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AT95e why does everyone love this?

Yamahaha

Yamahaha

Well-Known Member
Testing one of my newest acquisitions I put one an AT95e and it seems to pull surface noise like crazy. The highs are quite unrefined and the lows OK but a little muffed. AB's with my Nagoaka MP-50 .... its like night and day.

So anyway ... why does everyone including manufacturers use the AT95e? Is it just that its cheap and "passable"?
 
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I don't have the problems you're having with your AT95E. Also, considering the very low price of the 95, the sound quality is quite good. Even Michael Fremer liked it.

If you're having these kinds of issues, I have to wonder if your set-up is correct or optimized.

Is your table level?
Is your tracking force at the recommended 2 grams? (I have three of these cartridges, two with the elliptical stylus and one with the hyper-elliptical, and I track all of them at 2.2 grams...a little higher than the recommended, but still within the max of 2.5)
Is your anti-skating set properly?
Is your tracking angle set properly?
Have you allowed the cartridge to properly break in? (not many cartridges sound outstanding right out of the box)
What is the condition of your records? Do you clean them (or at least dust them off) before playing?
Is the stylus clean?

All the above factors play a role in the sound quality of any cartridge.
 
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I'm sold on the AT140LC (line contact) stylus on my AT120E body. :)
It tracks like a champ, sounds wonderful and is dead quiet in relation to groove noise.
 
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Celt said:
I'm sold on the AT140LC (line contact) stylus on my AT120E body. :)
It tracks like a champ, sounds wonderful and is dead quiet in relation to groove noise.
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I put that stylus on a Signet TK3ea and I agree about the amazing silence. However, when I put a vl stylus on my AT-95, it got very noticeably quieter. As for the OP's other problems with it, they're all news to me. Maybe he got a dud.
 
It's one of the most inexpensive current production carts with affordable and widely available options to upgrade the stylus. To some, the sound might not be the best, but at ~$35 what do you expect? For someone on a budget it's a winner.
 
Cuz of the price. All of my slightly more expensive carts sound better to me including M97xE, AT110e, AT120e, AT440MLa, 2MRed, Pearl, MP-11, I even like the Red Ed as much or more and it's cheaper than the AT95e. The AT311ep is also just as good (to my ears) and can also be had cheaper from some places.
 
The AT95E is OK, it's not a favorite, it's not the worst Ive heard. Comparing the Nag and the AT is just ridiculous, and I would have to think was known before it was even posted.
 
It's a $35 cartridge that sounds decent for the price. It's a budget cart.
As Rnorton said, you could've got a dud. Or maybe you don't have it set up properly?

I took mine and put a 710 dhe stylus(diamond hyper eliptical) on it.
This one- http://www.turntableneedles.com/NEEDLE-710-DHE_p_3722.html

The 710 dhe is not the most resolving nor the best at highs, but it's extremely sweet sounding & very musical. Very pleasurable to listen to.
 
As others have said, for the price it's pretty darn good and there are upgrade paths to make it better. Plus, it mates well with heavier arms found on many vintage TT's due to the lower compliance.

rnorton said:
I put that stylus on a Signet TK3ea and I agree about the amazing silence.
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Put me in the TK3ea/ATN140lc camp! I had a spare 140 stylus and decided to try it with the Signet after reading good reviews from awise1961. I picked the cartridge up cheap on the bay, since it was missing the stylus. This has become the go-to cart in my stable. I'm playing it on my SL-1200 MKII with amazing results.
 
Of course I realize my comparison is not a fair one. However, so many people go on and on about the At95e being simply wonderful and unbeatable under $500 (I think that was a magazine quote)

So I am legitimately curious. Its not god awful but lacks detail plus really seems to bring out surface noise. I find all AT cartridges to bring noise to the front actually but this one makes albums sound poor that play just fine on the expensive Nagaoka. Something up with that.

I also do not buy into the "break in" nonsense. Just like any other break in period your brain reacts to a different presentation. Nothing changes other than your own brain getting used to it. This is why any new stereo component sounds a little funny at first. Then you think its broken in but it hasn't changed.

