The stylus is a shaped piece of industrial diamond that is affixed to the end of the cantilever. The shape is the point of differentiation. At the simplest level, it is a cone shaped tip that moves through the groove of the record responding to the information that is contained therein. By increasing the length of the tip and decreasing the width, it is possible to make the stylus sit deeper in the groove of the record and extract more information - the conical tip becomes an elliptical one. 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. 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. AT7V (note similar spec to the original K18 stylus) sounded very lively, quite rhythmic but had problems keeping bass notes in tune and in time.

These are the general observations from the other styli once broken in compared to the 95e. None are them were poor they were just not as musical as the 95; Can't sleep, so just having fun with cost and stylus life. AT gives stylus life as "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." Assuming that's accurate, a typical 2-hour listening session for me would have a stylus life cost (rounded to the nearest tenth of a cent) of:

Furthermore, Audio-Technical recommends the VMN510CB Conical stylus for vintage mono long-play (LP) records. Switching to the VM95EN - which doesn’t change the shape of the stylus, simply reduces the effective mass at the end of the cantilever by eliminating the shank, starts to make a little more sense of this demanding record. Complex passages gain a further clarity and rhythmic agility. The basic tonal balance of the 95EN doesn’t meaningfully alter from the 95E though. Given that the price doubles in this jump, it might be possible to argue that this is the step that is the hardest to justify. If you know you have a shelf full of demanding material though, you might find it worth it.

It appears that the specifications given in table above for Linn K9 are incorrect, here are the correct ones:My question.............With that in mind, what are your opinions on the 95ML on this turntable? Would the upgrade be worth the considerable price difference and would there be advantages to the 95ML over my current 95EN? As said before, i mainly listen to at least VG+ vinyl roughly 3-4 hours almost daily. The following styli may also be compatible as long as the LP’s dimensional groove build can handle it: I measured each stylus in turn using the same body. I first wanted to identify the cause of the slightly higher output voltage of the conical and elliptical verses the other three profiles. AT quote a difference of 0.5MV. My tests showed The VM95C and VM95E output around 3.8MV, while the other still in the range were indeed on or slightly lower than the 3.5MV mark. It is my theory that the small variances in compliance and tip mass are responsible for this, and in reality such a minor difference isn’t going to be of any consequence as the difference is minor, and the output voltage is well within the margin for most if not all moving magnet preamplifiers.