From the collection of the great MM cartridges I've assembled over the years, this one is really special.
It started life as a V15 ii "D12," meaning it came pre-mounted on a Dual sled. The sled is long gone, as was the original stylus when I got it, so it got the remarkable Jico SAS/B (Boron) VN15E stylus. Because I was a bit bored during Covid lock-down, I decided to gold-leaf the somewhat scratched body. Looks great, and I told myself at the time that I was making a Faraday cage (clearly an excuse used to explain where all the gold leaf in the hobby bin went). Then added one of Stanley's gorgeous Ovangkol wood bodies.
Wow. This thing sounds awesome. It's still got the Shure sound, but just better. Tracks amazingly well. Probably not due to the gold leaf, but definitely due to the wood body and the SAS/B stylus. This cartridge gives $1500+ MCs a run for their money. Has about 10 hours on it, so as good as it sounds now, it will probably improve as it breaks in. If you believe in that stuff.
I'm a bit sad to see it go, but I simply don't have the time or inclination to give proper playing-time to the 35+ cartridges I still own, so I'm giving Hifi Haven members a crack at giving this a new home.
Includes mounting screws, the original wood box and all associated paperwork, including the warranty card and info booklet (which itself sells on ebay for $30. Why I don't know. Audiophiles are crazy.) The Jico Stylus is essentially unused, and goes for $282.00 new and is worth every penny.
The specs are as follows: (keep in mind that the stylus is not original, but by all accounts an improvement)
Output Voltage: 3.5mV
Frequency Response 20 Hz to 25 kHz
Tracking Force: ,75 g - 1.5 g
Compliance: 25 x 10 (-6) cm per Dyne
Weight: 11 grams
As a high-compliance cartridge, it does very well with a light-ish tonearm, and was really amazing on my SME 3009 Series 2 unimproved (I prefer the metal knife edge bearings to whatever the "improved" was). Also did well on a Signet XK-50 (At 1100).
I take exceptional care of my equipment, and you can be assured that this will be well-packed. I'm comfortable selling to North America, Europe, UK, and will consider others depending on what a PITA the paperwork would be. So far, I've had no issues sending items to the UK, Finland, and Austria...ships by USPS (cheapest, and no problems to date!) from New York.
I'm looking for $275, which is less than the cost of the Jico SAS/B stylus. You get the Stanley body, the Shure motor and the gold leaf for free...
It started life as a V15 ii "D12," meaning it came pre-mounted on a Dual sled. The sled is long gone, as was the original stylus when I got it, so it got the remarkable Jico SAS/B (Boron) VN15E stylus. Because I was a bit bored during Covid lock-down, I decided to gold-leaf the somewhat scratched body. Looks great, and I told myself at the time that I was making a Faraday cage (clearly an excuse used to explain where all the gold leaf in the hobby bin went). Then added one of Stanley's gorgeous Ovangkol wood bodies.
Wow. This thing sounds awesome. It's still got the Shure sound, but just better. Tracks amazingly well. Probably not due to the gold leaf, but definitely due to the wood body and the SAS/B stylus. This cartridge gives $1500+ MCs a run for their money. Has about 10 hours on it, so as good as it sounds now, it will probably improve as it breaks in. If you believe in that stuff.
I'm a bit sad to see it go, but I simply don't have the time or inclination to give proper playing-time to the 35+ cartridges I still own, so I'm giving Hifi Haven members a crack at giving this a new home.
Includes mounting screws, the original wood box and all associated paperwork, including the warranty card and info booklet (which itself sells on ebay for $30. Why I don't know. Audiophiles are crazy.) The Jico Stylus is essentially unused, and goes for $282.00 new and is worth every penny.
The specs are as follows: (keep in mind that the stylus is not original, but by all accounts an improvement)
Output Voltage: 3.5mV
Frequency Response 20 Hz to 25 kHz
Tracking Force: ,75 g - 1.5 g
Compliance: 25 x 10 (-6) cm per Dyne
Weight: 11 grams
As a high-compliance cartridge, it does very well with a light-ish tonearm, and was really amazing on my SME 3009 Series 2 unimproved (I prefer the metal knife edge bearings to whatever the "improved" was). Also did well on a Signet XK-50 (At 1100).
I take exceptional care of my equipment, and you can be assured that this will be well-packed. I'm comfortable selling to North America, Europe, UK, and will consider others depending on what a PITA the paperwork would be. So far, I've had no issues sending items to the UK, Finland, and Austria...ships by USPS (cheapest, and no problems to date!) from New York.
I'm looking for $275, which is less than the cost of the Jico SAS/B stylus. You get the Stanley body, the Shure motor and the gold leaf for free...
