Audio-Technica AT-VM95E/H Turntable Headshell/Cartridge Combo Kit Green

This combo set is the real deal at a good price: Headshell Quality: I think this is a decent, perfectly adequate, albeit not high-audiophile grade headshell. It is indeed made in China (says so on underside) but the craftsmanship looks fine with no obvious defects. I will say I was hesitant to buy from the pictures. It looked like a bold, flashy design to me and I wasn't too fond of it. I'm happy to report it looks more understated in person than the pics may lead you to believe. It's an attractive, adequately manufactured headshell in line with the price. No issues. Ease of installation: this new AT cartridge line is making some waves because of its easy, no-nut mounting. I can report it is indeed easy beyond belief to manipulate the cartridge and align it. Kudos to AT for making a simple yet vastly effective design tweak that helps all of us with big hands and small patience. All you need is a flathead screwdriver to adjust the alignment. The headshell itself screwed right in to my table with no issues. Sound: Admittedly I'm still in the break in period. It sounds great and delivers far more clarity and bass punch than the LP60 conical stylus, for example. Is it an order of magnitude better? I don't think so. However, with the LP60 stylus I always felt like my Edifier 1700BT powered speakers were never having their full potential unleashed - they were capable of more. With this cartridge, I feel as though they are now at their limit - and the cartridge could possibly deliver more with better speakers. So I would say to assume the quality here is perfectly in line with the past AT95E, and accoriding to some I have read, even superior. I never used an AT95E so I can't testify. In short, sounds great and is only getting better as it breaks in. Trackability: will keep this brief. Records that used to skip don't skip here. Is it my new turntable, the new stylus, or both? I don't know, but I have no tracking problems anymore. The future: I was debating many different cartridges and headshells but decided to bite the bullet and go with this trusted brand, despite a lack of reviews for this new generation. One of the biggest selling points for me was the upgrade path - with this installed, Audio Technica has 5 stylus replacements to choose from that just clip right on to the same cartridge body. So the $80 spent here to get my Technics up and running has potentially provided years of upgrade fun, should I so choose. But maybe I won't have to upgrade, knock on wood, because this sounds pretty damn good. Not a single complaint from this Everyman Wannabe-Audiophile reviewer. P.S. the packaging is great

These are surprisingly clear with good low end.... For the price this where you should start and maybe invest in better heads down the road but definitely recommend these as a replacement for 1200s or 1210s

Superb value for the money. Balanced tone, brings out the soundstage on recordings that have them. For an all in one solution I don't know what more you could ask for. I have appx 15k invested in my system which includes JBL 3800 speakers and components at the same level and can definitely here the difference between low and higher quality gear. I have no reservation at all about recommending this combination if it fits your tonearm. Happy listening!

Finally replaced my very old and worn stylus . I went with this moderately priced model and it instantly changed how my music sounded and the performance of my JVC QL-A2 turntable.

I bought this cartridge with an AT-VM95SH cartridge to compare the two. Both came pre-mounted with head shells and were in perfect alignment with my Technics SL1200 MK2 turntable right out of the box. I used an alignment grid and a digital stylus gauge for calibration. I did an A/B test of the same albums with the same exact setup for both cartridges and recorded the vinyl to .wav files. This (AT-VM95E cartridge) is almost sonically identical to the AT-VM95SH, I could not really hear a difference between the two, and I tried. They both have excellent 3D stereo depth, clarity, openess, and they both make the albums so exciting and so satisfying again. I was sure this cartridge would be a bit less sonically satisfying to enjoy then the other one, but not so. They sound identical to my sound engineer ears. I heard the same exact amount of surface noise, on the same cleaned albums with both cartridges with the same tracking force of 2 grams. If you want perfection, this is it. I can hear the fine details of the music I never heard before with my old cartridges. This is a very revealing cartridge as is the other one, you hear the intimacy of every instrument which is mind blowing awesome! You hear the ultra harmonics (past 10k) in music again and you get stunned by hearing them with such clarity. (My hearing ends at 12k). I used to crank up the volume on music CDs and still not be fully satisfied because I knew these harmonics were missing. This cartridge will put the life back into your records. Just for fun, I did an A/B test of some rock CDs vs the same albums on vinyl thru this cartridge. I recorded the vinyl to .wav files and put these against my CD rips of .wav files for the comparisons. The CDs sound lifeless now, no details, no excitement, missing 1/2 the harmonics, like b/w vs color. I thought CDs were the best sounding, but I had not played vinyl in 24 years. CDs sound tired and bland now, vinyl has this extra sonic life. There is so much more music details to hear on vinyl with this cartridge, than from a CD.

