shure phono carts discontinued m44-7 djworx skratchworx
Carts and Needles

A SAD DAY: Shure to end phono line — RIP M44-7

Some five years ago, the DJ scene was rife with rumours (which we squashed) about the discontinuation of Shure’s legendary and iconic M44-7 carts and needles. But things have moved on since then, and Shure this morning announced that their entire phono line of products will stop in Summer 2018.

The official word from the Shure site.

Niles, IL., May 1, 2018—For more than 90 years, Shure has been committed to manufacturing and delivering products of the highest quality, reliability, and value. This commitment requires consistency in materials, processes, and testing, as well the capacity to react to fluctuations in demand.

In recent years, the ability to maintain our exacting standards in the Phonograph Cartridge product category has been challenged, resulting in cost and delivery impacts that are inconsistent with the Shure brand promise.

In light of these conditions, and after thorough evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue production of Shure Phono products effective Summer 2018.

Given our decades-long history of participation in the Phono category, we recognize that this decision may come as a disappointment to our channel partners and end users.

We are grateful for the support and loyalty demonstrated for Shure Phono products through the years and we are proud of the impact that these products have made on our customers’ lives and the reputation of the Shure brand. We believe that the proud legacy of Shure Phono is best served by exiting the category rather than continuing production under increasingly challenging circumstances.

Shure will continue to bring reputable, high quality products to market and we look forward to meeting and exceeding customer expectations on our current and future offerings. As Shure expands into new markets and product categories for audiophiles, our enduring commitment to premium performance and technological innovation will remain at our core.

A SAD BUT INEVITABLE DAY

As mentioned above, rumours have swirled for years. The demise of Technics and general downturn of turntables and vinyl for DJs were always going to impact on the future of cart manufacturers. Despite what you might think about the resurgence of vinyl, that doesn’t translate well to turntable sales, unless you’re Crosley.

The exact reasons for making the decision now are unclear, but I suspect that it’s not purely sales, but more to do with things like tooling and spare parts for the carts and needles themselves. Moulds only last so long, and are expensive to make. It’s unlikely that Shure makes every part that goes into the M44-7 either so consistency of 3rd party supply will factor in too. These factors have seen other products discontinued in the past. And let’s not discount rampant counterfeiting too.

GOOD NEWS FOR SOME

While I don’t think that street parties will be happening in Denmark, I imagine that this news will be greeted warmly (with a tinge of sadness too) by Ortofon. Having just relaunched their DJ cart range, the lack of credible competition now makes their job considerably easier. I changed from being a loyal Shure user to Ortofon because I got a chance to use some for an extended period, and never looked back. I’m sure that this will be a similar story for many in the future too, especially when being faced with no viable alternative.

And let’s not forget MWM and their new cart killing Phase tech. Shure just did them a favour by offing their cart range, which makes Phase sit just that little bit prettier right now. Not a lot though — I suspect most will just move to Ortofon rather than entirely reconsider their DJ workflow.

shure phono carts discontinued m44-7 djworx skratchworx

LIFE GOES ON

Shure will be just fine, and DJing didn’t just end. You’ll still be able to grab some from retail channels while stocks last, and I imagine that spare needles will be available for even longer — that is until some rich bastard buys up every scrap of stock from around the world right after this post goes live, and then pushes them out through eBay for 2-3 times whatever todays’ going rate is.

Side note — while I don’t use M44-7 anymore, mine are totally battered. So I just grabbed the last pair from Juno. I figure that it’s a good idea to have fresh ones in for future photography projects.

Ultimately, you’ll still be able to play music to crowds, and listen to it at home. And that dear reader is all that matters.

Mark Settle
The Old Owner
I was the editor around these parts for the first two decades of the DJWORX journey. I’m on a creative journey at The Worxlab, and drop in occasionally here. Expect the odd article from me every now and again.
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45 Comments

  2. I wouldn’t worry too much. After a period of time where people mourn their passing, they’ll probably come back with a cosmetically similar but all new model costing many hundreds, and then a slightly cheaper but still expensive model that’s still not quite right for DJs. That’s how it works right? ;)

    1. The difference being that my 18 year old Technics will (it seems) continue to spin to until the end of time whereas the time during which I’m able to make poorly executed wicky-wicky-wah noises with these carts will be less than a year. On the flip side I’m grateful that my current setup of 2x SL1200s, Rane 61 and Pioneer DDJ-SP1 still runs smoothly with Serato DJ Pro – I was concerned that the update might turn some of the components into paperweights.

  4. Well, looks like I need to invest a small fortune in a few replacement pairs of carts and a boatload of styli.
    I really didn’t want to spend $1K on needle kit this week. ::sigh::

  5. I was mostly a fan of M447s because the replacement styli were cheap, their stick-like-glue reputation was very much exaggerated (albeit much better than the Ortofon Scratch) and they were also prone to gathering loads of fluff under the cart making the needle skip all the way to the centre. I can remember getting a set of Ortofon Qberts when they first came out and snapping the needle by accident not long thereafter. My eyes watered to find out that one Qbert stylus cost $80 (AUD) compared to the M447 Stylus @ $30. That price gap has very much narrowed now. I live in the UK these days and a M447 stylus costs £30 while Ortofon S-120s or Qberts go for £35-£40 there’s a lot more choice to shop around for similar cash. M447s do sound much better on real vinyl than Qberts IMHO so I will miss them.