I think 99% of a good cartridge difference is the diamond? I may be wrong but it makes sense to me the cantilever and tip would be far more likely to contribute to final sound.
 
Yamahaha said:
Of course I realize my comparison is not a fair one. However, so many people go on and on about the At95e being simply wonderful and unbeatable under $500 (I think that was a magazine quote)

So I am legitimately curious. Its not god awful but lacks detail plus really seems to bring out surface noise. I find all AT cartridges to bring noise to the front actually but this one makes albums sound poor that play just fine on the expensive Nagaoka. Something up with that.

I also do not buy into the "break in" nonsense. Just like any other break in period your brain reacts to a different presentation. Nothing changes other than your own brain getting used to it. This is why any new stereo component sounds a little funny at first. Then you think its broken in but it hasn't changed.

I think 99% of a good cartridge difference is the diamond? I may be wrong but it makes sense to me the cantilever and tip would be far more likely to contribute to final sound.
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Unbeatable under $500 doesn´t make any sense. For that kind of money you can get AudioTechnica AT33EV, AT150MLx, ATOC9MLII and III in the AT line.
In absolute sound quality the 95E doesn´t come near those, of course. But the relative value is good, you really get a lot for your money, and if swapping the stylus to a better one it will get much better.
 
gusten said:
Unbeatable under $500 doesn´t make any sense. For that kind of money you can get AudioTechnica AT33EV, AT150MLx, ATOC9MLII and III in the AT line.
In absolute sound quality the 95E doesn´t come near those, of course. But the relative value is good, you really get a lot for your money, and if swapping the stylus to a better one it will get much better.
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Probably meant unbeatable under $50.

Very hard to take the OP seriously.
 
Yamahaha said:
Of course I realize my comparison is not a fair one. However, so many people go on and on about the At95e being simply wonderful and unbeatable under $500 (I think that was a magazine quote)

So I am legitimately curious. Its not god awful but lacks detail plus really seems to bring out surface noise. I find all AT cartridges to bring noise to the front actually but this one makes albums sound poor that play just fine on the expensive Nagaoka. Something up with that.

I also do not buy into the "break in" nonsense. Just like any other break in period your brain reacts to a different presentation. Nothing changes other than your own brain getting used to it. This is why any new stereo component sounds a little funny at first. Then you think its broken in but it hasn't changed.

I think 99% of a good cartridge difference is the diamond? I may be wrong but it makes sense to me the cantilever and tip would be far more likely to contribute to final sound.
Click to expand...

So let's see ... a $500 cartridge sounds better to you than a $50 one; there is no such thing as break in; and the diamond and cantilever are the only things important in a cartridge.

Ok great.
 
You've got to be pretty jaded not to believe in Breakin!

ollie_and_jerry_breakin_theres_no_stoppin_us_1984_the80sman.jpg
 
Well it seems that anything I say will get tweaked and edited to show the worst ... it was an honest question and my opinions are only my own.
 
have you tried adjusting the VTA? try it with the tail up, then drop it in increments until the top end changes (probably for the better). then go on to lower it until the sound changes again. you will know when it sounds as good as it can.

THEN you will probably like it more,
 
Yamahaha: I'm not that fond of the AT95E either - but suspension break-in isn't just imagination. If you have a test record with modulation test tracks, try it with your next cart/needle: After some hours of break-in the cart/needle should manage roundabout 10 µm more. Room temperature should be pretty much the same, though, as that also has an influence on the suspension.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Yamahaha said:
Well it seems that anything I say will get tweaked and edited to show the worst ... it was an honest question and my opinions are only my own.
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No one tweaked or edited anything you said. When you start giving opinion in a matter-of-fact way you will incur some criticism. You said break-in was nonsense, did you not?

Jon
 
Yamahaha said:
Well it seems that anything I say will get tweaked and edited to show the worst ... it was an honest question and my opinions are only my own.
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Pffft. You should have offered a link or proof of the magazine that claimed it was the best cart under $500 or whatever. Cause as it stands you just kind of made up your own strawman, propped it up in the field and got all mad now that the crows have taken perch and pooped all over it.
 
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