Luxman T15M (circa 1965)

The Luxman T15M is a moving magnet stereo phono cartridge from the mid-1960s. Luxman is better known today for amplifiers and tuners, but it was also putting its name on turntable components then. The record on this one is thin. What survives comes from dealer listings and a single dated reference, with no period reviews or service literature.

Here is what is documented. The T15M was priced at ¥8,300 in Japan around 1965, and the surviving specs are typical of a competent MM design of the era. Frequency response was rated at 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with output of 5 mV at 1 kHz (50 mm/sec), separation of 25 dB or better at 1 kHz, and a recommended load resistance of 50k - 100k ohms. Tracking force was specified at 1g to 2.5g. The stylus came with either a 0.7 mil or 0.5 mil tip radius. Those two figures presumably reflect conical and elliptical options, though the sources don't spell that out.

One dealer description adds a little more. It calls the T15M a high-performance cartridge with a finely polished elliptical diamond tip, said to handle difficult high-frequency passages accurately. The same source mentions a "viscous-damped dynamic stabilizer" to keep cartridge-to-record distance uniform. It also references "Side-Guard," likely a stylus protection feature, though the phrase appears only as a fragment.

Beyond that, almost nothing is recorded. There are no production years beyond the single 1965 attribution, no family lineage, no user reception and no common failure modes. A current eBay listing prices a cleaned, tested example at $299.99 USD. That reflects dealer markup on a scarce vintage item, not historical value.

Known specs, such as they are:

- Type: Moving magnet stereo cartridge

- Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz

- Output: 5 mV (1 kHz, 50 mm/sec)

- Separation: 25 dB or more (1 kHz)

- Load resistance: 50k–100k ohms

- Tracking force: 1g – 2.5g

- Stylus radii: 0.7 mil / 0.5 mil

- Original price: ¥8,300 (circa 1965)