The Ortofon 2M Bronze works well on that arm. The nude Fine Line stylus, while technically a line contact type, is more closely related to a hyper-elliptical profile, and is less fussy about set-up than the more exotic profiles like ML, Shibata, etc.
And it sounds really good. It's tonally neutral, it gives you what's in the groove, and nothing more. If you're looking for warmth, this is probably not for you. But, as you're looking at AT carts, I'm guessing warmth is not a priority. It's not
inexpensive, but it is everything the reviewers said.
People are going to come along shortly and recommend carts with a MicroLine, Shibata, or other line contact stylus, most likely the AT-VM95ML. It's a good cart, with a decent diamond, but it's a bonded diamond tip, not nude.
Nagaoka MP-110H VS the VM95ML ? I'm guessing the AT95E is way less quality than the VM95ML.
I'm pretty sure it's not.
The VM95ML is in fact a nude diamond, not a bonded one:
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Techni...child=1&keywords=VM95Ml&qid=1630973897&sr=8-3You are correct, I am not. They are nude. But they're still not easy to set up properly on the OP's table.....
Not true! The AT-VM95ML is NUDE, not bonded!Right now, there seems to be a diamond shortage within the industry. You might have to hunt hunt around. My local dealer is having a hard time getting stock. The Bronze is worth hunting for, in my opinion.
People are going to come along shortly and recommend carts with a MicroLine, Shibata, or other line contact stylus, most likely the AT-VM95ML. It's a good cart, with a decent diamond, but it's a bonded diamond tip, not nude. The nude styli are lighter, therefore faster, and generally more detailed. But the more exotic styli are very sensitive to things like azimuth and stylus rake angle(SRA), that your tonearm has no adjustment for. To put it bluntly, you won't get anywhere near the performance that stylus profile is capable of. The slightly less precise nude FineLine is easier to align on the less sophisticated arms, such as yours, and mine. Thus, you actually get more of the performance you're paying for.
for my sl-d2 specifically would the 95ml be a vast improvement still in comparison with the 95e? I have a thing visually for the nag 110, but not sure if the 200 bucks is better spent on the 95ml..
I'm not so sure about that. Yes, if the AT-VM530EN is anything like its forerunner, the AT120E, it will be fabulous. But I have the AT-VM95E and tried the AT-VM520EB (both with bonded elliptical styli), and much preferred the AT-VM95E. It was, however, down to the stylus rather than the generator - putting an old AT100E stylus on the VM520EB body, it sounded great. Of the two VM95 cartridges that I have (95E and 95ML), I'd say that they are a little warmer than the AT cartridges I have with the other bodies (except perhaps the AT3600L), so it's really down to taste.If I were going to spend $179 an AT cart, I would get the AT-VM530EN. In my opinion, you'll get more out of the nude elliptical with the more sophisticated generator
than you will from a more exotic stylus profile with an inferior generator, all things being equal.
Edit: AND you still have the ML/Shibata options.