Phono Cartridge Comparison: Shure V15VMR vs Shure Ultra 500

Описание: V15VMR VS ULTRA 500.
1983 1986
Shure’s Ultra 500 was their “ultimate” cartridge aimed at the high-end audiophile. It was their most expensive cartridge that the Shure Ultra Group claimed was “sonically superior to anything handmade or mass produced”. Based on the V15VMR, which was already an exceptional performing cartridge, the Ultra 500 was handmade with zero tolerance controls.
Audio Magazine described the manufacturing process of the Ultra 500: Each coil is wound with the exact number of turns, then tuned and tested to precision specifications; the beryllium cantilever was rolled to a precise thickness, each laminated layer of the pole pieces was made to a precise thickness, the brush contained the correct number of carbon fibers which were cut at a precise angle. Once the cartridge was assembled, it was individually calibrated with test records, to insure it conformed to a set of reference performance parameters. If the cartridge or any component failed the quality control checks, it was rejected. The rejection rate for the Ultra 500 was quite high, which is a main reason for the high cost. But the final result was a cartridge with a true ruler-flat frequency curve, perfect channel balance with unmatched, pure natural sound.
Unfortunately, the huge difference in cost was not reflected in any audible improvements between the Ultra 500 and the V15VMR.
However, Shure discovered a large segment of moving coil audiophiles that were converting to the Ultra 500. “The Ultra 500 has made a fairly considerable impression upon moving coil cartridge devotees”.