Audio Technica VMN20EB Elliptical Stylus works with VM520EB Phono Cartridge (Blue)

the at440ml and now 540ml should not be considered a 'go to cartridge' , it has a very distinct response that is really best suited to certain tastes and systems , DO NOT BUY THIS CART OR STYLUS IF YOU DONT WANT THAT SOUND, if you want to get the best out of the ML styli , match them to warm systems that are rolled off up top , dont go setting your arm at +2 degrees because some fool said so , audio technica position the stylus for best results with the cartridge set absolutely level , set tracking and anti skate to specs , if you need more , you probably have issues elsewhere on the tt/ arm being used.i have found it performs very well on older sme arms and on thorens turntables but can also inject some sparkle into middling direct drives from all the big names of the 70s. cheaper carbon fibre arms can also benefit from the 440/540 mlagain , match it to very warm', mid and upper bass heavy systemsif you want the sparkle of the 440/540 ml but with a bit more balance ,try the dl110 from denon , if you want a better cart over all but retaining the replaceable stylus , look at nagaoka or goldring or even ortofon ( find a second hand ortofon 500 series body(510,520,530 or 540 for around £10 and fit a 530 or 540 stylus ! killer cart that sees off all comers at the price.)have fun.

Last year I purchased the at vm530 but after year so I started hearing a degradation in sound I read online you only get 300 hours before I needs to change so with the vmn40 sharing the same 500 body it made sense to upgrade I also read that you can get up to 1000 hours which could last me 3 years based on my average listening times, it csme today, I changed it over however found it quite fiddly you need to be very careful as ita very fragile and had to then re align my azuimuth and overhang due to it being knocked out of place, I have set the tracking weight at 1.7g and find the sound quite similar to the 530 but more clean and refined but the best is that there is no or little sign of inner groove distortion which is a big selling point to me.Conclusion :Expensive but with having 3x life of a standard elliptical and the lack of distortion makes it worth its price tage and would recommend..

I recently switched to this cartridge as I’d read lots of glowing reviews - and I’m glad I did!It’s astonishing how much more detail I can hear on my records now. It’s completely transformed some of my older secondhand records - they sound new again; even IGD has gone from my rock albums.The sound quality is worth every penny – and it’s rated to more hours than my old elliptical.Fantastic.

Great sounding stylus, however way overpriced considering you an get vm95 which uses the exact same cantilever and bonded stylus for just £25 they really need to bring the prices down for these stylus replacements.

I have had the cartridge for a year and considered up grading the stylus . I decided that I would keep the same ,as I was well impressed with the vm520eb. Very detailed and clear .