I am not hearing the difference poster above reports. I am using very high quality Monitor Audio Silver 3I speakers and a class D amp that sounds as good as a rebuilt tube amp with best tubes and coupling capacitors. TT is also high quality. Perhaps he is using $5K speakers, $3K TT and a $4K tube amp.
Audio Technica VMN95E vs VMN95ML
I compared the two cartridges. Both sound very close. The only difference is the soundstage on the VMN95ML is a little more tight. Hard to describe but a superior soundstage......but not by much. All frequencies sound the same. If it was not for the ML having twice the stylus life the VMN95E us all one needs for $65. Keep in mind this is for lower end systems. Your system may not sound great without a $1K cartridge.
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@jimbennet A better turntable will expose the differences. |
I'm with rossb on this one. While I have not auditioned the ML, I have auditioned the rest of the VM95 variants. From what I have read the Shibata is very similar to the ML, which is why I didn't get both. But, out of pure curiosity back when the new series came out, I bought a 95E, and picked up a C, EN and Sh to get a feel for how much the stylus could change the sound. Long story short - I found the stylus to make big changes. The C sounded like a quality but inexpensive cart with good staging, tuneful bass and "OK" treble. The E and EN were similar, but the EN was better in ways that are hard to describe (midrange more liquid, highs more airy). The Sh was the best of all with bass pace and "rhythm" better than the others a nice liquid midrange and a silky smooth sounding HF. While none of them could claim "high-end" performance in the slam, stage size and "air" category, all were very good and excellent for the price. The difference between E and Sh wasn't huge, but it was easily heard and not insignificant. The table used was a WT Classic through a JC3+ phono pre. |
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