Audio-Technica AT150MLX review

Yes sir! Sorry I didnt mention that.

 

Noticed this thread, FYI , or what its worh (my .02) I had an old m97xe Shure that I loved for almost 7 years, and it sounded great , but out of curiosity, and wanting to get rid of some IGD I had at the end of some LP'S , I got the m440mla, and it sounds wonderful, huge upgrade from my Shure, which I thought wasn't bad to begin with, but wow , it makes the shure sound bad by comparison, I literally am hearing things I have never heard before! So I would imagine the 150 is even better, if thats at all possible, which I am sure it is! AT makes great carts!!! My new reference!! Listening to my Lee Morgan Tom Cat MM 45 rpm right now , and wow is all I can say!!

 

If you have a large vinyl collection and love vinyl, get the 150...as good as you think the 140 is, I was amazed at what a huge improvement the 150 was. A nice gift to me on Christmas! You will feel like you are, once again, hearing your library for the first time...which is great fun!

 

My manual was in Japanese. Feel bad for any newbies who buy this, but I guess that is unlikely. Why is this not sold in the US?

What is the recommended tracking force? I set mine at 1.5 because i had the 140 set there. Sounds good to me, but I want to adjust it per factory specs. Thanks for any info in that regard.

 

Funny you mentioned the separation being wonderful....I mentioned that as well in my comments. I also had an Ortofon Black. I have to say, the 150 overall blows it away, especially with tracking and sibilance issues. The Black may be a bit more refined sounding, but the sibilance issues I was having far outweighed the benefits...for about half the money. And I too had no difficulty installing it, but I may not be quite as picky about the sound. Life is short...I wanted to just put the vinyl on and enjoy...and I am. Dont hesitate to upgrade if you have the 140; I wish I had bought the 150 in the first place. A lot of people here love the 140, and for good reason, so Im sure you can sell the 140 here...I will be listing mine soon. I wonder if the 150 also improves as it is broken in? I just hit the magic 100 hours mark with the 140. Didnt really notice any huge improvement but others have. Thanks again to the op for putting up this review. Its exciting to have found something so reasonably priced that made such a dramatic difference to my Technics MX series table. Music is fun again!

 

Tracking force is .75-1.75. I have it set at 1.25. Try it there and let us know how it sounds compared to 1.50.

 

I know I am responding to an old post, but for those reading this for the first time, I had a 2M Black and totally agree.....the 150 to my ears is a better sounding cartridge for much less money. Listening to music is fun again!

 

Thank you...I will try it tomorrow and respond asap!

 

This great cart continues to impress. I am listening to the live Nazareth album which looked great all around while I was cleaning it except that I found two deep, feel-able scratches running with the grooves on side 4. The type that almost always cause a skip. Nope, not even so much as a click!

 

Anybody have any thoughts on how this cart compares sound-wise to an old Shure V15 type V? And for trackability? From what I'm reading here, it seems as though they both have a reputation for excelling in that aspect. One difference I noted technically is that the lower compliance of the AT150 MLX makes it more suitable and compatible for a modern medium-mass tonearm than the Shure.

 

I've had an AT 150mlx for about 8 months or so on my Rega RP3 with TTPSU and full Groovetracer compliment of machined subplatter, delrin platter, and 150 gram counterweight. I too love this cartridge, and it will probably be my go-to MM cart for the foreseeable future. But for the sake of any new folks who are just joining this thread and might be considering this cart, I wanted to mention again the importance of system capacitance with the AT150mlx. That is, for the 150 to perform optimally, total system capacitance--including tonearm wiring, interconnects, and phono stage--should be no more than 50-100pf, or the cart can sound a bit bright. I was first running the 150mlx with a Rega Phono MM, which has capacitance of 100 pf. This combined with tonearm wiring and interconnects, I estimated, put the total system at about 150 pf. Here the 150mlx sounded super detailed and lovely, but a bit bright for sure, so I switched from the Rega phono-pre to a Rogue Triton phono pramp, which has adjustable capacitance in the range of 0, 47, 150, 470, and 1K pf. With the Triton set to 0 pf, the AT150mlx has all the detail and sparkle at the top end that it had with the Rega, but now also has deep, taught bass for a little more warmth to the sound. At $300 (at least that's what I paid at the time) I think the AT 150mlx is one of those amazing deals in hifi that has somehow remained under the radar.

