catman
Addicted Member
The recent acquisition of my Kenwood turntable which came with this cartridge has forced me to re-evaluate the AT95E over an earlier evaluation that probably wasn't long enough in retrospect! After acquiring a new elliptical stylus for the AT95E I decided to conduct a more extensive technical and listening evaluation. I've learned a few new interesting things as well that confirm that every turntable/ tonearm/ cartridge combination is 'unique' in various ways. In my earlier evaluation of the AT95E it was tested on my the tonearm of my old PYE Diotran TA5A turntable, a turntable with no pretensions to 'high end', but a basically good quality turntable, and in fact my Ortofon Super OM's, 2M Red and even my Shure M97xE's have been used on that tonearm with very good results, yet the AT95E was only 'so so' especially in terms of tracking of warps even at the recommended tracking weight of 2 grams.
Yet when tested on the Kenwood unit that it was originally mated with, the tracking ability with warped records was excellent at the recommended tracking weight and even at reduced tracking weight down to 1 gram! So why was it only mediocre with one turntable/ tonearm combination and beyond reproach on another? Well I'm not really sure to be honest. Perhaps tonearm cartridge resonance issues, precise overhang adjustment and possibly most likely, vertical tracking angle or VTA. None of my turntables have allowed provision for adjustment of VTA except by the addition of shims etc. I'm starting to think that this parameter is much more important than I had previously thought. It has certainly got me thinking!
Sonically the AT95E is actually a pretty good cartridge with an even frequency response with good extension at both ends. This is where my audio spectrum analyser was very useful at confirming what my ears have told me through listening, and one thing is for sure, this cartridge likes the so called 'standard' input impedance of 47 k. Its upper frequency response is actually much better than the Shure M97xE at 47 k in this respect where spectrum analysis definitely shows an upper treble roll off! In the case of the M97xE, this treble roll off is essentially eliminated by increasing the phono preamp input impedance somewhat (I use 62 k). However the AT95E seems very well matched at 47 k and it doesn't seem overly fussy with regard to input shunt capacitance.
The output level is judged to be just noticeably lower than the Shure M97xE, which in itself is slightly low output, but in practical terms this isn't a problem as the simple one opamp test phono preamp used in this evaluation http://www.redcircuits.com/Page10.htm the AT95E was able to easily deliver enough equalised output level to drive a following line preamp and power amp into clipping when the volume was raised up loud! Tested on a wide variety of recorded material produced very satisfying and high quality sound with a surprisingly wide and stable stereo image, and no inner groove distortion issues were noted. Compared to other higher priced cartridges, in absolute terms the AT95E lacks only the last ultimate degree of resolution and detail provided by a more exotic stylus profile which on the majority of even high quality systems is probably unnoticed!.
I don't know how long the AT95E has been manufactured for, but its excellent reputation over many years is very justified and well deserved. It's a top little cartridge. Let's hope it goes on being available for many years to come. I highly recommend it! Regards, Felix aka catman.
Yet when tested on the Kenwood unit that it was originally mated with, the tracking ability with warped records was excellent at the recommended tracking weight and even at reduced tracking weight down to 1 gram! So why was it only mediocre with one turntable/ tonearm combination and beyond reproach on another? Well I'm not really sure to be honest. Perhaps tonearm cartridge resonance issues, precise overhang adjustment and possibly most likely, vertical tracking angle or VTA. None of my turntables have allowed provision for adjustment of VTA except by the addition of shims etc. I'm starting to think that this parameter is much more important than I had previously thought. It has certainly got me thinking!
Sonically the AT95E is actually a pretty good cartridge with an even frequency response with good extension at both ends. This is where my audio spectrum analyser was very useful at confirming what my ears have told me through listening, and one thing is for sure, this cartridge likes the so called 'standard' input impedance of 47 k. Its upper frequency response is actually much better than the Shure M97xE at 47 k in this respect where spectrum analysis definitely shows an upper treble roll off! In the case of the M97xE, this treble roll off is essentially eliminated by increasing the phono preamp input impedance somewhat (I use 62 k). However the AT95E seems very well matched at 47 k and it doesn't seem overly fussy with regard to input shunt capacitance.
The output level is judged to be just noticeably lower than the Shure M97xE, which in itself is slightly low output, but in practical terms this isn't a problem as the simple one opamp test phono preamp used in this evaluation http://www.redcircuits.com/Page10.htm the AT95E was able to easily deliver enough equalised output level to drive a following line preamp and power amp into clipping when the volume was raised up loud! Tested on a wide variety of recorded material produced very satisfying and high quality sound with a surprisingly wide and stable stereo image, and no inner groove distortion issues were noted. Compared to other higher priced cartridges, in absolute terms the AT95E lacks only the last ultimate degree of resolution and detail provided by a more exotic stylus profile which on the majority of even high quality systems is probably unnoticed!.
I don't know how long the AT95E has been manufactured for, but its excellent reputation over many years is very justified and well deserved. It's a top little cartridge. Let's hope it goes on being available for many years to come. I highly recommend it! Regards, Felix aka catman.
Last edited:
