Audio-Technica AT-VMN95ML Microlinear Replacement Turntable Stylus Red

I’m satisfied, the delivery was fast and the package well-packed. The quality is great, I really feel the difference in the sound

Did surgery on stylus so it would fit my Clearaudio Virtuoso cartridge. Slipped right into the cartridge. Sounds great.

Excellent quality sound very satisfied

Got this one for my AT-LP5x. Well, it sounds richer in high range and more clear at low range. Definitely, this is my main stylus now. But dont expect much for the money you paid. It has just a slight difference, and only if you have mid-hi quality audio system and good ears. Other than that, you will not hear much difference between your default stylus and this one. I use internal phono, maybe an external one will open it more for me. But again, if the money is not a problem - I recommend this one! Good upgrade, definitely.

I have a Audio Technica LPW30-TK turntable I got used. It came with the entry level blue conical stylus. Just upgraded to the red AT95 micro linear stylus. Thought I would put this out there for anyone debating pulling the trigger on the red stylus. I immediately noticed reduced overall amplitude (lower volume.) this isn’t an issue for me because I never run my system at full volume anyhow. Just turned it up a little more than typical. Highs are super crisp. Piano sections, crash cymbals, etc are all bright and crisp. Mids are solid with no distortion. I previously had bad sibilance on some records. Specifically my Journey’s Greatest Hits. I read this album was mastered really hot as it was intended for CDs and cassettes back in the 80s, and was never intended to be pressed onto vinyl. Anyhow, it was almost not worth listening to before and now it’s stellar. No more midrange distortion. Which is the main reason I went with the red stylus versus any of the others. Many reviewers said it corrected this distortion. Bass is tight and punchy and a bit more present than with the old stylus. The red isn’t cheap, but it was a worthwhile upgrade for me. Thanks for reading. Also: surface noise is pretty much non-existent. Much better than before.

This ML is similiar, if not identical to the older/more expensive 440MLa/b. You get all the benefits of the sound quality from the microlinear from a less expensive cart system. This stylus gets down in the groove and gets past the worn parts near the top from older needles. Not only that, inner groove distortion is much less or gone (depending on how far in the record was cut). And a little secret, as of Feb. 2022, look at the price of the AT-VM95C cart/stylus combo. Add that price to just this replacement stylus. <wink wink> Both stylii will fit on the AT-VM95 cart, so youll have both styli for less than the cost of the AT-VM-95ML combo! And that conical stylus will come in handy for those styrene single 45s and other records that the ML might not sound great on.

Im a relative newcomer to the recent vinyl craze, so my experience with phonograph cartridges is pretty much limited to the Audio Technica AT-VM95E. I recently purchased my first turntable, a Technics SL-D2, which goes through an Art DJ PRE II phono preamp to a rather well-used and not particularly special set of Technics SB-SL501 speakers powered by an equally not-ultra-special Denon AVR-1602. The turntable came from ePray with a seemingly very-well-used Audio Technica AT95E phono cartridge, so I preemptively purchased a new Audio Technica AT-VM95E to replace it. Of course, once I installed it, I calibrated the tonearm counterweight and aligned the cartridge using a printed protractor. On well-produced records that are in good condition, this combination produced acceptable results - for approximately the first 2/3 of such a record, then I started experiencing rather noticeable inner-groove distortion. Sibilance was also prevalent throughout the entirety of any record I played. I decided this was unacceptable, and perused online forums for an answer. I learned that microlinear and Shibata-style stylii were much less prone to IGD and sibilance than elliptical stylii, and it was suggested that instead of purchasing a new cartridge, I purchase a replacement microlinear stylus for the AT-VM95E cartridge I already had. Swapping the stylus out is a breeze, and just to be sure, I double-checked the cartridge alignment with my protractor and adjusted the VTF down slightly to ~2.0g (I had been running the VM95E at about 2.2g). Problem solved. Inner-groove distortion has been reduced to the point that Im not totally sure I can even detect it. To test for sibilance, I played one of the most sibilant tracks I have on a record in my (albeit small) collection: So You Say by The Manhattan Transfer. Not a lick of sibilance. Where the VMN95E stylus made the track almost un-listenable, this one made it sound amazing. Im just starting out in the hobby, but Ive got to say that if I could go back, I probably would have just bought the AT-VM95ML instead of the AT-VM95E in the first place. Everything Ive played thus far that Id also played with the VMN95E cartridge installed sounds so much more defined with the VMN95ML stylus. Definitely worth it as far as this customer is concerned.

I love this stylus. It pulls out a lot of detail out of the record. I listen a lot to classical music and I can hear instruments and details that simply were not there with the conical stylus (blue). The frequency response is a lot better than the conical. I also love that it dislodges dirt from the grooves and leaves the records sounding a lot better, even if they have been manually cleaned. You have to clean the stylus afterwards, but it is worth it.

I absolutely love this stylus! I am not an audiophile with thousands of dollars in equipment. I like listening to vinyl records, but I do not consider vinyl to be the be-all, end-all of audio. I have a somewhat entry-mid level turntable, and I always swore I wouldnt pay for a stylus that costs nearly the same as the turntable itself; however, Im glad I reneged on that philosophy. I first bought the cartridge for this 15 months ago and purchased this as the first replacement for the stylus, but it very well could have lasted even longer! The sound quality never really diminished; I personally never noticed any distortion or sibilance or anything of the sort. Its pricey, but worth it!