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Shelter 501 mk. II MC Phono Cartridge
Where
the Shelter 901 (also reviewed here in Jerry’s Audio Pages) has
threaded mounting holes, the 501 mk. 2 does not. However, Shelter did something
really smart with the 501: the mounting is like a spade connector,
open on the sides! After using unthreaded Koetsu Rosewood Signature and
Urushi cartridges for years, I can attest that the Shelter "open slot"
design is much easier to work with. Mounting is almost as easy as a
threaded design. Insert one bolt and attach the nut a few turns. Then just
slip the cartridge into place and tighten the nut a bit. Then set the 2nd bolt
and nut in place. This is much less difficult (and less stressful!) than holding
the cartridge in place and trying to get a tiny nut started. The mounting
hardware is supplied, and includes different lengths of non-magnetic stainless
steel Philips head bolts. The 501 comes in a small,
hinged jewelry-type box. Inside the box, the folks at Shelter share with you their sense
of humor. There is a little surprise waiting for you in the box under the
cartridge. Nice touch, Shelter! A
question that was asked many times after the Shelter 901 review was posted was, “How
does the Shelter 901 compare to the 501?” The 901 is better in certain areas
than the 501, as one would expect given the higher price. The bass is
a bit tighter on the 901, and the 901 has more crystalline highs. Imaging is
close between the two. I listened to the
901 and the 501 on my Well Tempered Reference table, and also on a friend's VPI
19-IV/SME 309. There were good results on the WT, but we agreed that the SME was
a better match for both Shelters. Both cartridges also preferred loading at 100
ohms, although trying higher values is not out of the question since there was
not the annoying “ringing” distortion that afflicts many other moving coil
designs. Its lowish 0.4 mv output puts it on the edge of compatibility with many
tube preamps, but it worked well with the CAT Ultimate.
The 501 is very musical. It is somewhat more dynamic
and has better response in the low bass and upper treble than the classic
Koetsus. It is easily in the same league as the Helikon, Frog, better Benzs,
etc. I prefer it to the vdH Black Beauty ($5k) that I owned for two years,
as it is less sterile and more involving. The rating below is really not fair to
this fine performer, and it forces the comparison with cartridges costing
significantly more. The 501 deserves a 10 LP rating
in its price class, which is really
$1500-$2000 cartridges. Compared to the best, though, it earns a respectable
7 LPs.
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I refer you to the
Stereophile review on the Crown Jewel, wherein Michael Fremer does an
outstanding job describing the sound of the Crown Jewel/501. In that review, the
Crown Jewel was described as "seductive and lush-sounding", with an
"overall sound…on the warm, relaxed side of neutral, but subtly so". There
are some cartridges that are great at bass reproduction, or others that are good
at soundstaging, or at dynamics. The 501 doesn’t seem to have a particular
strength, though, and this is a good thing. The 501’s personality is “of a
piece”, a very well-balanced presentation that presents the listener with a
carefully developed picture of the music that leads to relaxed musical
enjoyment.