Shure V15 Type III and V15 Type III G

The V15 Type III (V-15 Type 3) and V15 Type III G (V-15 type 3 G) were turntable phono cartridges manufactured by the Shure Corporation for the Shure-SME tone arm. This was a high-end stereo dynetic high-fidelity cartridge for audiophiles of the 70s and had a wide frequency response of 10 Hz to 25 kHz. Its capacitance is 400 pF to 500 pF per channel, and output voltage 3.5 mV (at 1000 Hz) per channel. The compatible styli/needle were VN35E (Bi-radial Elliptical Stylus), VN3-G (Spherical Stylus), and VN78E (Bi-radial Elliptical Stylus). The VN35E needle was the original one that came supplied with the Type III cartridge, whilst the VN3-G came supplied with the Type III-G cartridge. The VN78E was suited for monaural 78-rpm records. The tracking force (also known as weight) is 0.75 g to 1.25 g. Due to the wide frequency response and accurate tracking; these cartridges also had four-channel compatibility for quadraphonic records, making them highly sought after by audiophiles.

Review

I have been using the V-15 for many years and have never found anything else that comes even close to matching the frequency response of this cartridge. The bass and treble with this cartridge are greatly extended and you will hear sounds that previously escaped you. Just recently, I designed and built my own quadraphonic decoder and was impressed how well this cartridge performs with it.

Price/eBay

The V-15 type III cartridge is highly desirable and they usually do not go cheap. The price is usually well over one hundred pounds on any day. The sound quality is extremely good and those that have experience of this cartridge will usually buy several to stock up. This one is worth bidding for if you see it. The following pages of this multipage article shows the manual, specifications, pinout, and maintenance information. This might be useful if you manage to buy a cartridge and need the installation guide for it.

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