The Courteous Vinyl Playback Discussion

[Newman]

Yes, I find the AT price structure for the various tip profiles to be somewhat at odds with the industry.

I have seen an explanation, but can’t recall what it was.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Yes, I find the AT price structure for the various tip profiles to be somewhat at odds with the industry.

I have seen an explanation, but can’t recall what it was.

Some things just don't make sense.

What profile choice works best with your setup.

 

[Snoopy]

Is it true that a shibata stylus would be better for old used records?

 

[Bob from Florida]

Is it true that a shibata stylus would be better for old used records?

Two sides to that coin - on one side the more advanced profiles fit the groove "better", but because of their shape need more accurate alignment. So, a worn record that has groove wear from say worn out spherical styli will in theory have less groove wear deeper in the groove. The more advanced styli cuts can get there and if aligned properly have less distortion and wear on the grooves. On the other hand, spherical are less "picky" about setup and may sound better than a less than optimal alignment of an advanced profile. I have very much enjoyed the spherical stylus on the Denon 103 and also like the Shibata on the Hana SL.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Is it true that a shibata stylus would be better for old used records?

Here is a link to an informal listening test done at the Schiit demo site - called the "SchiitR" I think" in Southern California. It is from 4 years ago back when they were still making the Sol turntable. They tested the three nude versions of styli for the VM95 body.

Review: Audio Technica VM95 Cartridge EN, ML & SH Compared

A review of the AT-VM95EN, AT-VN95ML and AT-VM95SH turntable cartridges from Audio Technica. Comparision of the Audio-Technica VM95 series cartridges.

audio-head.com

 

[Bob from Florida]

VM95 on AT Headshell aligned and playing music. Waxwing gain @ 38db and 47K load - 24/96 output to Schiit Modius. Playing Dave Brubeck Time Out resissue - sounds real nice! Going to let it break in over the next few weeks before throwing the Hana back in to evaluate.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Further thoughts on the VM95SH. About 7 albums play time in and some early observations. Cartridge sounds neutral to my ears. Dynamics are excellent with better 3d imaging that anything I have played recently. The treble detail is outstanding but not fatiguing. At some point, I will also compare the Clearaudio Maestro 2 to it. The Maestro 2 is a VM95 in a ebony body with a boron cantilever HD Microline nude stylus. It will be very interesting to hear that comparison.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Just got through listening to a Sheffield direct to disc album - James Newton Howard and Friends. Bass is phenomenal - better than ever methinks. More praise for the VM95SH Sorane arm combination.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Put the Hana SL on the same type AT HS6 headshell the VM95SH is on, aligned it same geometry and played an album side. Now that I have these two cartridges on identical headshells, swapping is super easy. I will get around to that on a different day. I had just listened to this album last night. To be honest, there were no glaring differences in playback. Both had great bass and great holographic imaging. Really no complaints with either cartridge.

 

[mike70]

Put the Hana SL on the same type AT HS6 headshell the VM95SH is on, aligned it same geometry and played an album side. Now that I have these two cartridges on identical headshells, swapping is super easy. I will get around to that on a different day. I had just listened to this album last night. To be honest, there were no glaring differences in playback. Both had great bass and great holographic imaging. Really no complaints with either cartridge.

What preamp are you using with the Hana?

 

[ampguy]

I'm a big vinyl fan, with 3 turntable setups in the house. 2 are fairly budget, one is a used Japanese Sanyo, I believe it's direct drive with a strobe on it. The other was my old office turntable, an AT from 5 to 7 or 8 years ago. It has a built in preamp so I can use it's line level out to any line in, or can turn that off and use an external phono preamp. My main turntable is a Marnantz TT15S1 which I pair with a Parks Puffin phono pre. I also keep a Schiit Mani around, which sound a little better than the ones built into receivers and integrateds. A hundred or maybe double that have come from local public radio station sales, so the "Magic" DSP feature on the puffin works really well.

 

[Bob from Florida]

What preamp are you using with the Hana?

Parks Waxwing. The Waxwing has 24 memories. So far I have a Hana, VM95, and Lyra settings for 3 of my cartridges. Swapping cartridges is as follows: swap pre-aligned cartridge on headshell, reset downforce and anti-skate, adjust VTA to re-level arm if needed, and recall memory on Waxwing. Takes less than 5 minutes at a leisurely pace.

