It ended that way, but early on I recall the unit being sort of a low entry level MM cartridge intended for the general market. A step above the workhorse M3D. I could be mistaken... it was a long time ago. I recall owning an M44, M55, an M75 and later the V15 III. The V15 came with a Dual 1229, as a package. I then 'graduated' to the MC scene, for better or no. Then it was a V15 V MR, and later the V15xMR, which IMO was the best of the bunch.
Somewhere I recently read (on-line but I don't recall where) an interview with a Shure engineer-marketing guy. He said the company was closely held, and that entry back into the phono market was unlikely. Of course my opinion is meaningless, but I wish they would reconsider.
PS: I recently refurbed a Dual 704. The original V15 III cartridge was included, and appears to be pristine. During the mid to late '70s Dual had a deal with Shure, selling integrated units--at least in the US. After that Dual went with Ortofon, which IMO was a mistake inasmuch as the so-called Dual ULM arm was widely viewed as mated to a particular cartridge brand that was not only expensive, but in many minds not as good as other offerings. Dual soon went belly up after that, a casualty of better quality Japanese turntables (at the price point) and digital.
