Well, my A95 is not yet fully broken in, but I find it to be incredibly resolving, fast, dynamic. It has great "propulsion" I guess I'll call it, great soundstaging, almost tape-like in its musicality. I've never heard the A90 so I can't really compare, but from what I've read I'd say that the A95 may not be as lean as the A90. However, I'm still playing with loading and as I said it doesn't have quite enough time on it. Maybe only about 40 hours. From what I understand it takes something like 100 hours for the A95 to come into its own.
I've heard the Lyra Atlas on a different VPI table from mine, and a Windfeld (it may have been the Ti) on my table and arm with the A95 on a second identical arm on the same table. First things first - to me the Lyra Atlas is the best cart I've ever heard, but by my best comparison I'd say the A95 may have only a very slightly smaller soundstage (but it's still pretty d@mn huge). The Atlas may also be slightly more organic sounding, but that could be influenced by my A95 being not fully burned in. The A95 / Windfeld comparison was easier and more direct - I found the A95 (this one was burned in) to be more resolving with a more open soundstage, with better timing or pace. There's nothing wrong with the Windfeld, to be sure. It was maybe a bit smoother but I think at the expense of some speed and resolution. Depending on the rest of the system either could work.
Your comment may wind up also being true for the A95, I don't know yet - but I think it won't make poor recordings sound good. It's just about completely neutral and doesn't add anything of its own to what it's pulling off the grooves. Doesn't mean it's cold or sterile, but if there's a poor recording the A95 won't hide it. I have a number of Benz carts, and while none of them (even the LP-S) is as ultimately resolving and transparent as the A95, there's a way Benz carts have of producing music that makes almost everything I play sound good - if not in audiophile terms as good as something like an A95 or an Atlas.