The iFi Zen is my backup, but have not had the need to use it since putting the Waxwing in the system.

 

[Bob from Florida]

I was playing records Sunday and had pulled out a MFSL UHQR copy of Tea for the Tillerman. I had picked it up for $20 a number of years ago at a used record store. As I put it on the platter I noticed the spindle hole had been enlarged by the previous owner. Just setting it on the plater revealed an out of center wobble between the peripheral clamping ring and the beginning of track one. Careful centering movement followed by reapplying the center weight and clamping ring got rid of the beginning of first track visible wobble. The thing is - the enlarged hole was a perfect circle, which tells me it was not punched correctly at manufacturing time. The previous owner must have enlarged it to get some ability to get the record centered. You would think a high quality release would at least get centering correct!

 

[dr0ss]

The previous owner must have enlarged it to get some ability to get the record centered.

Not all spindles are exactly the same size. It is possible that that it was enlarged to fit more easily on his table.

 

[Bob from Florida]

Not all spindles are exactly the same size. It is possible that that it was enlarged to fit more easily on his table.

Possibly, however, my Clearaudio spindle is already a tight fit as they make theirs a tiny bit bigger. This album can move a millimeter or two quite easily. Perhaps I was giving the individual too much credit and it was just a sloppy enlargement.

 

[DSJR]

Next task for me (if I can get the space and energy to work on them now my old workbench is long gone) is to do some more with the GL69mk2 in my current avatar, or bring the ton-up Thorens TD160 down and either refit the Linn Basik Plus or a brand new Rega RB330.

Anyway and going back to AT VM95, I set up a VM95ML a while ago and loved it. I suspect the ML tip can be a little brash or unforgiving for traditional vinyl lovers, but I've heard the SH tips as AT use do seem to quieten down the sparkle and refine it into something more refined. I also believe the current Shibata is different from the ones I used to know in the 70's (re AT, I loved the AT20SLa from that era and would love to try the VM760 which I believe is the latest descendent of this classic model, the metal mount possibly minimising hf energy going bascl into the arm).

Why am I going off on one above? It's 'cos the Thorens spindle is always a tight fit for some records...

 

[Bob from Florida]

Next task for me (if I can get the space and energy to work on them now my old workbench is long gone) is to do some more with the GL69mk2 in my current avatar, or bring the ton-up Thorens TD160 down and either refit the Linn Basik Plus or a brand new Rega RB330.

Anyway and going back to AT VM95, I set up a VM95ML a while ago and loved it. I suspect the ML tip can be a little brash or unforgiving for traditional vinyl lovers, but I've heard the SH tips as AT use do seem to quieten down the sparkle and refine it into something more refined. I also believe the current Shibata is different from the ones I used to know in the 70's (re AT, I loved the AT20SLa from that era and would love to try the VM760 which I believe is the latest descendent of this classic model, the metal mount possibly minimising hf energy going bascl into the arm).

Why am I going off on one above? It's 'cos the Thorens spindle is always a tight fit for some records...

I like the AT VM95SH a lot! It's a great cartridge for very little money. One of the reasons I picked it was the lower compliance makes it a better match to my new tonearm. The higher priced models have higher compliance for some reason.

Those tight spindles must be a German thing.

 

[Newman]

I like the AT VM95SH a lot! It's a great cartridge for very little money.

Bob, why did you choose SH over ML?

 

[DSJR]

I like the AT VM95SH a lot! It's a great cartridge for very little money. One of the reasons I picked it was the lower compliance makes it a better match to my new tonearm. The higher priced models have higher compliance for some reason.

Those tight spindles must be a German thing.

My Duals are ok......

I worked out (if it's any use) that the once huge selling old Shure M75-ED if sold today, would be roughly AT VM540 money (posher internals than the 95's and ML tip). The VM95's do seem an absolute bargain...

 

[Bob from Florida]

Bob, why did you choose SH over ML?

My Hana SL moving coil is a Shibata. I wanted to compare the same stylus profile on a moving magnet to moving coil. Same model headshell used with both cartridges. Informal listening, they sound very similar - as in "if I did not know which one I just switched to, I might not be able to be sure". Obviously, I could purchase a ML replacement stylus for $159 and switch between the SH and ML.

I also have a Clearaudio Maestro 2 that is based on a VM95 generator inside an ebony body with a Clearaudio boron cantilever / micro-line diamond to try as well. I do need to test that with the new arm sometime.