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This is a great, amazing value in a quality phono cartridge. The AT-VM95E features an elliptical diamond stylus which tracks the record groove smoothly and accurately. The sound quality is phenomenal. Deep lows that had the sub under my desk making happy vibes, crystal clear highs with treble extension and clarity that a CD can't touch, and the midrange is present, forward and clear. Female vocals are textured, full and weighty. I auditioned Carole King's Tapestry and was blown away. The piano in "Smackwater Jack" was in the room with me. Stereo imaging and soundstage are broad and have good instrument placement and separation. With a claimed 20db of stereo separation, I'd call it conservatively rated. The soundstage moves outside the speakers and there's plenty of channel separation for my ears. While on the subject of specs, I have no doubt on the validity of the claimed 20Hz-22kHz frequency response! The depths of lows I was able to hear and the reach and clarity of the highs left no detectable rolloff in my listening.
All said, this is beyond a great value, it's a must buy. If you're in the market for a replacement, an upgrade or are resurrecting and old turntable, look no further. I've been an Audio-Technica fan since I knew what a cartridge did. I've owned Shures, Pickerings, Ortofons, Empires and Nagaokas. I keep recommending AT.
The design of this cartridge is well thought out. The threaded screw inserts are a dream for those of us with older eyes and fingers. No more fumbling with those tiny nuts. In my case, the short body on this cartridge (see the pic of my old AT-29SX above - it's long) allows it to mount fully forward in my angled Sony headshell. Alignment was confirmed on a cartridge protractor to be spot on. Not sure if this will be the case with all headshells on all tonearms. Likely not, but it's nice to get lucky sometimes!
Gripes... OK, all rave reviews need a gripe or two. None rise to the level of deducting a star, mind you, but nevertheless there are some niggles. First, the old white-body AT cartridges of yesteryear had tiny colored rings around the connection pins. This made it a no-brainer to see where each wire went. Of course, this was decades before one could solve the question with a 15 second Google search. Second, every AT cartridge I bought back in the stone age included a screwdriver. What gives? Of course for $65 bucks, I suppose I can live with it. And third, wait...there is no third.
Another great feature of this cartridge is the broad range of upgrade styli available. AT has carried this tradition forwards from years ago and it continues to be a reason I would choose them again.
My setup here is a Sony PS-T22 (circa 1980) with upgraded audio cables feeding an iFi Zen Air Phono preamp into a FiiO K7 DAC (just using the line-in and headphone amp). From there I am running a SMSL A300 integrated amplifier feeding Neumi BS5 bookshelf speakers. For critical listening, I usually rely on my in-ear monitors. My go-to IEMs are the iBasso IT01s. These are what I used for much of the review above.
