Audio Technica AUD AT440MLA Phonograph Cartridge

Although I had my doubts whether this cartridge might meet my expectations, I was very pleased after installing and testing the AT440mla on my Technics SL-1500 turntable. I've been so used to my old standby Stanton 680EE that i was really taken by surprise at the difference in sound with the AT cartridge! Although I took great care to align the cartridge using the overhang jig that came with the Technics TT, I was still anticipating mistracking and/or the need to tweak the adjustment several times. But when I installed the AT, did the overhang adjust, balanced the arm and set tracking force and antiskating to 1.4 gm, I purposely put on a record with very strong S's and to my amazement, they all sounded very smooth without the piercing sharpness I had been used to with the Stanton. The sound on that vinyl was very smooth and silky, best way I could describe it. Stereo separation blew me away too, as I noted a very strong sensee of presence of not only left and right but center, and one other thing. The vinyl just plain sounded "quieter." Rather than being disappointed, I was very glad I nailed all the adjustments first time out and it's now staying just as it is, perfect! Oh, I have some warped vinyl and it tracks flawlessly. My only problem is one which I would have with any cartridge, I am visually impaired and have 10% vision, and I find mounting a cartridge combersome and frustrating, both in handling the very small screws and the wires, but I persevered and did this all on my own and it all works marvelously. My only other shothere is watch the price of this cartridge. It will go up and down. A friend of mine got his for $159 from another source, then I saw on Amazon prices ranging from $162 to $209 for this same cartridge. I kept looking and when I saw the price listed as $99.88, I grabbed one really fast. So keep checking before you buy and you'll find a better price. Even at a higher price it's a good bit of bang for the buck but if you can save more that's great. Take it from a 40+ year broadcaster and audiophile, this cartridge is wonderful and if you install it correctly, it will blow you away! UPDATE: I've changed turntables, going from an old Technics SL-1500 from which I will try to sell off some of its parts, to a brand new Technics SL-1210 Mk2. I took the extra time to remount the AT cartridge onto the new Technics headshell rather than leaving it on the aftermarket blue-painted headshell that I had for the SL-1500 and found by trial and error that I needed to mount the cartridge onto the headshell with the AT-supplied screws and bolts, not the Technics ones. The Technics headshell comes with much longer screws than what's needed for this cartridge, also the bolts with the Technics headshell package are five-sided, the ones from the AT set are simply round. If you try to mount with the Technics bolts it won't turn far enough to properly hold the cartridge in place, so you have to use the round bolts. Having limited vision I didn't catch this at first but after wasting a lot of time trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, I saw the problem. OK enough about that. After making sure all my work was done to spec and the stylus lined up perfectly using the Technics overhang jig, and judiciously setting up the tonearm, I played a bunch of my vinyl that could prove problematic for most setups and it all played wonderfully. I had even a better experience with my new setup than with the old, and I don't have any discernible tracking distortion anywhere on the vinyl. One added comment, many have said the cartridge has a kind of V-shaped audio curve, but I have to say if it's V-shaped, it's fooling me, and I'm an audiophile and broadcast DJ. I think what does it for me though is my phono preamp is a Stanton 310B which in itself is legendary, and it seems to bring out the midrange well just as it's set. The preamp has DIP switches on the back to compensate for cartridge characteristics at different frequencies and I like the way it's set right now. Now with the new TT in place and the AT440mla, I've got as good a setup as I'm ever going to find for my budget, so as I do a lot of archiving vinyl to hard drive and to CD, I'm very confident I'm doign it all as accurately as possible. In setting up the cartridge on any turntable, just make sure you do the overhang adjustment exactly as specified, or you will never achieve the great sound this cartridge has to offer. That's a big if, I've seen many people who just slap cartridges on and think it's OK, but it doesn't work that way. Take the time to set this puppy up and you'll enjoy your turntable so much for years to come.