  7. Obviously I’ve been following the social media reaction to the news, and aside from the reminiscing and borderline grief, I find it interesting how many people are talking about Rane Twelves and Phase. If only there were another cart manufacturer around to fill the gap that would necessitate such fundamental and expensive shifts in DJ workflows…

    1. Screw the Twelves and Phase……..some of us still play on real vinyl. Ortofons eat real vinyl for breakfast. Who cares if it chomps up your Control Vinyl? M44-7s are kind to real vinyl!! This news is beyond depressing to me.

        1. Stanton owned their own factory in Boynton Beach FL. It was there after the move from its original location in NY. Closed in 2011.

    2. Can’t push what doesn’t exist anymore. The factory in Florida is closed. The stock of replacement styli has completely dried up. They are making some new cartridges that are just Audio Technica OEM carts, and have zero relation to the old line. They are decent but Stanton in name only. Even the 500al replacement stylus is just a Japanese rebrand OEM replacement stylus. (Testing the replacement was one of my last tasks when I worked there, for better or worse)

      1. Oh wow you worked for them? Yes upon my research I found that they discontinued the Trackmaster V3 among others they offered previously and replacement stylii are no longer available. Ortofon is going to have a field day with DJ’s as they will soon be the only game left in town after Shure finally bows out and supply runs dry.

        1. 680’s were discontinued ages ago, as an example. Trackmasters are also on that list of discontinued products.

          Also, their ST-150 and STR8-150 mk II’s do not include a cartridge, unlike the v1’s which did for quite some time.

          1. Yes all true statements. I found out that Stanton has not been affected by the Gibson Chapter 11. Only their US operations. In lieu of a cart their ST/STR8-150 TT’s now come with a Deckadance license. What a deal lol!

  10. I was in the music shop the other day looking at replacement styli, they are $70+ now. I was like – no way i’m dropping $140+tax for replacements, I barely use my 1200’s anymore. I have even been considering selling them and getting an el-cheapo turntable with USB so I can rip what I have and then get rid of the vinyl. I play mostly digital now and haven’t dragged my 1200’s with me in over a decade. It’s sad to see this industry go but i’m sure demand has slowed down a lot. Maybe inMusic will buy them?

  11. In all honesty, my 44-7’s have barely seen any use since my STR8-150’s came with 680.V3’s and I liked them… And in the long run, since the 680’s were discontinued, I was seriously contemplating upgrading to the new Ortofon cartridges, as I’ve always wanted that style anyways. Guess that pretty much solidifies the transition then.

    Sure, there’s the Rane TWELVE (and accompanying mixer), but at the same time that’s a rather expensive set of gear to acquire alongside a workflow change (I’d adapt, not like I use cue points or any of the actual genuinely useful features Traktor has – kind of wish I wasn’t serious with writing that, but it’s the truth), with the icing on the cake being I’d still need my turntables if I wanted to play a record…. So $4,800 CAD to get something shinier, and newer, but lose out the ability to play my records.

    Still kind of saddened to see Shure ending the entire line, as the Whitelabels were always an interesting contemplation (that I never went forward on) for a dj that just mixes, so in a way, it’s one of those “well now, that kinda sucks” moments given they’ve been in the game for so long.

  12. I can DJ with Audio Technica carts without any problem and they stick to the vinyl just as good as Ortofons or Shures.

    DJs believe there are just 2 or 3 options when it comes to DJ carts but in reality there is plenty to pick from.

    2. what Ortofon carts are you comparing to Audio Technica? I doubt AT “stick to the vinyl” as well as Qberts, S120’s or any of the new MkII carts

  13. It seems that some are using my old Shure story from five years ago as a counter to my new Shure story from yesterday. What’s funny is how I reference the old story as the start of rumours in the new story too, and that also includes a link to the Shure site with the official PR.

    There really isn’t much I can do except add an additional line to the original, pointing the towards a story five years in the future.

  14. Nearly every retailer either in the United States or that will ship to the United States is out of Styli. I finally found one retailer (on the 14th page of my Google Search) that had only 40 Styli still in stock. I bought 20 of them. So, Mark, your assumption that N44-7 Styli would be available for a long time to come simply isn’t the case. Get ’em while you can, people. Stock is drying up fast!

    2. seriously what’s the point of spend 4000 dollars for that … i’m not a big fan of sound shure i prefer the new audio technica !

    1. Can you explain Jico to me? Is it the company that makes the stylii and then Shure buys from them? Just wondering. Saving $10 per would be nice.

  17. After some though, I am literally super sad and depressed about this. My two favorite needles (SK505 II and Shure M44-7) are not being manufactured anymore. I absolutely love my Ortofons, but they don’t compare. Thank god for Jico, but here’s to hoping my cartridges dont die. :-p