VM540ML MicroLine Dual Moving Magnet Stereo Turntable Cartridge Red

I will second all of the reviewers on here touting the inner-groove distortion benefits of this cartridge and the stylus (VMN40ML red) combo. While it ameliorates most of the distortion there is still a pinch of it left, but it is a huge improvement. Like others have said, once you start hearing it in your records, you can't un-hear it. I had a particularly bad case of it with the "A Time For Love" LP by Bobby Hackett on a Project 3 record that was impossible to get rid of the distortion with anything I tried. This AT cart and stylus combo made the whole record sound much clearer. I'm in the process of dubbing my albums to USB sticks so I can play them back through my Yamaha RX-V6A, much like a record changer did back in the day. These are my relaxing patio records. This cart and stylus combo is prompting me to start over with my A1 records and re-dub them. It does come with a few caveats, but I think, even those are starting to improve as I break in the cart and stylus. One is a much more delicate-sounding high end, very clear, not shrill or sibilant, but it is brighter with a higher pre-emphasis than I'm used to hearing from an RXP3 or a Sumiko Olympia or even a Jico stylus. It is a little more scientific sounding like the Shures are, but it's starting to grow on me. I'm realizing when I process out what few pops and ticks I do have with Adobe Audition that the accuracy in which they are removed is a lot more precise, with no aberrations of Bobby Hackett's coronet, or ruining of the horns and saxes in big band arrangements, which is often the case with less accurate carts. Oft times in the past I had to skip over these sections of the music and hand remove the heavier ticks. But, now, I find the extra work isn't necessary with an improved cart and stylus and the automatic settings in the software often fare just fine with the musical material. Also the bass started out thinner on this cart, but, it's now starting to broaden out and get deeper with use. Like all new carts, it just takes awhile to loosen up and become more compliant. This stylus is a nude micro linear cut and does a sweet job tracking the groove while skipping through the surface noise like 80% of it isn't there any more when I compare it to an elliptical. This stylus effortlessly tracks down in the groove where a lot of stylii probably haven't tracked before. Some of the mint vintage vinyl I've recently acquired still plays with some surface noise on an elliptical, even after very thorough wet cleaning. This AT gets through those same passages with way less noise than the ellipticals do. So far, I'm very impressed. I'm only using this to dub my A1 vinyl, I switch back to the ellipticals for unknown records, until I get a feel for whether they are worthy of the treatment from this cart/stylus combo. As for the sound, the detail is much improved, even over my Sumiko, which I thought was a step up from my tried and true Shure carts from decades past. The delicacy of the reproduction in the speakers is reflected in the fact the stylus cantilever is also a delicate mechanism, totally able to roll with the perturbations of the groove. The mechanics of the AT remind me of some earlier MM designs from the 1960's, but I'm sure the stylus cut and higher output magnets, coupled with better hum-bucking coils have improved this cart's performance over any of those old predecessors. Another caveat, make sure your stylus is firmly seated when you get it, mine was slightly ajar, it played, but it was weak and slightly out of balance and had a light hum in the right channel. Turns out the stylus needed to be re-seated to get the full output and balance it out correctly. Also, the hum was caused by a defective new headshell. Once swapped, the AT cleared up and now plays like a champ. I was sorely disappointed at first, until I decided that a headshell swap was worth a try, and sure enough, it was worth all the effort. Another caveat, the cart body is wide, so you will need thin hex nuts or round nuts for your mounting hardware. Keep the screws as short as you can, because any screw thread protruding down will cause the stylus not to seat properly, or worse, cause it to be pushed out away from the cart body as you're mounting it, the screws have a tendency to want to toe out away from the body, if they are too long, and they catch the edge of the stylus grip on the way out as they splay. Just be aware. It's not too fiddly to get it to go right once you get the right hardware combo. Fortunately, I had plenty to choose from to make it work, from years of collecting TT hardware. Channel balance is within spec according to the computer captures I've made so far. Frequency looks to really top out at 24 to 25kHz, where the same recording on my Sumiko is extended to about 28kHz. Bass looks typical, down to about 5-15 Hz, with a -8 to -12 dB rolloff under 38 Hz. My Cambridge Alva Solo is already a tad rolled off here, too, so any drop off in bass can be noticeable on this cart, but like I said, it's starting to pick up after about 15 hours on it. It's not as warm as any of my other carts yet, but, I think it will get there in the next few weeks. As it warms up, it's starting to level out with the highs and is starting to sound more balanced. So far, sonically, it's shaping up to be a nice cart. I was fortunate to find this on Amazon as an open box, apparently someone wasn't willing to take the time with it to break it in, but I saved a bundle of bucks, so sometimes, you luck out. I know AT has a reputation for making shrill-sounding carts, while this one is noticeably bright, it is at least accurately so and it's starting to become fuller with each play. I think, in due time, this will level out to be an extraordinary player. It was definitely an upgrade for me from my already-nice Sumiko Olympia and assortment of Shure, Ortofon and AT carts. I would have likened this to the Ortofon Blue in the beginning, but even now, it's exceeding the blue by a few hundred yards in the sonic footrace. This is now my top player. Freq Resp: 20-27k, Opt 4mV, Ch. Sep. 28dB, Opt Bal. 1dB, Trk. Force 1.8-2.2g (2typ), Coil Imp. 2.7k(1kHz), DC Ohms 800, Load Imp 47k (typ), Load Cap. 100-200pF, Coil 480mH(1kHz), Static compliance 40x10(-6)cm/dyne, Dynamic compliance 10x10(-6)cm/dyne, Stylus Curve Radius 2.2 x 0.12mil, Aluminum tapered pipe cantilever, VTA 23 deg., Cart wght. 6.4g (almost a half gram heavier than the Sumiko).

