Audio Technica VM540ML v. N97xe Jico SAS

I’ve got two VM540MLs. One on my SL-1700mk2, one on my SL-Q2. They floored me with the detail an clarity of presentation. You will not be disappointed!

Micro line styli have signicantly better wear characteristics than Shibata and elliptical, let alone conical profiles. About 2:1 compared to Shibata and 3:1 compared to elliptical. 

Price (value) is not unimportant to most of us. A $300 cartridge is not pocket change if you live in many parts of North America where the cost of living is astronomically high. The VM540ML is a star performer in a sea of others. As a very high value proposition, any incremental increase in price over it would yield little perceptible improvement. 

If if you can afford to casually drop a thousand dollars here and there to “try a few” $300 cartridges, you are much better off than many, many others. Something to keep in mind. 

I think you need to give the VM540ML a chance. You might be mistaking it’s very articulate and detailed presentation for brightness. What did you have the tracking force set to? Looking forward to your comparison with the Nagaoka. 

In fairness, the Nagaoka MP-500 is more of a direct competitor (than the MP-150) to the Audio-Technica VM540ML because both use line-contact type styli.