Audio Technica AT100E Phonograph Cartridge

This cartridge is really amazing. The sound quality, depth and detail will keep you listening to music more than ever. I previously owned the AT95E cartridge and thought there wouldn't be much difference in sound. Boy was I in for a surprise! It took me about an hour to mount the cartridge in the head-shell. It comes in a beautiful box with a screwdriver, a brush, the screws and nuts and very clear instructions. I aligned it with a protractor, reset the turntable counterweight to 0 because this cartridge is about 2 grams heavier than the AT95E, so the tone arm needs to be re-balanced to get the proper 1.4 grams of recommended tracking force. The AT95E is a fine cartridge and an amazing value, but the AT100E is light years ahead! I like that it is well balanced, it gives strong clear low frequencies, beautiful mid range and crisp highs. It's not very forgiving with old scratchy records compared to the AT95E but will pull very good sound out of them. About the price I can only say It's amazing to get this quality for under 100 dollars. My personal recommendation: go for it, you will not be disappointed!

Not sure if Amazon will continue selling at $50, but for that price, these are an absolute no-brainer.Replaced an AT14 which had a fairly worn stylus (it was past due...). Quickly noticed sharper highs, tighter bass, and less low-mid "boxiness." Some of that is due, I'm sure, to just having a new stylus, but, these are much, much nicer sounding than the very popular AT95e, and half the price of the AT120e. My friend has the 120e on her deck; quite nice, but not twice the price nice.This is not an "audiophile," cartridge; I notice a bit of smearing in the higher high frequencies, and the someone that is used to a true and fully high end signal chain may find themselves a bit disappointed. This is more than enough cart, though, for the home listener who just wants to enjoy their records in a non-fussy way. If you're rocking an old, worn out cartridge, or you got a deck that came stock with a piece-of-poop cartridge, this is an absurdly affordable and difference-making upgrade. I'll certainly spend more on a cartridge one of these days, but I feel for a drastically apparent upgrade I'd have to spend 4-8 times as much.One caveat: I seem to recall that this cartridge didn't ship with mounting screws. I had a different depth cartridge on my deck, and had to scrounge around my desk drawer for the right size, which I fortunately had on hand. Double-check with customer service if that might be an issue for you.

not the best audio technical makes but works well

I must agree with some of the other reviewers have said; this cartridge is a bit too bright, but that's just my taste. I've been comparing it with a Shure RXT6, basically an older version of the M97xE, and the Shure cartridge sounds warmer and rounder. However, the AT100E captures much more detail, perhaps too much detail. For instance, I can almost listen to chairs crackling and musicians turning the page on their score sheets on certain recordings, such details cannot be heard with the Shure, at least I cannot perceive them. It's worth mentioning that I am using a Technics SL-1300. All in all, this is great cartridge, however it could use a good stabilizing brush to reduce crackles and pops just the like the Shure.UPDATE: [03/23/15] In order to get the best performance, make sure you check the output gain and balance it with you preamp's gain levels. I had to set the gain on my preamp (Schitt Audio's Mani) to approx. 30 db. Everything sounds quieter but much cleaner with no distortion at all. Having this said, I have raised the rating to five stars. There is nothing wrong with the cartridge itself, it is just a matter of equipment compatibility.UPDATE [09/05/15] I'm still very satisfied with this cartridge. I have already exceeded the 300 hour lifespan for the needle, and it still plays and sounds like new. I clean the needle with with small brush that's included with the cartridge, then I scrape off any remaining dust with a piece of Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser. Afterwards, I wash the needle with windex using a Q-tip then I rinse the excess solution off with the other tip of the Q-tip using distilled water. In addition, I wash and clean all my records prior to any playing session. So far, this has been working great to preserve the needle's lifespan as well as the record's.UPDATE [01/17/16] This cartridge is still kicking after 600 records and with over 400 hours of usage. I still clean the needle with windex and distilled water every time I play a record. I haven't got a single problem with this cartridge even since I purchased it.

Honestly, it isn't terrible, but you can do a lot better for less money...

On account of being heavy handed, I find myself in the past 12 months having to buy a replacement stylus for my AT-LP120XUSB. I bought an ATN95E as an emergency backup, and hoping I've cured my heavy handiness, shelled out for this too.The sound is much better, having an almost crystal quality. I don't use the USB functionality, so can't comment on whether it makes an improvement there, but using pre-amp and 2:1 speakers is so much better.Fitting is more fiddly than the ATN95E, but well worth the effort and the cost. Just need to test it with my Iron Maiden collection now, and see how it handles the rock.

