Shure M91
Documentation on the Shure M91 is thin, and almost all of what survives is advertising copy - but it's unusually informative advertising. The M91 was a phono cartridge, best known in its M91E "Easy-Mount" Hi-Track form. Shure positioned it as the affordable stablemate to the flagship V-15 Type II Improved. In High Fidelity (February 1969, p.66), Shure's own ad laid out the lineup plainly: the "Super Track" V-15 Type II at $67.50, or the new M91E at $49.95, made in the tradition of all fine Shure cartridges.
The hook of the M91E was tracking. Shure's later ads ran under the headline "Second fiddle? Hardly." (Audio, January 1971, p.59) and reprinted two earlier review quotes making that case. Stereo Review (February 1969) said the M91E's listening quality was excellent, and that it virtually matched the V-15 Type II in its ability to track the highest recorded levels on modern records. High Fidelity (July 1969) agreed. It described the sound as about as neutral and uncolored as any pickup it had auditioned, clean, smooth, and well balanced across the range. The ads conceded one point: the M91E could not, alas, track as well as the V-15 Type II Improved. But then, no cartridge could.
Beyond those ads and the review quotes they preserved, little is recorded. The exact introduction date isn't pinned down in available material, and no full standalone test of the M91 appears to have survived in this archive.
Known facts:
- Phono cartridge; M91E variant marketed as "Easy-Mount" Hi-Track
- On sale by 1969 at $49.95 (V-15 Type II Improved: $67.50)
- Period praise: excellent tracking, neutral and uncolored sound
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