There will always be a small amount of IGD with all but the very best elliptical styli, though it certainly shouldn’t be any more noticeable than an OM10; in fact I would expect it to be less.

Ortofon 2M Blue Versus Audio Technica AT-VM95ML Ortofon 2M Blue Versus Audio Technica AT-VM95ML

Measurements should therefore not be taken as gospel, and providing they fall within ratings (as these certainly do) they are ‘good enough’. The EMI regulationss is one point that most modern amps / receivers have such high capacity in the phono section. Because of that, I tend to swap out my stylus and use the microline for older records and save the Shibata for late night MFSL/MMJ/Tone Poet type stuff.

This is probably considered heresy by some but as yet, apart from a few albums/tracks the TT doesn’t sound better than the high res streaming.

AT-VM95ML Vs. Ortofon 2M Blue File Identities Audio Technica AT-VM95ML Vs. Ortofon 2M Blue File Identities

I am interested in trying the Nagaoka MP-110 at some point in the future as it has received a lot of acclaim. At first I thought that file 1 was a little harsh on the highs but that was because I needed to turn up the volume on file 2.So in case anyone is wondering about tonearm compatibility/compliance matching for arms in the range, I don't think there is anything to worry about.

Audio Appraisal Audio-Technica AT-VM95 Detailed Review - Audio Appraisal

Maybe I wrong with your measurements but AT-VM95ML on default setup with that almost perfect results looks to me prety insane. My subjective sense of the ML matches yours, and I'm very much hoping to find the same changes with the SH. File 2 sounds a little better put together, perhaps a touch more open in the highs, it had me feeling that File 1 sounded a bit artificial by comparison. Nevertheless it is possible to fit VM95 styli to an XP series body if you need higher output voltage than the VM95 generator can provide.The measurements didn’t change significantly when testing with a body supplied with the cheaper VM95E. If memory serves, Fremer surmised that normalizing any greater reeks havoc with some playback software. Repeating that same success will be no mean feat, and to attempt such is certainly a bold move on Audio-Technica’s part.