Cartridge for Quad 44

It's just a different stylus profile. They were for ever meddling around with stylus shape for optimum stylus/groove contact and minimum distortion. How much difference these changes made to sound is perhaps a matter for debate. They certainly made a difference to stylus cost. It's pretty much what ski manufacturers are always doing and cynics complain that most of the changes are aimed mainly at keeping the market on the boil.

My experience is that HE styli did minimise distortion. I'm less certain they produced a better overall sound. 

Yes, awg, I don't know the availability today of original Shure styli but the xE & HE styli should be interchangeable with the cartridge body being the same in both cases. Tagalie reminded me that when the M75 series first appeared it was available with about four different spherical & elliptical stylus assemblies for different tracking weights & tonearms (and there was probably a stylus assembly for 78s as well). When the top M75 appeared in 1972, the M75ED Type 2 I read Stanley Kelly's review in the Gramophone, describing its performance as "exemplary" and bought one to replace the earlier M44 series in my Lenco GL75 turntable. The Type 2 is still there today (with a new original Shure stylus a few years ago) and still sounds great and preferable to CD!

CJ93

I have recently replaced my cartridge with a Goldring, I think it's the 1042, but can't be sure. It cost just over £100. I am generally very pleased with it. In particular, it copes with disk imperfections very well.

Mine is a Linn deck, of nearly the same vintage, but I do also like the Rega.

DSM

PS I was also supplied with the NAD phono preamp. In fact when I first requested such a thing from the hifi shop I was half expecting a different make. But this is also very good, in fact I had rarely heard Nad equipment before this but would now definitely consider it. The advantage of it is it doesn't really sound like anything, it is completely neutral and understated.