I decided to resurrect my sound system last year. Got tired of seeing it sit in the cabinet collecting dust. Great equipment should be used after all. Those Klipsch speakers have hardly seen any use. There was a time when I spent hours listening to and recording albums on my sound system. Now that the kids are off on their own, time to break out my toys again. I pulled everything out and gave everything a good once over. If something needed professional attention, the device went into the shop. Everything finally all hooked up and sounding good except for my Technics SL1710 with an ancient AT15sa cartridge. Shopping around for advice, I came to Amazon.Com to see what I could find here. Liked the write ups on the AT440ML and the price was certainly in my budget. Placed my order. A few days later, received my new cartridge from Electrinic Expo LLC. Anxious to hear my old albums again, I mounted the cartridge, pulled out my favorite Moody Blues album and gently cued the tonearm. I was amazed! I had just listened to the same album the night before and thought it was missing something. Thought it was a setting on my amp or maybe my equalizer needed tweaking. Now the album sounded clear and I heard passages that I had forgotten about. Delicate notes and tones. I was listening to a dynamic expanse of sound I had been missing before. The music was fuller and more robust while at the same time keeping the highs crisp and clear. I was very pleased. Then I heard that the AT440ML was no longer available. Vendors were sending out the new AT440MLa in its place. I read how some folks were not happy with this arrangement. I took a closer look at my new cartridge and discovered that it, too, was an AT440MLa! Had I been the victim of a bait and switch sale? This cartridge isn't the one I ordered. I decided to research the AT440MLa and was pleased to discover that the 440MLa is a superior cartridge. The 440MLa looks the same as the old 440ML, but boy does it ever sound different! It is not nearly as bright as the 440ML. It is much flatter. Bass response is solid and clean with no muddiness. Midrange is very neutral, and the high end is extended with no signs of brightness. This cartridge sounds extremely refined. Most inexpensive cartridges tend to sound just that, cheap. They are either muddy, or bright and lacking detail. Not this one. It really sounds "expensive". It has what I like to call "layered depth". You don't simply hear the music, you hear into it. For someone on a budget who desires a great little cartridge, this is the one. The AT440MLa certainly brought my system back to life.

This review is about the 440Mla (which is what is in the market now). This came with a high recommendation from HIFI dealers. I heard from an HIFI dealer that 440MLa has a flat frequency response compared to the old 440ML. The 440ML has a frequency range of 5 to 32 KHz. I have not used 440Ml to do the comparison myself. So I can't comment on this. Mounting wise I had some difficulty since this is my first cartridge over 5g in weight (around 6.5g). The counterweight was at the very edge and this created some issues while I played some warped records. So I bought a record clamp to correct this issue. Sound wise this is more close to the tonal characteristics of a CD, but still preserving the sonic characteristics of a vinyl. I have just put around 20 hours in it. Might smooth itself with another 20-30 hours. The mid range seems to be a bit suppressed. The bass is good without being boomy or muddy. Channel seperation is again very good. Now for the real area where the 440MLa works like a champ "Tracking". It is absolutely a wonderful tracker. It tracks the inner grooves almost near perfectly on my old records. I'm hearing a clean sound on the inner groove tracks which I never heard before. Part of it is due to the micro line stylus. This also picks up all the details of the grooves and you may hear more pops and more surface noise. I have set my tracking force at 1.2g which gives me excellent reproduction on my setting. As for recommending this cartridge, it depends on what you are looking for. If you like warm sounding cartrdige and if brightness causes you fatigue, I would recommend Shure M97XE over this. Otherwise this is one excellent product at an unimaginable price tag.

About six months ago I installed this on a 1979 Pioneer PL-250 direct drive turntable and aligned it using Baerwald calculation via mirrored protractor and used Shure's SFG-2 tracking force gauge to set it at 1.4g. After six months of use and break-in, I can tell you that this is a phenomenal cartridge for the money. I was skeptical about the reviews reporting no inner-grove distortion, but darn if they weren't right - I just can't believe it. I guess what I don't understand is why not more of the high-end or audiophile cartridges using a micro linear stylus like the AT440MLA? Perhaps, it's because it might not be able to render as much warmness and bloom as the other shaped styli, such as is in my Grado... I have a Grado Gold series, and I will say that yes, you can tell the difference between the two very easily, yet I like them both for different applications. I will buy a second headshell for my Grado and use it on new vinyl and vinyl that only I have played since new. However, I continue to buy used vinyl and the other advantage of the micro linear stylus of the AT440MLA, besides eliminating inner-groove distortion, is that it breathes new life to vinyl that has been played through the years and might have some of its wall grooves worn down a bit. This is because the micro linear shape is able to lie deeper into the bottom of the groove and pick up fresh portions of the wall that have never been touched by conventional shaped styli. Now, keep in mind, as others have said, it will also pick up the imperfections better as well. I manage this by, obviously, not buying used vinyl that has scratches beyond slight surface mars and I always use a carbon fiber lent brush before every play to minimize any snap, crackle, and pop. Also, in the winter when static is a concern, I zap the vinyl with my original ZeroStat gun (now I'm considering purchasing the Mapleshade Phonophile record brush that uses metal strands and has a ground cable...). Anyway, I cannot give this cartridge higher praise -- it is the best cartridge, hands down, that money can buy. It is an absolute MUST HAVE if you are buying and playing used vinyl! Happy listening and long live vinyl and an all analog stereo system! (Now, if we could just get new music recorded and mixed back on analog equipment... I'm not a big fan of digitally recorded new music that is then pressed onto new vinyl, that's why I didn't buy the new Beatles vinyl box set because it's from digital masters and a digital mix. One of my rare finds is the female band "The Like" on their retro 60's album, "Release Me." They went into an old recording studio in NYC that hadn't been used in years and the producers refurbished the all analog recording and mixing gear (tube driven), and they recorded the whole album that way -- very cool! So far, this is the only "new" vinyl I know of that has been recorded and mixed using vintage analog equipment. I think that even digital music media, CD's and MP3's, would sound better if they were recorded and mixed in the analog domain, then digitized just in the transfer to media stage.) Now go do something nice for yourself and your vinyl collection and "buy this cartridge!!!"

