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First Impressions on a new Audio Technica AT 95 ML Cartridge

Miss Ariel

Miss Ariel

pfm Member
Just had my lower spec LP12 serviced and had a new belt - mat - grommets and a new Audio technica A95 ML.It's mounted on a Akito arm and sitting on a Cornflake shop small table which is a steel frame with bottom spikes and top spikes on to a MDF piece of wood.Had the table for years.The LP 12 has no base as to my ears it gives it a more open sound.
The output is going into a Rega Fono phono stage the latest one - into a old Bryston 12 B preamp and Bryston 2 B Power amp and some older Focal Floorstanders .
Have been using AT95 E's for years and thought I would scratch the itch and get the new ML higher up the range.Wow ! pleased I did.Don't know if it's the LP12 service with the new parts etc but it sounded amazing from the first record played.Have been really loving going threw the shelves and mixing it up with Classical and Rock Was playing Whitesnake's Live in the heart of the City Live double album and thought I knew it but so much more texture on basslines and guitars in the mix.Sounded really Live. Grace Jones's Walking in the Rain was superb with drum kit and drive and atmosphere.
The ML has probably 10 hours on it now,so still running in but so much better than the 95E. Smoother with better separation and tonal texture.
Big thumbs up here and the SH is supposed to be better still !!
 
Agree with everything you just wrote, has to be one of the best vfm carts on the market, had mine a few months now so well run in, first on my SL-1200mk2 & now on my modded Lenco GL-75 with AS-212 arm into a Rega fono mm mk2. The way I read it from the reviews, the SH isn't necessarily better, just different & the reason it is more expensive is AT have to pay a licensing fee to use the shibata profile.
TS
 
Miss Ariel said:
The LP 12 has no base as to my ears it gives it a more open sound.
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Hi Miss Ariel,
I removed the base and replaced it with four modelled corner braces in all my Sondeks. This is really a huge improvement at an ultra-cheap cost. More you lighten the Lp12, the better it sounds. I like a lot the old AT95E and I'm happy to hear from you the new ML version is even better.
 
chartz said:
I prefer the ML profile over the SH, because it will gladly play so-so records with a minimum of noise and distortion. The Shibata is more fussy.
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Yip, totally agree. Not a huge fan of Shibata for exactly this reason. Sounds great on perfect records and if the set up is 110% but in the real world it's just a pain.

If you're talking about the new VM95 cart then I I've got the conical and elliptical and agree, a worthwhile step up over the old 95. Very good value carts.
 
I've always regarded ML as inherently superior to all other line profile tips.

Given a choice I'd always go for an ML variant.

The near elimination of IGD from this tip is matched only by very expensive profiles such as the VDH1S and the PF used by Lyra.
 
Thanks for your review. Totally agree with you all on the ML tip being superior. It has better separation, tracks better than any other cart i owned and It also lasts longer !

I have the 540ML and love it so much, it was a total revelation to me how good these new generation of AT carts sound. I have been wanting to give the new VM95 series a go to compare , esp the ML variant , but since i already have the 540ML it would just be for comparison.

Has anyone here got both the 540 and 95ML and tried them back to back ?. I guess i am asking if there is a big step up between the 95 series and 540ML ?
 
I have 95ML and have been looking at 540ML. Not that I'm dissatisfied. The 95SH will have slightly fuller rounder bass and less energy and openess in the top. But perhaps a more beguiling tone in the mids.
 
Robert said:
I just wish it wasn't red....

Red styli remind me of autochangers and those £10 ceramic things they put on plastic Crossley decks.

Make it black, or a nice translucent dark green, bit of class :)
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Hi Robert,

If we go back far enough, 1967 for example, the posh AT35X (nude elliptical) had a red knob, and the lesser AT35S (nude 0.5mil spherical) had yellow.
This continued into the early '70s with AT-VM3 coming in two flavours; yellow knob for nude 0.5mil spherical, and red for nude elliptical.

These colours do make sense when looked at from a 'caution' perspective, whilst also differentiating between the two interchangeable stylus types.

I agree that the AT-VM95 series colour choices seem a bit topsy-turvy compared to what seemed to become the norm starting in the mid to later '70s:

Red: bonded spherical, aluminium cantilever (plastic on AT3400); AT10, AT70, AT3400
Yellow: bonded spherical, aluminium cantilever (plastic on later AT91 production); AT11, AT71, AT91, AT93, AT105
Green or blue: bonded elliptical, aluminium cantilever; AT11E, AT12E, AT71E, AT94E, AT95E, AT110E​

BTW, I regurgitate this trivia more as brain exercise, rather than as showing off. :)

Craig
 
I can recommend the 740ML too. But the 540 uses the same stylus with a lesser motor and a plastic body.
By the way, the ML was called Microridge by Shure. But the Shure V15 V body was inferior to the AT.

It is made by Adamant Namiki. They also make cantilevers. If you thought that cartridge manufacturers did it themselves... they don’t!
But I digress ;)

https://www.ad-na.com/en/product/jewel/product/microridge.html

If you want to buy one... the MR is actually more expensive that the Shibata!
The fancy ruby one is not overly expensive either. Amazing. And if you buy ten, it will only cost $ 180!

https://ad-na-shop-en.myshopify.com/collections/microridge-stylus

https://www.ad-na.com/en/product/jewel/product/cantilever.html
 
A bit of a side step but.
I'm sure I read in the last ten years that Audio Technica were to cease phono cartridge production.
There are more new Audio Technica models now than ever before.
Puzzling!
 
Robert said:
I just wish it wasn't red....

Red styli remind me of autochangers and those £10 ceramic things they put on plastic Crossley decks.

Make it black, or a nice translucent dark green, bit of class :)
Click to expand...

Robert,

I know it's subjective but I love the red it as reminds me of the Troika....if only it was...but the AT95 ML is a damn fine cartridge it seems to get the best out of everything I put on and the HF is so much smoother than
the 95 E and can't believe the new detail I am hearing with instrument tonal texture - how instruments get higher in the mix.
Basslines are taught - Midrange nicely transparent and a non fatiguing sparkling treble.
A real sweet spot in the new updated 95 range so glad that I went for one and even sweeter that there's better to come with the run in.

Cheers Ian.
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Thanks guys for your input very interesting reading your experience
 
Are you really Shure about that?...

Yes.
Makes me wonder if the likes of SME and Jelco are really gone for good with the current level of interest in vinyl replay.
 
I'm not entirely convinced that Jelco is gone for good.

From https://www.jelco-ichikawa.co.jp

'Jelco is now unable to accept new orders from April 2nd, 2020, due to the availability of transportation and delays in production due to the spread of the serious infectious disease COVID-19.
Thank you for your understanding.'​
 
I expected it to be a bit cheaper than it is. It’s pricier than the 440mlb when it was discontinued.
 
I suspect the body to be a lot more solid than that of the 440ml though. Those flimsy open lugs were always an issue with the old style A-T top plates for me. And I've cherished A-Ts going back to the early '70s! Even had a couple of '60s models come in on old decks that I've refurbed.
 
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