New generation of the AT95E, six different types

Looks good to me. With all those stylus options - it would be interesting to try them all out to see what the differences are! I like the new styling and really like the threaded cartridge bolt receivers :thumbsup: . I've not used a moving magnet design in many years - might be a good time to give one a whirl (on a budget)?
 
What I mean is they realized there is a market for advanced stylus options on a basic body. I wouldn't want to be LPGear right now, sitting on a bunch of Vivid Line and Shibata AT95 variants that are at best a few bucks cheaper than AT's own offerings.

I also suspect that, despite the slight increase in output, the internals remain the same. The changes are likely in the plastic housing and the styli. We'll have to wait for full specs to know for sure.
 

Ugly, no way. Everything about these are beautiful. I even like the looks of the headshell.

at-vm95e_intro.jpg


Most beautiful of all is you can start with a basic (and inexpensive) conical or bonded elliptical and later upgrade to a nude ellipitcal, line contact or shibata as your needs and budget permit. This is a brilliant move by Audio Technica and a natural evolutionary follow on to moving their AT3600L production to China (note these new VM95 bodies are clearly labeled "China"):

at-vm95e_02.jpg


Everything about this looks to be an improvement over the previous designs (including the looks, IMHO). Based on this thread:

Chinese AT3600 $11...Wow!

I'd say they have successfully demonstrated it's possible to build a high quality product in China and sell it at affordable prices. Good for them. If producing them in China helps keep the cost down and lets them still make a decent profit, it bodes well for Audio Technica's long term viability, which in turn bodes well for all vinyl enthusiasts. This is great news for the analog music community.
 
While I like AT cartridges, I've not been a fan of the AT95 line. Once these hit the US market I'll be trying one. \
My old stiff fingers think all cartridges should have threaded mounting holes.
 
The threaded inserts are a HUGE step forward. EVERY cartridge should use same.

I will not be entirely surprised if the metal cart body underneath the bodywork is exactly the same as the old model.

It sounds like a small tweak was made to the coil design to increase the output voltage:

"The aluminium cantilever and 0.3 x 0.7 mil bonded elliptical stylus reproduces a superior sound experience, while the new coil design delivers increased output voltage (4 mV) compared to the previous AT95E and AT95EX models."
 
note these new VM95 bodies are clearly labeled "China"

Not noted, 'cause unless I'm blind, it looks as if only the two lower cost versions are.


b4b: Who knows - hard to tell from the pics, whether the imprint is on the mounting frame or that's an extra label. In the latter case, there might still be a screw, but hidden below the label as on the old AT120 family and the VM5x0/6x0/7x0s.


Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Looking at the high-res version of one of the pics, I'd think it's an extra label, so I'd deem the likelihood of the screw being hidden below that pretty high.

But apropos screw: I wonder, whether at least the needle variants from the EN up will now sport screw- instead of rivet-fixed cantilever assemblies.

Well and as a general comment, I'm quite happy to see AT reclaiming its position as market leader in terms of price-performance with this new VM95 family, which I'd hence deem a pretty welcome addition to the phono market.
 
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note these new VM95 bodies are clearly labeled "China"
Only the first two, the C and the E. Starting with the EN, the label says they're made in Japan. Don't know what significance this has, but I'd get the EN for that alone, if not something higher up.

I noticed the plastic top is now apparently bonded to the metal body. The screw is gone. So maybe this is in fact a redesign rather than a facelift.
The label is where the screw was on the old 95, so maybe they just covered it.

The threaded inserts are a HUGE step forward. EVERY cartridge should use same.
+1. I have to wonder what this means for the recently revamped 510CB and 520EB, which are supposedly higher up the line but don't have the threaded sockets, despite the price premium.
 
Yes, possibly a label. And unless I'm mistaken, final assembly determines the country of origin designation. So, as long as they mount the higher spec models in Japan, the sub-assemblies might still be from the Chinese facility. Presumably the advanced tips and cantilevers are Japanese.
 
The housing is the same as their AT-XP5 and AT-XP7 DJ cartridges:

Professional-DJ-Headphones-Turntables-Cartridges-from-A-T-6.png


Along with the aforementioned Stanton 750 and Goldring E1, E2, and E3 cartridges, they're sure getting a lot of mileage out of the AT95E cartridge body these days.
 
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