This is an amazing sounding cartridge in my humble opinion. In raw output quality and A/Bing between concurrent playback of digital tracks via a Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC from rips and Tidal (no analog section upgrade on the yggy, yet) I would say I am getting about 80-85% of the total clinical resolution with the VM540 on a Sony PS-X2 set at 1.90 gram tracking force. I consider this to be absolutely amazing and well beyond what I was hoping for. Now I paid good money for that DAC and its well worth its cost and then some IMO; it still is the single best audio purchase i have ever made. This cart obviously has varying defects in reproduction compared to it and truth be told, it's not worth going over. What is most important to note is that there is zero problems with any sort of sibilance. It has pretty much bomb proof tracking @ 1.8g and beyond. For my ears 1.9g had the best sound on my Sony PS-X2 and its stock tone arm and an Audio Technica AT-HS10 headshell. What impressed me most is how clearly synthesized sounds sound synth and how naturally correct brass horns and anything stringed. The instrument separation, soundstage, everything is rendered in just a lovely and natural way. Also it's worth noting discs I had that sounded worn out on other rigs with spherical or conical styli sound brand spanking new save for years of grime that just can't be cleaned out. Surface noise (lack of) is very good. For most budgets I would say this is an excellent cartridge to get provided your tone arm is a good match. Its performance is stunning given its price and compared to my digital end. Update edit 5-22-18: moved to a Sony PS-X6 (similar but superior table) about 50hrs into life and it's more wonderful still

Microline stylus,which means a long life and no inner groove distortion, and it has amazing sound quality. The only thing that some may not like, is that while being less pronounced than an AT440ML cart, the signature hike above 1Khz can be a bit fatiguing to many listeners until the stylus breaks in. It dims down some but is still prevalent. A nice tube preamp or EQ in your system can solve it altogether. I don't mind it, though. PROS: Fantastic sound, when set up properly it can eliminate IGD on even the loudest records, tracks like a champ at a light tracking force. Best value for a cart of this price that I've ever seen. CONS: Sound profile can be fatiguing for some listeners. The cart can also be sensitive to anti-skate adjustments, so make sure it's set properly. Use a CD or Laserdisc to help with that. Thanks to the type of stylus, more worn, dusty, and noisy records will show their flaws easier. Can be hard to install for a beginner. BOTTOM LINE: A well made, fair priced intro to Microline styli, and a solid upgrade above similar competition from Ortofon and Grado, for people who are already into vinyl. If you're not familiar with an Audio Technica sound profile, you probably won't like this cart right off the bat. This also isn't the cart for you if you play records that aren't in decent enough shape or not cleaned properly.

I bought this AT cart to replace an Ortofon RED on my Pro-Ject DC Carbon. This seems to be a VERY common thing for people to do. Turns out to be a super combo, so quiet and clear. The RED is an awesome cartridge, super round and pleasing in the lows, mids. But it can get harsh in the highs and you can get some distortion especially on the inner grooves. This was my experience with a few records like Band on the Run, Aja, Physical Graffiti and some others. Same thing on my old AT LP120 w/ AT95e cart. This AT cart is much more crystal clear. Pretty flat across the board. The highs are very musical and pleasing. NO DISTORTION! Even on the inner grooves. I will say it doesn't thump quite like the RED, but you can EQ that. If you currently have a RED or maybe a lower tier AT/Shure cart like what comes on the AT LP120, GET THIS CART! I cannot say how much this has improved my vinyl listening experience. HUGE! So worth every penny. I gave 4 stars so people would read this and also this ain't no Ortofon Black. This is a $250 cart and you could easily spend over $1000. Installing this cart is very tricky. It's not threaded for screws so it uses a nut underneath each side that you have to guide the screws into. Be ready to deal with tiny fiddly bits and frustration. It took me some effort and I'm pretty good with that sort of thing, so be patient. Highly recommend if you're ready to spend $ on listening. The audiophile rabbit hole is endless, so get something good and stick with it for a year or 2. Then UPGRADE baby!

Haven’t broken the cartridge in yet but so far so good. It’s surprisingly quiet as far as surface noise goes. The highs are bright and overall the sound is full if not a little flat in a good way. I didn’t find setting it up to be any easier or harder than similarly designed cartridges. The only “con” I could think of to mention isn’t really a con, but it is so quiet it almost takes away some of the character you get from vinyl but it sure does sound clean. If you have a decent set of speakers and turntable and are looking to get a little more out of your setup, then this cartridge is a good investment.

I have an OG 1975 Thorens TD-145 with the TP-16 arm. This is a very heavy arm, which means it is a real pain in the neck to match up to a cart. Over the nearly 20 years I've had this 'table, I've tried a Grado Gold, a Grado Black, both which were horribly unstable in this arm. Then I found the AT 440 ML, the fore-runner to this cart I"m reviewing today.. The 440 ML got on *famously* with my Thorens, and it was a great sound. But alas, the 440 was discontinued, and this one, the 540, took its place. O.O It still tracks just as well as the 440, but the sound is so much more even! It is less "bright" than the 440, but immensely detailed! I have it going to a Parasound Z-Phono, then into a Panasonic XR-55, then into 1987 Klipsch Fortes. The sound from vinyl is heavenly. I do vacuum all records that come into my house before they get their first play, though. That said, just like the 440, this one also has an uncanny ability to be QUIET. Very few pops and tics if your vinyl is good and it's been taken care of properly. It won't help abused records. I *was* goign to get an OC9, but I like this so much I'm sticking with it until it wears out. Then I may just pop a new stylus on and keep going. I've found my sound. Well, I found my sound with the 440, but I found my sound again with this one! I was kinda upset the 440 had gone away 'til this one was in, adjusted, and properly run-in. Nota Bene for TP16 users: In my particular setup, I used the Thorens original cartridge alignment jig, the clear plastic one that has notches for front-and-back adjustment and up-and-down adjustment. It took no shims! Just bolted it straight up to the headshell, and the Vertical Tracking Angle was *perfect*.

I purchased the Audio Technica VM540ml for my Acoustic Research XA turntable, which has a Rega 251 tonearm. I really like this cartridge. It tracks very well. Has excellent resolution and separation and seems to be a good match on my turntable and tonearm. I have previously used an AT VM95ml, which was surprisingly good, but the VM540 is a little better. The primary difference for me on my set up is separation. The VM540 really creates a wide soundscape with a lot of separation and a little fuller sound. I think either works well on the Rega tonearm, though, I suspect optimal compliance would be somewhere between these two. I have no issues with sibilance or brightness on my turntable. Very smooth from high frequencies to low, yet very resolving as well. I have about 10 hours on the cartridge and I really like it. I also have a re-tipped Denon 103 with the cap and a couple of vintage Shure carts (V15iv and M97xe) with aftermarket stylus, one from Jico, one from LP Gear. I haven't put them back on since I got this one.

