Shure V15-III
The stylus resonance moved out to 23,000 Hz, well above the audible spectrum, and the cartridge got a whole new body to match it.
Overview
The V15-III wasn't a cosmetic refresh of the V15-II. Audio (August 1973, p.22) laid out the engineering problem. Shure's designers wanted better high-frequency trackability, so they moved the stylus resonance out to 23,000 Hz, comfortably above the audible band. That had a consequence. With the resonance raised, keeping the V15-II's cartridge body would have produced a considerable droop in the frequency response curve. So Shure built a completely new body structure to go with the higher-trackability stylus. Body and stylus are a matched pair, not a stylus dropped into an existing shell.
The same Audio piece covers the lineage. The original V-15 struggled to track material in the 15 kHz region. The V-15 II improved trackability substantially by relocating the mechanical resonance to 20 kHz, and it accepted a small frequency-response droop in exchange. The V-15 III went a step further: higher resonance, better high-frequency tracking, and a new body to keep the response from sagging.
The V15-III turns up all over period system descriptions as a known quantity. The classified pages of the era are full of it. A 1976 Audio listing pairs a Thorens TD125B with an SME 3009 improved arm and a Shure V15-III in a system that also included a Crown DC300A and a Soundcraftsmen equalizer. Another dealer advertisement from the same era describes a properly set-up Shure V15III-G in a Grace 707 arm on a Linn Sondek turntable as the reference demonstration. Collectors note the -G suffix appears on some examples. The fact sheet does not document what distinguishes it, so treat any claim about the variant with caution.
Period classifieds give a look at pricing. Multiple 1974 and 1975 Audio advertisements from Stereo Shop in Cedar Rapids offered the V15-III at $50 plus your old cartridge, shipped prepaid. Dealers wanting the old bodies back suggests the cartridge was valuable enough to bother. A 1974 private listing priced a used V15III at $50 outright, alongside a Thorens TD125AB at $375 and a Phase Linear 400 at $410. That puts the cartridge in the same spending tier as serious turntable and amplifier hardware, not accessories.
British gear owners should note the Quad connection. A documented modification to the Quad 33 disc adaptor board sets the input at 47 kΩ in parallel with 330 pF, to which a normal pickup lead adds between 120 and 220 pF, with an input sensitivity of 3.8 mV. It was done explicitly to suit the Shure V15/III and similar cartridges. The V15-III's loading requirements were specific enough to warrant a board change.
The V15-III is not a set-and-forget pickup. The high-frequency trackability that made its reputation depends on the stylus being in good condition and the arm being matched to it. The period literature repeatedly shows it in low-mass arms like the SME 3009 improved and the Grace 707, not in heavy S-shaped arms. Collectors note that stylus availability and condition matter most on a used example. The fact sheet does not document replacement options, so buyers should verify what they're actually getting before committing.
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