Audio-Technica AT95E vs Shure M97xE

Could be wrong here, but the cartridge (the thing at the end of the tonearm where the needle goes on) looks like the venerable Audio Technica AT95E-commonly included on turntables that cost upwards of $500. Great sounding cartridge, and it’s the cartridge and stylus that actually determine how good a turntable sounds.

So again, why do I think this cartridge is overpriced? Well, I purchased mine in late 2016, early 2017, I believe. I paid $87 for it. I bought two rep...

Sadly, it sounds awful compared to the AT85EP. It's very quiet, sounds tinny, and just doesn't offer the dynamic range that the AT85EP does. I had friends listen to it to ensure that I wasn't crazy, and the results were unanimous. Do yourself a favor and try the AT85EP, and don't forget the AT-PMA1 1/2" mount adapter (not needed if you already have a P-Mount head shell)

) For the price, I suppose it's "o.k." This Shure does produce a nice, full sound that is neither too "boxy" nor too bright. It sounds great for the first half of a 12-inch record, but then things go downhill rapidly

Apparently, this is an updated version of Audio Technica's consumer workhorse cartridge. The updated version of the AT-95 now requires slightly greater tracking force (2 grams of nominal tracking force as opposed to 1.75 grams). Compared to the older version that came with a Thorens TD-235 that I purchased 4 years ago, the current version sounds more dynamic

2 mil spec told me this stylus should be doing a super job of sampling subtle sound information in the record's groove walls. So if the stylus is finding the sound information, I asked, why am I not hearing it? Another spec, for tracking force, told me this cartridge can be used as low as .75 grams (however Shure's optimum tracking force is 1.25 grams)

At95e is bright compared to AM30s, and my ears tell me that the AM30s has a wider frequency response. Play the same record with both with my eyes blind, I'll tell you which cart is which. Which one I like? I like them both, but I'd rather listen to classics with the Signet. Rock tends to like the AT

EDIT - 10/19/10 Just received a fresh M97xe from Amazon. Despite my negative experience from earlier, enough people on AudioKarma, VinylEngine, and all the other big sites swore this was the cart to beat under $100, so I gave it another shot. In short - they were all right! My initial cartridge/stylus must have been defective as this new model with only 3 hours on it is excelling my earlier sample in HF extension, imaging, bass impact, and every other criteria imaginable. Now I see what all the fuss is about

If you don't trust YouTube compression to adequately represent the sound, follow the link in my description to an uncompressed wav file that you can l...

The Shure M97xE tracks all with competent aplomb and the AT-440mla certainly tracked the best of them all, but none of those did as well or sounded as good as my Ortofon 320U on the WORST tracks. The 320U, incidentally, used to be available for $80 and is now priced where you can find it somewhere in the $200-$300 range due to it being discontinued. Does this translate into real world differences that you can hear on a normal album? Again, not to me. I swear, in the audiophile world, a cartridge and needle combination is sought that will track lps that have been buried in the sand, have had a blow-torch run over them, then run over by a garbage truck, shaped into a salad bowl by a reclaimed materials artist and then pressed flat again by a vinyl enthusiast and a $20,000 cartridge will be expected to play that beat up record with unbelievable clarity, precision, timing, a deep soundstage that makes the listener feel as though he/she is "really there," and with no listening fatigue at all; all the better if that lp is played on a turntable that costs at least $5,000 and tonearm that costs an additional $800 with oxygen free wires that cost another $100--and we haven't even gotten into phono stage, amp, and speakers (and wires), not to mention which freaking capacitors, and whether tubes or solid state