Audio-Technica VM540ML Moving Magnet Cartridge
Founded in 1962 by Hideo Matsushita, Audio-Technica positioned itself immediately as a leader in the manufacture and design of innovative audio products.
Humility, passion, creativity and expertise in sound are the core values behind Audio-Technica’s legacy, greatly inspired by its founder – whose imprint on the company’s philosophy is still felt today.
Today, Audio-Technica’s audio products have become globally synonymous with consistently high sonic performance paired with impeccable build construction and artistic design.
| Dimensions: | 10.16 x 5.08 x 7.62 cm; 6.52 Grams |
| Model: | VM540ML |
| Manufacture: | audio-technica |
| Origin: | China |
This at cart is a great value ! It sounds outstanding and tracks everything I have in my collection and my collection is mostly 30 plus years old. It also quiet! It’s teamed with a Pioneer plx1000 DD ! I say give it a shot you won’t be disappointed and if you don’t like it it’s easy to send back.
eplaced an out of production cartridge on my vintage Thorens TD160
Easy to put on my type of tone arm .
Super highs ,lows that will make your subwoofer shake your house .
Beautifully clear and clean. High frequencies are very clear, and drums have a good impact and body. This replaced my new 2M Bronze (which was a nice -sounding cartridge, but had clearance issues on my SL1200 MkII, so I returned it and picked this up instead. Excellent soundstage and imaging and it’s not even broken in yet. It should become even smoother with break-in. All-in-all the VM540ML is an excellent cartridge for the money. Highly recommended!
Troquei minha at95 de ponta elptica ( verde) por essa e valeu muito a pena. outro nvel de captao ns discos. Muito mais detalhes.
I am so proud I spent the money on this cartridge. Worth every penny!! Sound quality is substantially better!!
This cartridge is phenomenal value for the money. Difficult to install due to the body size and now much visibility of the stylus there is, but oh boy is the sound quality worth the hassle.
Installed on a Thorens TD320. Works and sounds great, especially since the TD320 with the TP16 MKII needs a high compliance cartridge
Comprei a cpsula mais por curiosidade sobre o formato da agulha elptica micro line, se realmente era vantajoso em relao Ortofon 2M Blue, que tinha instalado em meu toca discos. O preo l indica a compra se voc tem recursos para adquiri-lo. Se o seu equipamento possui uma cpsula boa, acredito no h necessidade de t-la. Apesar de ainda no ter reproduzido as 30 horas de discos necessrios ao melhor rendimento e performance da agulha, d para perceber que as frequncias mdias/altas so bem destacadas, no irritante como a Ortofon, em alguns discos que possuo. Possui um bom nvel de sada.
Bought based on professional reviews. Replaced a very old Stanton 681EEE with this as a replacement stylus for the Stanton was no longer available. Both classical, jazz, and 70s rock music sound as I remember from my younger days. Pops and crackles are still there but much less frequent.
Been looking to replace a “well worn” Denon DL110 high output MC cartridge that I’ve had for 2 or 3 years … the Denon partnered well with my Sony PS-X65 table, but at times could sound a little too “hi-fi and analytical” rather than simply enjoying the music as you should.
So after some googling, I took a chance on this AT as by and large it received good reviews, isn’t priced at silly money and appeared a good match for the Sony’s medium mass tonearm.
After taking some time to actually fit it in the headshell (fiddly to say the least !) and aligning everything up (tracking force 2.0g, VTA +3 and anti-skate 2.0) it was time to listen
Initial impressions after just a few LPs is VERY positive the sound has similarities to the Denon in that is is very detailed, big soundstage and very quiet with good output / gain.
BUT it is better than the Denon in 3 major aspects:
1. the high frequencies “sparkle” and are supremely musical rather than the analytical sound of the Denon
2. IGD just isn’t present, which is remarkable… after listening to vinyl for the best part of 40 years, the last tracks on LPs more often than not tend to sound a little “duller” than the rest of an LP because of the inherent limitations of vinyl and / or stylus types … NOT SO with this AT … perhaps it’s the micro line profile of the stylus ? Who knows, but this is a game changer and I’m delighted with this result.
3. The whole sound spectrum just sounds “right” … supremely musical, nothing over-emphasised, everything as clear as day.
