Audio-Technica VM540ML Moving Magnet Cartridge,Red

Product Information

The drum cymbals on this song also sounded properly fantastic, the metallic sound truly coming through most effectively. The other older records that show the problem do not appear to be damaged, but, as the noise is usually at the beginning of a side, I think it likely that these carry very light surface damage caused by poor handling in the past. 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. Standard model with a MicroLine® stylus, comes pre-assembled with a lightweight aluminium headshell (AT-HS10).

The diamond looks like it might not be mounted quite straight, but the magnification of my loup isn't sufficient to be sure. Therefore you will experience a nuanced audio reproduction that elliptical and conical styli simply can’t match. Before we move on to the bench tests, David Rich has prepared the following sidebar explaining in more detail the evolution of the 4th generation stylus. This is one of those albums where you can just close your eyes and bask in the rightness of the sound as delivered by the VM540ML -nodding your head approvingly all the while.Had you said it was an old second hand record I’d suspect it had been played with a worn or chipped stylus at some point in its past, but on a new record it sounds like stitching/infill.

This album presents you with a big, reverberant backdrop which begs to be turned up in volume and then you get those great sonic detail hits of strings, harpsichord, oboes, hunting horns and bassoon that just sort of sparkle on that canvas. 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. After having run the VM540ML on my Marantz TT6200 in quite an intensive way, starting with a 2g VTF on the first 50h and reducing it to its current 1. Both can impact one side of the groove, and both mostly exist at the outside inch or so of the record, i.Level 1, which has the tones 7dB lower than Level 6, but it did not produce much better numbers with the AT540ML at 2.

No way in hell would I pay for additional third-party junk to fix problems that clearly should be picked up by manufacturing QC in the first place. The VM540 ML produced a very low noise floor, showed no sibilance at all, and was capable of providing a highly accurate impression of the original musical event.After the opening intro, the bass line in “School” is nice and punchy giving the song a solid foundation throughout. The VM540 sounds just fine with other records, regardless of whether they are coloured/clear or black, including, strangely, the black vinyl version of the 2022 edition of Joni Mitchell's For the Roses! grams and the weight in many respects is like a tone control and the more weight you apply the more bass it will give you and by making it lighter it will give you more treble. There are quite a few fans of the AT-VM540ML in this forum, I'm sure they'll jump in with their hands-on experience!

He is imaged very much in the room on this track with Riddle’s orchestra expanding nicely around him. The line of contact is the vertical dimension that indicates how much of the groove is being traced by the stylus. Without the RIAA emphasis which attenuates at low frequency the groove width and depth vary by more than 1000 to 1. With the Emmylou Harris album, as I mentioned, the cause of this is a light scuff exactly where the cackling can be heard. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.On the bench, these produce lower harmonic and intermodulation distortion figures than older generation shapes that I’ve tested, using the same test LPs Carlo used. I’ve heard this album backwards and forwards and own it on multiple formats so it’s safe to say that I’m relatively familiar with it! I created this site to share my vinyl and Hi-Fi journey with you, and to give you help and advice on yours.