I own a set of vintage mid-range consumer grade audio equipment, which included a very mid-range $25 cartridge. I did quite a bit of reading on amazon and finally settled on the AT440MLa cartridge. As mentioned in other reviews, going from an "average" cartridge to this one is an upgrade that will literally blow you away. At the same time that I purchased this cartridge, I also upgraded my headphones to a Sennheiser model hd55, and the combination is just killer. I do most of my listening on headphones, and this is where I've found this cartridge most able to show off its strengths. This is a dual moving magnet cartridge, meaning the elements that pick up the left and right channel are completely isolated from one another. Most regular cartridges mix the two channels together slightly. This setup generates channel separation like I've never heard before. Each instrument has a distinct, focused point in the stereo spectrum from where it emanates. My old cartridge put the drums "somewhere over to the left" and the guitar "somewhere over there on the right". This new cartridge has made me flinch at times, because it sounds as if somebody just hit a cymbal next to my ear. It literally sounds like my head is mounted to the stage floor, and the rest of the band is playing all around me. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming (in a good way.) This is what vinyl is supposed to sound like. When I demonstrate my rig for others, I pull out my copy of Chicago's fifth album, and put on a track called "A Hit By Varese". The engineering on that LP is top notch, and the song features a combination of saxophone, trumpet, and trombone solos that play off of each other, occurring all over the stereo spectrum (and thus your head.) Pretty awesome. As others have said, this cartridge does accentuate the highs more than others, but I haven't found it to be annoying. I'm too busy admiring the sheer clarity of the music and the elements I never realized were there. The only complaint I have with this cartridge is the needle that comes with it. This is a micro-linear stylus, which has a very very tiny tip. Theoretically, it is supposed to reach way down into the groove, finding a new realm of fresh vinyl that has never been touched by a larger needle. In the real world, the needle lays into the very bottom of the groove, plowing through dust, dirt, pops, ticks, and anything else that has settled down there. Much of the garbage clings to the needle, making the sound quality and tracking go down the tubes. Even apparently clean records can contribute buildup. Many times I had to stop an album several times in the middle of play to clean up the massive furball that was currently tracking my favorite album. I suppose this might work well as a vinyl cleaning technique (and I'm actually not being sarcastic when I say that)... but as a device to play records, I prefer a regular needle. Fortunately, a little-known fact is that a variety of needles with standard styli will fit into the AT440MLa. I recently bought an ATN-120E needle, and it sounds really great. And the $20 for that needle is a LOT cheaper than buying a new micro-linear stylus. Bottom line, if you're looking for a cartridge with a nice warm sound to listen to your 1950s Miles Davis cool jazz records, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for something to blow your socks off, get this cartridge. It makes even modest equipment sound great.

I agree with Elder C. If you try to buy this item, you'll never get it. The seller send me new model AT440MLa, but it's worse than AT440ML. The seller (Electronics Expo) don't answer to e-mail. They should be ashamed So if you want new cheep model - buy this, if you want real 440ML, find somewhere else.

After a couple uses, the stylus bent to left. I'm pretty careful with my vinyl, so I'm not sure why the stylus failed. Sounded nice though for those few weeks.

I was expecting an accurate and not oversaturated sound from this cartridge and I must say that it certainly delivers on the accuracy of tracking but when it comes to the musicality, it is too harsh for my ear, highs are overly bright and in your face. I did like the mids. As for the stage, it was not better or worse than other cartridges. I cannot call this cartridge musical but it is accurate and tracks really well on inner grooves. I am listening to the 25 year old Technics 205 cartridge and it is what I call musical and balanced. The difference is night and day in my humble opinion. I must admit that this cartridge is still with original stylus.

Très bonne cellule . Après une AT95E d'origine sur une platine ATLP120 USB , l'upgrade est très significatif . amélioration des aigus et meilleure définition , Les basses tendues et aussi plus de punch .

