Characteristics shared between all styli are a warm, full-bodied sound that is also quite punchy. There’s a lot of drive here, though the VM95 is not voiced such that standout bumps in frequency make it an unpleasant listen. Rather it has a bit of ‘oomf’ to use a technical term that makes it, if anything, great fun above all else. It sounds much like the predecessor, though with more evenhandedness and control than the AT95, which tends to sound dry and a bit dull in comparison. VM95C

Recent AT95 styli are more musical than those of a few years ago. They look different with minimal adhesive used and a thinner cantilever (seemed to coincide with AT opened a new manufacturing facility in Japan). https://www.thakker.eu/en/needles/atn-95-e-stylus-for-audio-technica-at-95-e-generic-stylus/a-5369/ The VM95ML Microlinear gave a reasonably bright tonal balance with delicious retrieval of fine high frequency detail that came across with firm confidence. With Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather (45rpm LP 180gm re-master) his guitar strings cut out with speed, there was no muddle when the mix got complex. This quality remained right through to inner grooves where on Time to Say Goodbye (Two Countries One Heart, 180gm, 33rpm) singers Cheryl Porter and Roselle Caporale were kept well apart, as only this tip and the Shibata could do. Chris: Not anymore. I.e., if you compare the specs for their more recent models (e.g. VM740ML and VM750SH), you'll see, that AT's newer MLs no longer are r/R 2.5/75 µm (= 0.1/3.0 mil), as formerly specified in their older tip shape comparison charts, but 0.12/2.2 mil vs. 0.26/2.7 mil for their current Shibatas. So their new MLs merely still have a smaller, still very sharp minor radius, but the major radius shrunk below the major radius of their current Shibatas. With the popularity of vinyl growing on what seems to be a daily basis, it’s unsurprising that you’ll see more and more content online featuring those wondrous discs that many of us cherish above all other possessions. Social media is rife with record players in almost all advertisement, whether it be a boutique hotel chain or a popular wine merchant, it would appear that vinyl records are the hottest appurtenance. As with any trend, comes a wave of younger and uninitiated enthusiasts, eager to get their hands on the latest buzz items…

Audio-Technica AT-VM95E

Around 500 hours for a conical stylus, 300 hours for an Elliptical stylus, 1000 hours for a Microlinear stylus, and 800 hours for a Shibata stylus. The VM95 stylus assembly has a locating spigot that guides it into the body; it's fitted from below.

A comparison between audio technica At-VM95E, Linn K9 with NOS stylus and later with the VM95E stylus and Goldring E3. Plus it has more info on the Linn K5 and K9. The better tips progressively improve high frequency retrieval and imaging, especially on inner grooves, but they don’t alter basic presentation: look to tapered aluminium pipe cantilevers of AT’s more expensive moving magnets (AT530 upward) for a punchier and less bland lower midrange.Perhaps Hanpin improved newer gen LP120s, but I doubt it is in the same league as Technics or Rega. The VM95 Series suspension design and compliances of VM95 Series have been designed for optimum audiophile reproduction.

Surely they’ll never do it? But by golly, after an extended late night listening session in a secret Derbyshire ‘test laboratory’, with men of a certain age stroking audiophile beards and using highly contrived and specialist language to illustrate sonic intangibles, like some kind of mutated Vinyl version of those impenetrable Wine Bores, we strove to explain and justify the impossible, how does one stylus profile sound any different to any other?The VM-95 body is an example of Audio-Technica’s dual-magnet design and in the 95E is partnered with a bonded elliptical stylus that is mounted on an aluminium pipe-style cantilever. This borrows from the special EX version of the AT-95 that comes fitted as standard to the company’s LP5 turntable ( HFC 405). The body has been designed to reduce resonance and feels a whole lot more substantial than the original AT-95E. For this round, the Ortofon 2M Red notably leans toward the treble, whereas the AT VM95E is more balanced on the frequencies. This means the latter doesn’t favor either treble or bass. Jico HE, VL and SE have a family sound. Quite musical but the audio is represented by a certain 'hardness' with a somewhat 'staccato' type nature to the sound. After reading about the compatibility between AT styli and the K9, I wanted to put a couple of things to the test recently. There's also a number of aftermarket non AT styli available for the AT95.

If you want a brighter sound than the 95EN, then the 540, 740, 750, and 760 will deliver that. You could also just turn up the treble control if you have one.

My conclusion, for the moment, is that I'm using a 20 year old K18 generator with a latest spec AT95e stylus. It's a real shame Linn parted company with AT. Anyone else tried any similar experiments? With the AT-VM95E mounted on an SME M2-9 tonearm on a Michell GyroDec, the changes between the new model and the old are revealed to be more than cosmetic. The AT-95E was never the last word in subtlety and refinement and while the AT-VM95E is still on the brighter side of neutral, it brings a level of refinement to its presentation that the older model couldn’t achieve and is extremely impressive judged by the standards of its sub-price point.