 

I have the V15 type IV. The 140 and 150 both track better. The 140 is brighter sounding so if you dont like that type of sound, then the 150 is for you! They both track amazingly well, but the 150 has a more neutral sound as someone else mentioned, you are likely to hear some things you never noticed becore. For the money, both are amazing but go for the 150 if finances permit....its not that expensive!

 

Probably under the radar because its primarily available only in Japan, but I agree by all our comments. Worth far more! If it were around $1000 I would still be happy.

 

Available in the U.S. from Needle Doctor for $479, and LP Gear $325 (guess where I bought mine!).

 

The 150mlx is heavy. You usually need a heavier counterweight on most modern straight pivot arms.

 

The 150mlx is a bit more smooth in the high frequencies, but it still has the same 10 kHz high-end boost as the 440mla. I have to shake my head when people say that the 150mlx eliminates the problem. It doesn't.

 

I am editing this post...I just noticed it was by Grant...so I dont doubt you are technically right...guess I am hearing it different....thats why its great to get lots of comments.

Well, on my Technics table that so many other members seem to also have, it definitely did. I have both cartridges and my ears tell me the issue was solved. I am assuming it can sound different depending on the rest of your components, and I dont doubt you are still hearing issues on your perhaps more accurate system, but on mine the highs are now smooth and it is a far more revealing cartridge. I am using Thiel 3.6 monitors...dont know if that is why the highs are different than yours? I wonder if others are still hearing an accentuated high end? Maybe! I do like a bit of high end so maybe its there and it doesnt bother me....all I know is its much less an issue on my system with the 150, even though I did enjoy the 140 too. If I wanted an absolute flat sounding cart, the 140 would not have made me happy...I would have reinstalled my vintage Shure IV cart...just not hearing the accentuated high end off the 150.

 

When I say the 150 is smooth, I mean that it sounds more refined, smoother than the hard and cold-sounding, yet popular 440. If you do a dimple frequency readout of both carts, you will see that, despite the softer sound, that treble ride is still there. I have never heard the 140, so maybe that has an even more of a treble boost than either the 440 or 150?

Why did I embolden the numbers of the carts? To make sure that we are talking about the correct ones. It seems we may be talking about the 140 and the 440, as if they are the same.

 

It looks like the replacement stylus for the old Audio Technica 140LC cartridge is the 440ML because the original is no longer on production.

 

Interesting...so you are saying its still bright, but that it does a better job of masking it? Maybe thats why I love it...I do like a slightly bumped high end which is probably why I like MFSL vinyl so much. Yes, I meant the 440...sorry! The 440 certainly has a high end that sounds more like you bumped the treble control whereby the 150 sounds more natural, as you pointed out. Im curious what table you have....will check out your profile as you also post a lot around here! Thanks for the clarification....

 

Anybody compared the AT-150ANV to the 150MLx. The 150ANV will hopefully be my next cart.

 

Apparently there's also been a 140ML model. Probably the same stylus as the 440ML/OCC, just a different designation.

 

I didn't say anything was masked! See, the 440ml sounded hard. The 440mla was a tad better, but still sounds cold (to me). The 150mlx sounds smoother, but the 440 and the 150 still have that treble boost. Do not confuse "smooth" with reduction of the treble rise.

many of us prefer a flatter, more natural response.

I have a Music Hall 5 turntable with the Project arm that came with it.

 

Correct, and it is still available for sale. The styli are interchangeable.

 

Nice table...will be looking to upgrade my stock Technics MKII soon.