Ich war immer der Meinung das die AT95e von Audio Technica die beste Lösung für meine Bedürfnisse ist. Guter Allrounder der alles sauber und problemlos abspielt. Da ich nun mal furchtbar gerne Schallplatten höre dachte ich mir, nimmste mal ne etwas teurer Nadel. Um es kurz auszudrücken, Wahnsinn!! Die Höhen sind extrem klar, die Bässe Staub trocken. Dagegen wirkt die AT95 als wenn der Sound auf Loud eingestellt wäre. Klare Kaufempfehlung

I bought this to replace the Orotfon 2M Red on my Pro-ject Debut Carbon. I wanted to like the 2M Red (it looks cool!) but I'd grown to like the sharper high end sound of AT carts. I just about preferred my Dad's significantly cheaper AT cartridge to the 2M red so I set out to find an AT cartridge I'd love (make my Dad jealous) and I think I found it with the AT440MLa. I took me about an hour to set up the new cartridge. After 6 months of many different attempts of aligning it better, I've never actually heard a noticeable difference. I used the card protractor that came with my Debut Carbon, a spirit level to ensure the turntable was level and a good metal ruler on the top of the headshell to adjust the azimuth. I also borrow a tracking force gauge but found that the Debut Carbon's built-in gauge was very accurate. I've settled on 1.5g of tracking force and have the anti-skate weight thread on the nearest notch of the three. I've owned the cartridge for 6 months now and reckon it's well run in. As I was after, the higher end sounds nice and crisp and symbols sound very detailed. Compared to the 2M Red, there's probably a little less bass from it but that's not really a bad thing. Towards the inside of a record, the AT440MLa starts to really pull away from other (admittedly cheaper) carts I've heard. The degradation in sound quality (or inner groove distortion) is noticeable but much, much less than the 2M Red and my Dad's cheaper AT. No longer do I think "oh no, my favourite track is on the inside and therefore ruined". It's easy to pick out individual sounds rather than it becoming a compressed sounding racket. Generally, it tracks very well so you'll notice little distortion, especially with hard loud "sss" sounds in lyrics. It's not non-existent in all cases but won't crop up enough to upset keen listeners. This is thanks to the micro-linear stylus riding so low down in the grooves so that more of it remains in contact with walls of the groove as it moves. One disadvantage of this is that it likes to find and dig out of a lot of dirt on older records. My Dad brought some of his records around to try on it and one, although not really dusty or dirty on the surface, had so much dirt embedded in it that the poor AT dug enough of it out to clog up and start jumping over grooves (with a shed-load of distortion). I've also found that on about a third newer records, the AT seems to pick up faint crackling in one channel; this is more noticeable when using earphones. After a lot of Googling and adjustments, I've never really gotten to the bottom of this and eventually put it down manufacturing faults in the record. So the cartridge does extract more sound from the record but that includes the stuff you don't want to hear! I've also found the right channel to be slightly louder than the left but apparently, this is not unheard of with cartridges in this price range; I adjust the balance on my amplifier slightly but I feel most wouldn't even notice this unless you're looking for it and your mileage may vary anyway. It's a lot of money for a cartridge but I'd recommend it. I am a person that finds the idea of spending £100s on a cable a joke but at the lower, sensible end, you do get what you pay for. Just take care with your setup, keep your records clean and you'll both be happy.

Una testina eccellente e da possedere obbligatoriamente. Suono aperto in maniera sorprendente, alcuni dicono che tale apertura interessi le frequenze medio-alte. Secondo me, invece, riguarda l'intera gamma e se i bassi ci sono e la registrazione li prevede, allora te li fa sentire a dovere. Eccellente anche la capacità di tracciare i solchi del vinile e sotto questo punto di vista è davvero imbattibile. Vale pienamente il prezzo che si spende per entrarne in possesso. La consiglio a tutti gli audiofili esigenti e che non intendono svenarsi per entrare nel mondo dell'analogico di una certa qualità. Complimenti ad Amazon che riesce spesso a vendere a prezzi davvero competitivi e ad essere celere nei tempi di spedizione

Cosa dire ....qualità e prezzo fanno di questa testina la più ambita ...traccia come un treno sui binari fino a l'ultimo solco senza dare un minimo di distorsione..in questa fascia di prezzo non si può chiedere di più.. il suono e molto dettagliato..forse un po frizzante sulle alte ma vabbene cosi.Volevo solo precisare che non ho ricevuto la MLa..ma la MLb. non cambia poi cosi tanto in frequenza dalla mla.