversion method, so that will be tricky, and much less accurate of a comparison.

[Emref]

I found the Ed Saunders stylus to have flabby bass, lacking detail and harsh sounding compared to my 30 year old VN35E.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=48779

Yes mate, I have read through your thread and found it quite interesting. Your experience though, has not been reflected by my own in this case.

I must admit, that at first I was quite taken aback by the poor audio performance of the Ed Saunders styli, to the extent that I even asked for a refund on my purchase. However, after talking to the vendor and then taking on board their preferred run-in procedure, I'm am now more than happy with the performance of the ES styli. I then purchased a couple for my 681EEE as well and likewise, after the run-in, I'm very happy with these also. I don't think they produce these styli anymore unfortunately...

Mal.

Dimal: can you tell the breaking Ed Saunders styli procedure?, sorry I didn´t saw it.
Thank you very much
Alberto

[Dimal]

G'day Alberto...

I could copy the information down here for you, I don't mind. However, the vendors are really friendly and helpful people and I would suggest contacting them through their eBay store listing, here...

If you have no luck doing this, come back to this thread and I'll dig up their procedure for you. All the best...

Mal.