Audio-TechnicaAT-VM95SH/H Turntable Headshell/Cartridge Combo Kit

I am astonished at how open and amazing this sounds. I upgraded from a worn ortophon red to this cart. Its superior in every way. The lack of sibilance, the clarity, the perection in high notes and the beautiful bass. I wish id upgraded long ago. I had my doubts about spending 200$ on a cart and if it would really have a marked improvement. I underestimated how it would transform my system. The pre mounted headshell saved me from a fiddley headache as well

This is my first new cartridge in 35 years. I wanted to convert my vinyl collection to Wav and Flac files and I wanted to use the best audiophile cartridge. The sound from this AT-VM95SH is really incredible! I am a sound engineer and have "ears". My older 35 year old cartridges were the standard mid grade type, (Shure/Pickering) they sounded good until I compared them to this cartridge. This cartridge removes the "Dull Veil" from in front of the music. You don't know the veil is there until you listen to an LP thru this cart. I feel satisfied knowing that this is as close to how the mix engineer heard the album, before it went to the pressing/mastering lab. I have not really broken in this cartridge, but I am totally happy with it.I used it on a Technics SL1200 MK2. I ordered the stylus and headshell combo and it came with the correct overhang right out of the box. I double checked with the manual spec and also with an alignment sheet. Perfect offset in the shell. I used a Neoteck Digital Stylus Gauge for a tip pressure of 2.0 exactly. Anti skate was set at 2.I cleaned a quiet copy of the Eagles "Hotel California" "Greatest Hits" and UFO "Lights Out" LPs. I recorded to Wav files first from the 35 yrs old (mid grade Pickering cartridge) and then setup this cartridge on the same turntable with the same setup. I used a Behringer UFO202 USB box directly to my PC in both cases, bypassing my Onkyo TX930 Rxer phono stage. Then I did the A/B comparisions (of both carts) from both sets of wav files thru (high quality) earbuds. I wanted no speaker colorizations or room noises of any kind. Just sound directly at eardrums. The result was incredible sound from this AT-VM95SH cartridge compared to the old cartridge. If you really want to hear All the music...in the grooves, (without the "veil") this is the cart.The music has room to breathe now, it has the dynamics missing from the old cartridge, I hear things clearer than before in the detail and the pinpoint focus of the instruments panned in the mix. I can hear the clean pluck of the pick noise now, on the acoustic guitar strings, not just a sound blur anymore. The power chords are not just a tamed sound crunch, I can really make out the individual harmonic notes of the strings, and the power dynamics not just the loud buzz noise. I can almost tell you what foot pedals Michael Schenker was using on the UFO LP. I can hear the depth in the reverb too and exact pannings and my hearing now (at 58) is only good to about 12k. The stereo depth is really mind blowing. The LPs have this new extra Dynamic Range, and energy level, like the limiters/compressors were removed from the recordings. I would call this an "Exciting" cartridge as it has the magic quality of giving me the music without the sound of a "dull veil" in front of it.

I own 6 turntables including a high end VPI with $1k ClearAudio Maestro cartridge among several other cartridges from Goldring, AT, Ortofon, and Nagaoka. Not bragging, just letting you all know that as far as moving magnet cartridges go, I’ve been listening to vinyl with MM since 1970 and have a basis of comparison for this AT VM95 SH/H. One of the most interesting reviews I read on Amazon spoke to how it was able to “lift the veil” off the music. That review was not an exaggeration. I’ve only got a few hours with the cartridge on a Fluance RT85 turntable and the transparency, wide soundstage, tracking ability, smooth and rich detailed sound, and presence, set this cartridge apart from all but my $1k Clearaudio. It’s an incredible bargain at 1/5th the price and is quickly becoming my favorite after only a few hours of break in. I can’t wait to see what it sounds like after 50 hours. Well done Audio Technica! This is a real keeper!

I bought this for my collection of CD4 quad records, if you have no idea what they are, you can always google it. Back to the cartridge. It is not easy to find a shabita stylus as they were made for CD-4 records but their wider tracking lends itself to smother sound. At this price I should have picked up two, but if it's music or food.....well my wife does like to eat once in a while.

Clean, crisp, outstanding.This is truly a full range cartridge.From high, symbols, that excite. CrispMid range, vocals that are warm, not in your face. Clean.Low end, tight, quick , strong, exactly what you would expect from a quality cartridge.cartridge, was not much work at all to dial-in. I have it at 1.9 g. Tracking and 1.6 anti-skate.I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

Outstanding Product. Nice Clarity. The instruments really stand out. I highly recommend this turntable cartridge, Audio-Technica AT-VM95SH/H, you will not be disappointed.

The AT-VM95SH cartridge is everything I hoped for. The bass is present and well balanced. The vocal range and mids are moving into the mix more as the cart is played (I only have 6 hours on it so far). The same thing is true with the highs and improving over the break-in period (up to as much as 30 hours). Very detailed but not quite as bright as a MicroLine tip stylus (that's what I like about it). Very pleasant to listen to without listener's fatigue. Surface noise is EXTREMELY low and exhibits a nearly inaudible background. Records with some imperfections sound more like new with some light pops etc. Shibata and MicroLine tips are both nice but I prefer the sound of a Shibata.The headshell works well and looks great also. I will say that the cartridge arrived perfectly setup on the headshell and found to be aligned using an alignment protractor. This is an excellent combo and it took the work out of setting up the cartridge.I highly endorse the cartridge/headshell combo. You won't be disappointed if you buy it.Update: After 20 hours, the cartridge has reached perfection. If you are thinking about buying this cartridge, "Just Do It".

It's a law of diminishing returns. The more you pay, the better the sound, just that you pay more for a lesser increase in value. But this was a good choice.

Es simplemente una delicia la música con esta aguja ! No lo dudes ! Vale cada peso

Equilibrio e fidelidade, som na medida certa e sem exageros.

Avec cette cellule le son des disques ont une toute autre dimension. Je la conseille à tous pour redécouvrir les votres.

Mein Teac TN 3b wurde mit dem AT VM95E ausgeliefert. Der Klang hat mich positiv überrascht. Der Tonabnehmer bietet ein super Preisleitungsverhältnis. Aufgrund der positiven Rezensionen bestellte ich mir aus Neugier den VM95SH. Aber macht sich das Update auf einem günstigen Dreher bemerkbar?Ja, es gab den Wow Effekt: Eine enorme Verbesserung im Klang und der Räumlichkeit. Der Teac läuft über den Phonoeingang meines Marantz PM7000N mit Magnat Quantum Lautsprecher zur vollständigen Zufriedenheit.Audio Technica ist mit der VM Serie ein grosser Wurf gelungen. Da man alle Nadeln am gleichen Tonabnehmer benutzen kann, ist das Ausprobieren verschiedener Schliffe eine Kleinigkeit.Absolute Kaufempfehlung.

My first good cartridge. The rest have been cheap conical jobs. I am floored. 60 year old LPs sound fresh, no inner groove distortion and a wealth of detail. Just wow. Sent out super fast by Nottingham Hi-Fi.