VN5xMR HG SAS/B

I have a Linn Basik and an Oracle with a Jelco arm. The V15VMR is the ideal cartridge for both. I have The original stylus in fair shape, the JICO VN5xMR, and the SAS version. All 3 have their place depending on what I am playing. The SAS is awesome on the best recordings. Dynamic, great image and tracking, crystal clear highs. For recordings that are noisy (scratches,pops) the MR tames them a bit as it is slightly less defined. Need more bass? Go to the original. It's like being able to roll cartridges without readjusting. Very happy!!

Hi....I have had this stylus for about a year after searching through most of the forums on the internet about Shure cartridge cross swapping of stylii. I have a V15 RS that I put this stylus on and I am playing it on a Mitsubishi LT-30 through a Les Box modified Yaqin MS-23 tube phono stage connected to an Aric Audio tube Preamp which is connected to a Nikko Alpha I power amp with some JBL 530 studio monitors and a Martin Logan subwoofer. I will say that I have around 50 different cartridges that I play around with, including Shure v15 type iii, Shure V15 type IV, Shure ML140 (NOS), Shure M91ed...some Dynavector MC cartridges and some Denon MC cartridges and the V15 RS with the VN5xmr SAS stylus holds it own against all of them. Synchronicity...perhaps....but definite music Nirvana. I highly recommend this stylus.

I have to agree with all the other reviews here. This plays beautifully out of the box, and I only expect it to get better. As with other users, I think this is a better performer than the original. Another pleasant surprise is that the bass has improved punch and extension, which is always welcome. Plays beautifully on my LP12 with a Jelco 750D arm.

Some appropriate words: brilliant, superb, outstanding, stunning ... you get the idea. Better than the Shure original, which was itself very, very good. Installed in an SME 3009/2 improved (fixed headshell) on a Technics SL-120 and feeding a Yamaha A-S3000 into NS-1000Ms = pure magic. If you have the parent cartridge, buy it.

Installed stylus this evening after work. Excellent! JICO has obtained a customer for life. Made my V body SHURE sound better than it did new.I would recommend JICO to anyone who is serious about the way their vinyl sounds. You are providing a much needed service that is greatly appreciated by me and many others. Keep up the good work.

I've just received this stylus today, and proceeded immediately to plug in the Shure M97xE body. It fits right in. It seems like the stylus is also 0.5g lighter than original stylus. That suits me very well. (My tonearm is a little on the heavy side, so the lighter head shell and cartridge would help the sound.)

I've noticed a really significant improvement in the sound quality. The sound is much more crisp, bright, and yet more open. The original Shure stylus has some the inner groove distortion that I kept hearing. But when put the JICO stylus in, the IGD disappeared!!!

JICO will be my favorite replacement stylus for this cartridge from now.

PS: perhaps it is not quite fair to compare this JICO SAS stylus to Shure M97xE. But the sound quality of SAS Stylus & M97xE body is so much better that I thought I am listening to a $300 cartridge.

The best vn5xmr ever made! After a (longer as usual) runing- in, this needle performs at least as good as the original Shure. Have in mind to use it only in combination with (ultra)light tonearms.

I already own an original Shure VN5XMR stylus in new condition, and I can say honestly that the craftsmanship in the SAS replacement is superb. The obvious difference is in 33 1/3 RPM highly-modulated audio with much high-frequency content at the inner groove area, where linear speed is slowest. It is amazing. It beats a new Shure stylus here. The sound is amazingly clean. But I cannot recommend this stylus for playing 45 RPM records pressed in styrene plastic, as they will wear more quickly than with the Shure stylus.

I don't speak english very well, sorry. Original MR Shure is 3,8 micron, the JICO SAS is 2,5 micron, like Van den Hul. The boron cantilever is probably higher than Shure beryllium. Boron is thinner. Properties of boron & beryllium are similar, better than cheap aluminium. The magnet is more powerful than original Shure. JICO SAS says to me that lateral & vertical compliance are 15 dyne (original are respectively 13 & 11). So, I can't believe that original Shure would be comparable or better than this superb JICO SAS. Thanks a lot, continue to make this excellent stylus.

Believe what you read about this Jico stylus. It is superb beyond all belief. If you have the Shure cartridge body lying around, buy this stylus now and hear the vintage Shure sound like a multi-thousand dollar moving coil. The tracking is superb. Really, buy this now. It's that good.

Excellent Quality Replacement Stylus. Sound is slightly less Dynamic than the original Stylus, but tracking is comparable. Slightly more silky & smooth than the non SAS-replacement.

See also my review of the non-SAS type Variant.

Superb. Considerably betters the stock Shure replacement stylus in the following areas:trackability (and the stock was already very very good in this regard), treble finesse, detail, and dynamics. A more lively and "ALIVE" sound than the stock VN5xMR. So, if you've got an old V15VxMR lying around, you've got NO excuse...you may well find you prefer it in some ways to your way more expensive MC audiophiliac wonder.

Superb replacement stylus for the Shure V15VxMR, sounds and tracks great, definitely in the same league as the highly acclaimed Shure original (I still have a very reasonable one).

Right out of the box it sounded somewhat "thin" and I was sceptical about it, but after playing it for a couple of hours it REALLY opened up ... Highly recommended!

I got the VN5xMR(SAS) from jico on 10/13/09. It is worth every penny! It fits perfectly on the M97xE body as well as the V15-VxMR body. I would rather have it than a new shure replacement. Its that good! This is NOT after-market second rate stuff!
Greg H.
Central NC