The VM540ML is a great cartridge at its price point and beats others more expensive than that as well. No complaints about the cartridge itself. However, I was horrified when I received the package. It was in a FedEx overnight bag with no protection inside save for a flimsy piece of bubble wrap. When I opened the bag, the small cardboard box containing the cartridge itself was also banged up. Thankfully, the cartridge wasn't damaged. Please do better to secure your phono cartridges!

I spent a week refurbishing an Acoustic Research XB 1 turntable I bought as a poor student in 1978. This is a very high quality deck built to a broadcast standard. During the refurb I could see that the mechanical engineering of the bits that matter - bearing, arm bearings, platter etc. was excellent. Cleaning, oiling with professional bearing oil from vinylclear (Amazon), setting the sub assembly suspension system, and then finally installing the 540ML, using an excellent mirrored protractor from Analogue Studio (Amazon), was a total faff. I sourced a hard to get new belt from Malvern Audio which was critical, as this broadcast standard deck has a wow and flutter of less than 0.03% (yes that’s correct). So the acid test? I first played Genesis’s Dance on a Volcano - astonishing clarity and perfect tracking at 1.8g. Then I tried ELP’s Fanfare for the Common Man from their Works album. Simply incredible weight to the relentless and complex bass and synths in the full extend version. Perfect tracking again. My Cambridge amp boots out 100w a channel and the REL sub another 100w so that was a house shaker. During initial testing the deck was temporarily no more than O.5m from the right speaker (Monitor Audio Radius 90s on their lovely bespoke stands - see the photo), and the REL sub, on a glass table. Try that with anything but a Linn, top vintage Thorens, or a £1400 Project and it wouldn’t work. So a superb combo for my purposes. The second stage of my vinyl project was to buy a new phono preamp to maximise the quality chain. I looked at two obvious options, the Cambridge Audio and the Rega Fono MM, but I had a few reservations on the flexibility of the former and the alleged poorer build quality of the latter. Eventually, I opted for the specialist British company Ifi and its excellent Zen phono preamp after a lot of research and viewing some expert reviews on YouTube. I have just about bedded this preamp in now alongside the AT. This is a superb combo that can extract all the quality I need from my vinyl collection. The Zen also has a specialist rumble filter for handling warps and other disc pressing issues as well as future upgrade pathways to moving coil options. It it beautifully made and Amazon had a very good price for this. My first few week’s impressions of the AT VM 540 ML? It is a great tracker, even at its lowest recommended weight (1.8g) in a good quality arm. It brings out a precision and special ‘presence’. This is possibly to a higher ‘musical plane’ than my new (award winning) Marantz 6007 CD deck - high praise indeed. It is not artificially smoothed out like some cheaper cartridges. It extracts all the content you’d expect from such a stylus. On classical it is very accurate yet musical. Keith Emerson’s piano concerto (Works again) is beautiful (try it - like Shostakovich). Percussion is crystal clear, brass incredible realistic and the character of a Steinway grand unlike any CD or mid level streamed affair. Real music, if your ear knows what to listen for. And it’s pretty much in 3D. My main speakers are about 3.5m apart so allows for a large sound stage. My wife though that I believe in Father Christmas (Work 2) was superb too. So that says it all. That track nearly made us cry.... Then I dug out my copy of Mozart 41st Symphony by Kripps and the Concertgebouw on Phillips from the early 1970s - part of a boxed set. The uplifting last movement was as beautiful as ever. It took me back to playing violin in the University of Manchester’s orchestra (78 to 80)....isn’t that what it’s all about? My final test phase was placing the turntable in its new location on an audio bench (see photo). I played a pristine first edition of Simply Red’s Picture Book album. This was so good it reaffirmed why serious vinyl set ups are very good. Silky smooth singing, amazing recording quality, every nuance audible - pure class. Is it all worth it? Yes, if you love music and have a deck and system that can extract the full quality of this cartridge. Would I try it in a deck under £500? Probably not, even the excellent Project Debut Carbon Evo, as the cartridge and preamp cost nearly as much as that deck. Yes, in a Rega Planar 3 or above. I think it could work well in the new Technics SL1500C with a separate preamp such as my ifi Zen or possibly work well using a Project Classic Evo. However, none of these have such a low wow and flutter and rumble, apart from the Technics, as my vintage AR. Belt drive is still the simplest and most elegant solution to true hifi vinyl. I believe my AR will last another few decades yet. My son is eyeing it up........

