"Anything II Could Do... III Can Do Better!" is the proud announcement headlining Shure's ads for their new phonograph cartridge. It's called The V-15 Type III Super-Track Plus Phono Cartridge and Shure has been working on perfecting this cartridge since 1966. If you want a cartridge that will reproduce your records exactly as they're recorded with an absolute minimum of wear on the grooves then the V-15 Type III' is ideal, even if you have to arrange time payments to meet the $72.50, price tag.

Most -people who like to listen to records — as opposed to those "audio| philes" who worship their equipment for what it is rather than what it does — have little conception of what this talk about cartridges and needles is all about. When, words like cartridge, tracking, stylus, and the rest start to get thrown around, the tendency is to throw up your hands and think about switching your record collection over to cassettes. Especially when somebody comes along and suggests that you spend $72.50 for a needle. Hey, you can buy a speaker or FM tuner for that price.

Starting at the beginning, let's run down the terminology. A stereo car-, tridge is the little module that mounts at the end of yoiir record player's tone arm. The cartridge holds the needle, more commonly called the stylus (when the price gets above $9.95.) The stylus rides in the record grooves, vibrating according to the width and depth of the groove and inducing the signal that has been placed on the record (by another stylus used to cut the record master) and changing it into an electronic signal which moves from stylus through cartridge along tone arm through a set of wires to the stereo amplifier. The key to getting the sound off the record is the stylus; and it is possible to ruin your records with a low quality or incorrectly adjusted stylus, So the stereo cartridge/ stylus business has developed With manufacturers such as Shure, Pickering, Electro-Voice, "Empire, and Audio Technica spendings huge amounts of money to invent the perfect cartridge/stylus module.

It's no wonder that people like Shure will work for years on end refining and improving on their cartridges. There's an awful Tot of technology involved for a module that is about the size of the tip of your thumb. The Type III gives faithful reproduction of audio signals from below audible sound (below 20 cycles per second) to above audible sound (over about 15,000 cycles per second). Next it does not provide any coloring, the signal on the record is the signal induced, off it by the cartridge/ stylus. Finally it can ride in the grooves with a tracking pressure that is'between % and 1% grams which is exceptionally little pressure and promises that the stylus will not be gouging the plastic of the record groove walls.

You must have a good turntable or record changer to use the Shure Type III. If your tone arm n't be adjusted to track under 1H grams then the Type III won't be able to do the job as well as it was designed to do. Most people don't have to worry about that if they have Dual, Garrard, or other quality turntables. In fact, Shure makes variations of the Type III which are premounted for these name brand turntables. And, as a thoughtful little extra, Shure offers a test record, "Audio Obstacle Course — Era III," to /all those who buy the cartridge (it's free, you just mail in a coupon) so that you can test out your system once you've installed the Type HI.

If you're concerned with having a good cartridge/stylus for your stereo system, but can't spring for the seventy odd bucks for the Type III, Shure makes a number of other cartridges which, while they conform to less rigid tolerances, will give you good service and not mess up your records. In the same league as the Type III are the M91ED ($54.95) and the M75ED Type II ($54.95). Less expensive bht still functional are the M55E ($29.95) and the M44E ($24.95). I'd especially recommend the M44E if you're looking for a nice "work horse" cartridge that can take a lot of rough treatment. It's often used by radio stations who have to make sure that tl)eir records don't skip but they still get good reproduction. The M44E tracks between 2 and 4 grams, which is going to give you more wear and tear than the Type III which can track nt less than a gram of pressure on the grooves, but in certain circumstances and for more limited budgets the M44E is an excellent investment.

_ The cartridge/stylus assembly is essential — without it there'd be no sound. You must take care of it, cleaning it regularly (Shure provides a little brush with the Type III specially for cleaning) and replacing the stylus every six months or so. I've found that the easiest way to remember to do this is to pay a good chunk of money for a good cartridge module, because if you do you're more likely to treat it, and thus your records, with the technical respect they deserve.