(N)Ostalgiefans aufgepasst!Ich habe heute meinen 32 Jahre alten HIFI-Plattenspieler "Granat 227-2" aus DDR-Zeiten auf dieses Abtastsystem umgerüstet, weil mich die Klangverbesserung durch eine elliptisch geschliffene Nadel interessierte. Das Originalsystem war ein TESLA VM2102, mit shärischem Nadelschliff. die Nadel war noch fast neuwertig.Leider konnte ich die beiliegende Headshell, auf die das AT100E im Anlieferungszustand montiert war, nicht verwenden. Ich habe mit den darin verbauten Schrauben das System direkt an meinem Tonarm montiert, so, wie auch das alte System befestigt war. Dazu musste ich allerdings den gesamten Tonarm abbauen. Die Justage habe ich nach Fertigstellung mit einer Ortofon SME-Schablone kontrolliert, sie stimmte fast von selbst. Gut, denn bei diesen Plattenspielern war eine Nachjustage kaum möglich.Den recht schweren Tonarm habe ich nach nochmaliger Kontrolle auf Leichtgängigkeit wie vorgesehen in Balance gebracht, dann mit dem Schiebegewicht eine Auflagekraft von ca. 1,7g und die zugehörige Antiskatingkraft eingestellt.Mit dem Ergebnis bin ich sehr zufrieden, es ist ein deutlicher Gewinn an Klangqualität festzustellen. Der Klang wirkt insgesamt etwas heller. Der Sound ist durchsichtiger. Es sind plötzlich Details zu hören, die zuvor kaum wahrnehmbar gewesen sind. Auch laute Passagen, vor allem auch Gesangsstimmen kommen unverzerrt "rüber". Auch kommt ordentlich Bass. Dieser scheint nach ersten Eindrücken etwas weich und könnte ein wenig "straffer" sein. Das ist jedoch Sache eines jeden eigenen Geschmacks und hängt auch von der Musikrichtung ab.Alles in allem ein gutes Preis-Leistungsverhältnis und klar zu empfehlen.

aucun regret sur cet achat c est du bon du shure pardon du sur pour redecouvrir mes vinylesmais je pense qu a la base il faut une bonne platine pour une adaptation au top de la lecturede bons moments en perspective

Dopo circa 40 ore di rodaggio posso dare un giudizio su questa ottima testina. Suono dinamico e dettagliato, con alte frizzanti ed ariose ma non stancanti. Al riguardo bisogna fare un po' di attenzione all'interfacciamento con i cavi del giradischi e con il carico (capacitivo) del pre-fono: il mio piatto è un Thorens TD160, più di 40 anni ma ancora perfetto, i cui cavetti hanno circa 100/120 pF di capacità e si sposano perfettamente con il carico da 100 pF del pre NAD a cui è collegato per un totale di 220 pF come richiesto dalla AT 100. Le basse sono fluide, veloci ma profonde, non gommose o invadenti. Le medie, voci e strumenti a fiato, sono equilibrate e trasparenti, forse non la miglior dote di questa testina (in questa fascia di prezzo preferisco la ORTOFON 2M Red che gli alterno) ma comunque non velate o troppo arretrate. L' immagine che ricostruisce è ampia e realistica. Ovviamente il giudizio è parametrato alla fascia di prezzo, ampiamente sotto i 100 €, una AT440 o una Audio Technica a bobina mobile sono un'altra cosa, ma sicuramente siamo ben sopra le prestazioni della AT 95 e continuo a preferirla, ma questo è un giudizio assolutamente personale, alle SHURE e GRADO di prezzo simile. Allego un grafico di risposta in frequenza rilevato da ma strumentalmente a testina nuova: si vede come la capacità sia importante, in rosso quella ottimale di 100 pF, il picco sulle alte si è smorzato all'ascolto dopo il rodaggio, quando avrò tempo rifarò la misura e la aggiungerò.

Very good cartridge. I am a complicated listener when it comes to audio. This is the best I've been able to afford for my turntable and it is great. However there is some inner groove distortion noticable most times and other slight quality problems to be a 5 star. I am very happy with this though for the price. I think to compete with CD accuracy or best it, you need to be at least using a AT440MLA which is $400 so until I can muster up that kind of cash I am very satisfied with the AT100E!