Several months ago I initiated a search for a new MM cartridge for two vintage Dual turntables. I have both the 701 and the 1237. Both utilize low mass tonearms and have straight aluminum shafts. This is important to know since the attributes of your tonearm are critical when deciding what cartridge might be best for you. Another necessary consideration is whether you can alter your tonearm's VTA manually or not. I cannot. After much research, I decided to short-list my choices to: Grado Gold III, Ortofon 2M blue or bronze, Audio Technica VM 540 ML or 740 ML, Nagaoka MP-150, 200 or 300, plus the Sumiko Moonstone or Wellfleet. The Denon DL103 was also something that I looked at but I decided to stick with a MM cartridge rather than a MC one. My phono-preamps ( Cambridge Audio 640 and Hegel V10 ) can accommodate either. Both are excellent choices at their respective price points. If you are looking for a new cartridge, you soon realize that it is rather like a crap shoot. You read the reviews, cross your fingers and hope for the best. I finally settled on the Audio Technica VM 540 ML because I wanted to try a low weight micro-line cartridge. These supposedly provide an enhanced sound stage and they wear less on your vinyl so both the stylus and vinyl last longer. I have tried this cartridge on both of my turntables and have been very impressed. I did not find the high end to be exaggerated as some have suggested but I definitely found that the soundstage was expanded and that more, and more pleasing, information reached my ears. The musicality is exceptional, better than I expected and I was hoping for a noticeable improvement over my existing cartridges: Ortofon 2M silver with a 2M blue stylus and an old/ancient ADC XLM with a new Tonar stylus. Both were quite nice and very acceptable, until I tried the 540 ML. In my systems, this is a really wonderful choice. If your set-up is similar, you have my unreserved recommendation for this cartridge. I play old LPs that have always been religiously looked after. All have been washed, put into upgraded sleeves and stored vertically. All are demagnetized and cleaned prior to use. Nevertheless, please remember that you have to consider what the best choice might be for your system in order to optimize your decision. If your set-up is different, you may need to consider other cartridges. I expect that I'll get a second 540 ML in the not too distant future. For my systems, it is that good. I hope these comments help you in your search for a new cartridge. Good luck. UPDATE: now that I have used this quite a bit I can say that I am very satisfied with this product. It is much better sounding that a regular elliptical or nude elliptical cartridge.

I've had the 440 MLa and it got worn out so I bought the 540 ML as a replacement but what a disappointment ! The sound was very different and completely unrelated to 440 MLa. So I got my reference disc (and used Pink Noise) to check the problem and here it is .... the cartridge has a 3 dB bump at 8 KHz and 6 dB bump at 16 KHz. This Cartridge is a problem if you want to listen directly to the turntable with no Equalizer. If that's the case, run away from this cartridge as far as you can ! If you have a graphic equalizer then set the 8 KHz to -3 dB and the 16 KHz to - 6dB and you'll be good to go. Since most of the time I digitize my vinyl using Audacity... So as soon as I record the vinyl to digital I need to equalize the Aduio to -3db at 8 KHz and - 6db at 16 KHz. And boy it sounds exceptionally great! I just wonder why did Audio Technica make a non-linear cartridge... I've had the 440 MLa and this cartridge sounds similarly great after the EQ part is taken care of. I've also had the Ortofon 2M Red and Bronze. This cartridge tops them both if proper EQ is applied. If you don't want to get the headache of working with EQ... I've tested the Ortofon 2M Red and 2M Bronze and I can say that both are near perfectly linear.(As a side not to Audiophiles.. yes I've used 100pF Capacitance and yes the Cartridge has been perfectly aligned using a protractor. The weight of the needle was adjusted at 1.83 g using a scale)

Algo a mais a ser dito?

周波数特性がフラットで、LRのチャンネルセパレーションも高いです。そして、540は音がなめらかです。これまで色々と海外製品を使ってきて、この製品の優位性がわかりました。まずはこの製品をリファレンスにして、他の製品を論じるべきです。