Fantastic cart which I’m sure after “burn in” will only improve … toe-tapping stuff and if you’re looking to replace a worn or boring cart, this should be at the top of your list to try.
Superb cartridge, absolutely delighted … well done AT
*~*~* UPDATE April 222 *~*~*
This cart simply improves after about 25 hours of use now – soundstage has opened up even more and the space and clarity is wonderful without being overly analytical or losing any warmth.
To say I’m impressed is an understatement !!! Just buy one, you won’t be disappointed 🙂
I’m coming from an Ortofon OM30 Super. That is around $500 for cart/stylus CAD. This VM540ML is significantly cheaper but from some online demos I was intrigued. I had to try.
I absolutely love this cart. How does it differ? I recorded the same song A and B to critically compare. The results for me are pretty clear:
1. VM540ML has an “airier” top end. The brush of fingers on an acoustic guitar, or the light tapping of muted strings, the opened high hats slowly closing to a stop — there is easily something that is more realistic and “present” when listening and comparing to the OM30 Super. Things just feel less confined in a space with this VM540ML
2. It is quite easy to tell that the channel separation (stereo width) is much wider on this VM540ML compared to the ortofon. I think this is part of the reason why i felt less “confined” as mentioned in point 1. Then just as curiosity i checked the specs … VM540ML is 28dB (1kHz) while Ortofon is 25dB @ 1kHz. Is this significant? i have no idea but i just trust my ears.. Both headphone listening AND speaker listening, the difference for me is obvious.
3. Bass wise, i feel like they are both comparable — to be honest? if i had to pick, the OM30 has the SLIGHTEST edge on this for punchier bass — for example, listening to Black Velvet Alana Myles, that bass driving beat through out the song feels just a TAD —> i mean VERY little–> punchier drive than this VM540ML . But If i were blindfolded, i just simply couldnt tell.
I can easily give a recommendation here based on my direct A/B comparison sessions. Save your money and buy this VM540ML over the Ortofon OM30super. In fact, since i’ve owned OM30super, OM10 super and the OM5e and also even the Nagaoka MP110 , My current favorite is hands down this VM540ML by audio technica. Really really good value for the money.
Je suis pass de l’at3600 de base une at-vm520eb aujourd’hui l’at-vm540ml. J’ai aussi essay l’at-vm95e. La srie 500 gnre une trs bonne scne sonore, plus ample que la srie 95. J’tais dj conquis par la 520eb seulement il y avait des inconvnients comme une saturation sur certaines voix ou instruments. J’avais lu que le 540ml supprimait ce genre de soucis. Et bien c’est vrai. C’est un vrai plaisir d’coute. C’est lisse. Y a une super bonne basse profonde, tout est quilibr. Les mdiums sont prsents comme devant vos yeux. Les sons sont biens spars et prsents (dj bien prsents dans la 520eb) Plus besoin de casque franchement. Placez vos enceintes correctement, reglez la cellule correctement avec un gabarit, reglez le poid entre 1,8 2,2 selon votre oreille, perso 1,85 sur at-lp40wm bras carbone, ampli pioneer Sa-408(1979) et deux petites enceintes davis 50 hera sans prtention mais que cette cellule arrive sublimer. Par contre les vinyles mal masteriss ou mal presss sont identiques sur toutes mes cellules, soient mauvais. Il y a des diteurs qui se moquent royalement de nous. Bref a vaut le coup de mettre un peu de ct pour s’offrir cette cellule car j’ai du mal croire qu’elle puisse dcevoir.
I was hesitant to buy but This cartridge performed better than I expected. I own a more expensive cartridge but I wanted something in a different range so to speak and this did it. You do have to break it in for about 15 hrs then You get a lot of more detail for sure. At this level it’s a good deal.
My Soundsmith Carmen MK2 (eliptical/$1k) needed to be retipped so I decided to try out a microline stylus as to be able to continue to listen to records and see if the hype was real…it is. I bought the AT540ml mainly to do away with inner groove distortion and sibilance, having no expectation my listening experience would become so much richer. This cartridge is a tad brighter upon first breaking it in but it has seemed to mellow out in the month I’ve been using it. What an incredible experience to be able to hear ALL my records without IGD and sibilance! Matching the cartridge to the tonearm is not to be overlooked as it makes a difference. Best $ I’ve spent in a long time!