After replacing the cartridges on 2 separate turntables I was just tired of fiddling with the tiny leads and finicky overhang. I'm old and just not as steady as I used to be, so I thought I'd drop the extra bucks on a pre-mounted unit. All the cartridges are absurdly priced these days. I've been messing with audio since I bought my first great deck at 19, now I'm 70. I just finished servicing my Technics SL-1300 and wanted a fresh set up for it. Pleasantly surprised, honestly. Ultra light headshell, quality P mount, threaded in beautifully and the overhang measurement was perfect. I like the fact that I can upgrade the stylus as $$ permits. I'd buy it again. Tracks well on this deck at 1.5 grams.

This is a great little cartridge. To quote the late great Frank Zappa; "not a speck of cereal here". I replaced a Shelter 201 with this AT unit. The replacement stylus for the Shelter is over twice the cost of the AT so I thought I would see how the AT matched up. After a good 40 album break in the AT really opened up. Nice clean clear treble and deep subterranean bass. This Cart does a great job on complex music Like 70's prog rock or Beck and the aforementioned MR. Zappa. It really shines on ringing percussion like woodblocks and vibes. I have to admit that the AT holds up very well against the far more expensive Shelter. The biggest difference is the loss of some sound-stage, the sounds seems to stay a little closer to the speakers with the AT, a slight loss of air around the instruments. The only complaints I have is that the head-shell is heavy and the needle seems a bit flimsy compared to the Shelter but at 50 dollars replacement I guess that is to be expected. Great value, great sounds I did prefer it to a Sure cart I also had on hand.

I just installed this on my vintage Java QL-5 and it’s working great. It’s nice to just swap The Who head instead of having to install it.

Muy buena calidad cambié la que venía en un Dual 301 por esta y se nota bastante

A agulha da um diferencial no som do vinil. Ele melhora o equilíbrio entre graves, agudos e médios.

Lo adquirí por recomendación del técnico que recupero la vieja tornamesa technics sl-q303 de mi padre. el tecnico me dijo que esta era una excelente opción por calidad y precio. en mi opinión después de meses de su compra y de la reproducción de cientos de horas de mi colección me siento muy satisfecho con su desempeño. me di la oportunidad de ver si esto de los vinilos era lo mío o solo un capricho pasajero. junto con este cartucho el técnico me recomendó el pre amp Behringer Microphono PP400. las dos cosas como básicas y con la intencion de ir experimentando mejoras. ahorita ya remplace mi pre amp por un Cambridge Audio Alva Solo con este mismo cartucho y mejoro en la espacialidad y claridad. me gusto pero si sigo con la tendencia de tener un estándar de calidad de mas o menos homogéneo, al mismo nivel me toca remplazar este cartucho y irme por algo como Audio-Technica AT-VM95SH/H. que esta 3 veces mas cara. pero prefiero darle un poco mas de horas de uso a esta antes y en realidad si lo que quiero es levantar a un nivel tan alto la calidad de música, creo que me terminaría gastando una fortuna. honestamente creo que ahorita si quiero muy buena calidad con una inversión mucho mas razonable podría usar otras fuentes distintas al vinil pero lo dira el tiempo.

Un rapport qualité prix au top qui donne une seconde vie à ma Technics SL-D2 : son clair et précis, installation rapide et simple en remplacement de l'origine. Je recommande.

Amazing upgrade for my Technics SL-3200. Sounds is crystal clear, I have bought many needles throught the years and this one is top notch! Highly recommend