Review on 🎶 Brown Dual Moving Magnet Turntable Cartridge - Audio-Technica AT-VM95SH by Neil Bodell

I'll admit I'm easily fascinated by new stereo components, especially turntables and pickups. My last of many cartridges was the Nagaoka MP-110 with an MP-200 stylus. I bought it because I was bored (but never with Nagaoko) and wanted to try something new and different. I had never owned a Shibata stylus before, so I settled on the VM95SH. If I didn't like it, I still had Nagaoko. Wow! I installed this (yay, simple bolt-on system) on my music hall mmf 2.3 and was blown away almost immediately. Knotscott and other reviewers did a great job reporting the sound of this AT. The AT lacks the richness of Nagaoko and smoother highs, but only gradually. Percussion is tight and crisp, vocals, guitar, and piano play clean and clear, and high frequencies are pleasingly detailed. There's absolutely no exaggeration in the high frequencies like some AT pickups, and the VM95SH is as quiet as anything I've ever owned. The 95SH is a champion for placing instruments on a wide and deep soundstage. Details are everywhere, but they never seem overdone or obnoxious. This pickup system is as comfortably neutral as I can imagine without sounding the tiniest bit cold or clinical. It's just a pleasure to listen to. $200 well spent.