I am posting to highlight an interesting bit of news for LP lovers out of CES 2017 that seems to have been missed by the HiFi press. Audio-Technica has introduced an extensive new line of cartridges known as the VM range. As a working stiff whose budget confines me to the middle class affordable gear I find it sad that on the web I read multiple mentions of the $5,000 optical cartridge from a newish company DS Audio while the introduction of an entire range of new cartridges by a historically major supplier is missed or ignored.
For the major international shows I always checkout the coverage of Hong Kong based web site my-hiend.com as I like their great photography (well, great if you’re into HiFi) and the lack of some self-righteous pundit pontificating on the rooms’ sound. Here is a link to their CES 2017 coverage.
http://www.my-hiend.com/vbb/showthread.php?11377-2017%E5%B9%B4CES%E5%AF%A6%E6%B3%81%E5%A0%B1%E5%B0%8E-High-Perfomance-Audio-%E9%AB%98%E7%B4%9A%E9%9F%B3%E9%9F%BFOn page 6 of their coverage this photo of the VM Cartridges display alerted me to their existence.
As a longtime admirer and user of AT’s cartridges that photo caught my eye because forever and always all of the cartridges they make I am interested in have been prefixed ‘AT’ and suddenly here are 9 models in a VM range?
Michael Fremer may have missed it but Google knows about the VMs, here is a link to A-T’s press release:
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/news/a88ca75f9630da15/index.html.
Overview summary on the VM nine models priced $649 all the way down to $109. All are moving magnet types using AT’s V-mount magnet architecture. Higher end units in the range receive die-cast aluminum-alloy housings, line contact stylus, and ‘nude’ (non-bonded) diamond mounting. Details on the VM vs. existing AT moving magnets offerings is the question an on the ground journalist could have asked for us. Failing that the next link below pulls up AT’s full range of cartridge offerings. The specs and photos are nice but leave me wondering for example what is the AT’s reasoning for the VM760SLC @ $649 vs. the existing AT150Sa @ $549? For me the sweet spot looks to be the VM750SH with Shibata stylus on an aluminum tapered cantilever, and the die-cast aluminum alloy housing all for $399MSRP.
http://www.audio-technica.com/cgi-bin/product_search/cartridges/cartridges.pl?lang=engBonus pic, large scale model of AT-ART1000.
