Audio Technica Dual Moving Magnet Phono Cartridge 5 5 3 3
No more inner groove distortion! I bought this cart to replace a well known competitor's cart that I found my self re-setting up about once a week. No matter how I tweaked it, the last two tracks on each side of the record were terrible sounding: sibilant, distorted, etc. I even updated my turntable — the cart's manufacturer assured me I must be doing something wrong!Well, I finally did some research and decided to get this cart. It's only got about 3 hours on it, but already I can say this: my inner groove distortion is gone. GONE. I didn't believe this was possible! But what's almost cooler is that I had a stack of records I was ready to trash because they sounded totally worn out on my old cart. Distorted, treble all gone, etc. I threw an especially "trashed" LP on my turntable to see what the AT440mla would do with it. To my COMPLETE surprise, the rumors about this cart are true: it dug down deep in the groove and found undamaged vinyl. EVERY record I was ready to throw out sounded good enough to hang on to with this cart. Some sounded good, others sounded FANTASTIC. Additionally, especially with newer, cleaner records, this cart has extremely low surface noise!Some call this cart bright. And while it does show a rise in the treble, its reproduction of music is faithful. For example, an LP whose CD counterpart is also mastered on the warmer side sounded spot-on; same as the CD, no extra treble. Records that had previously sounded like they were lacking high frequency detail came alive with this cart. I have yet to feel like I need to roll off the highs as I listen to the AT440mla. Its sound is not fatiguing to me in the least. And it's not even broken in!So, to summarize: If this cart hadn't worked, I was ready to give up on vinyl. All this talk of LPs being able to rival CDs in sound quality was sounding a bit ridiculous to me UNTIL I tried the AT440mla. I never knew vinyl could sound so clear, full, natural, and dynamic. If you have a decent turntable and an amp/speakers that can do justice to the increased detail this cartridge reveals, the investment will be well worth it! Just be careful with it! I've never seen such a tiny cantilever in my life, and I can't even make out the diamond. You'd only have to drop this cart on a record once to do some damage. Respect it, and it'll respect your records! 04/02/2012
Very good sound & avoidance of record wear This cart is high-quality for a number of reasons.1. the tracking force is kept to a low number(1.4gr nominal)2. Ohno Continuous Casting Copper used in the internal wiring=better detail retrieval and imaging.3. dual magnet for separation4. Perhaps most importantly, the MicroLine stylus is very easy on the grooves and keeps wear of your records to a minimum. 01/19/2012
Truly excellent cartridge I've had this cartridge for at least 5 years. It's very musical sounding, captures fine details and delivers expert tracking. It also works quite well with the less expensive and easier to find AT120E replacement stylus. 11/12/2011