04 April 2022 | Michael
For the ultimate outstanding value, and good sounding cartridge, the junior of the range - the conical AT-VM95C - is unbeatable at the price. However, by stretching the budget to the AT-VM95ML, the rewards are staggeringly good.
I own the C, the SH and the ML versions of the AT-VM95 cartridge and smile with joy each time I hear any of them.
When moving from a more basic conical (spherical) stylus, that is often suppled as a standard cart with many turntables, I would skip the many elliptical options and go straight to a finer diamond shape such as this, the MicroLine, or the Shibata version.
The step up in sound quality is outstanding and inner groove distortion (IGD) and other distortions are virtually eliminated, compared to elliptical shapes.
Additionally, according to Audio Technica, the stylus lifetime to hugely extended. About a 1000 hours for an MicroLine ; 800 for a Shibata ; 500 for a Conical and 300 for an elliptical.
Therefore, in terms of cost per hour, the AT-VM95ML is similar to a 50 quid elliptical, and much much better value cost per hour than a typical £100 pound elliptical.
This alone makes the VM-95ML a 'no brainer' - but given that the ML sounds so much better than an elliptical makes is utterly irresistible - and completely rules out any elliptical cartridges in my view.
Very highly recommended indeed - A 5 Star rating and an absolute 'Must Have'!
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