The Vessel A3SE Phono Cartridge

100% worth it at this price. Probably worth it at 2-3x the price. The sound is great. Detailed without being fatiguing.Comparing the vessel to an Ortofon 2M redThe vessel is quieter overall, with a much darker background. The vessel also seems somehow more detailed, even without that sparkling top end of the red.Certainly the vessel is more cohesive, players all take the same stage, where the red can favor some players over others.The sound stage seems wider and the tonal balance is smootherOverall I'm digging the spacial presentation of the vessel, even though it's a bit less lively than the ortofon. Players are less in your face, a bit more looking in on the performance than in the room.

When it came time to replace the stylus on my Audio Technica AT7V cartridge, I considered the A3SE Vessel as a replacement instead of replacing the AT7V stylus. I read all the rave reviews for the Vessel and was willing to give it a try.I got the Vessel mounted and aligned and used it for about 30 hours, hoping it would break in and sound like I was hoping it would, but it just never really opened up. I noticed right away that it lacked the detail and range I was getting from my AT7V (which is comparable to the newer VMN40 stylus and VMN family that Audio Technica released, and is compatible with the AT7V body). Highs were more muted with the Vessel setup than I cared for.While the Vessel tracked fine and sounded decent for a $100 setup, I'm sticking with the AT7V and a new stylus. Despite what you may have heard, it doesn't really measure up to cartridges that cost 2-3x more.

I used this cartridge on my Rega Planar3 table and to me it sounds better than my ortofon blue. Very happy with this purchase.

The Vessel A3SE phono cartridge arrived in about a week, and was well-cushioned in a small package.I quickly found that the mounting screws (several lengths and styles) did not thread into the mounting points in the AR AX turntable headshell. I finally got a pair of screws from an old cartridge and got it screwed on. Everything seemed to be OK, then the stylus started skipping and failing to "find the groove". I ended up going back to the previous cartridge, and was able to get it to work without skipping and it stayed "in the groove".What little time the Vessel actually tracked correctly, it sounded great. I recommend this cartridge, but not for the AR AX turntable headshell. My guess is that it needed tracking adjustments that the AR turntable simply does not have outside a repair shop.

This cartridge must require MUCH more time than others to "break in". I'm not at all happy with it's sound - I actually find it to be pretty terrible and I shouldn't have to use it for 100's of hours for decent sound. Switched back to my my inexpensive Audio Technica cartridge (AT 3600) and it's SO MUCH than this one (and it's even conical for God's sake!). In my experience you can't go wrong with AT - even right out of the box. I wish LP Gear would lay off the hype and be more honest. I hope they're not sending Amazon customers their products that are found to be inferior.

This is a great improvement over the original cartridge. I would recommend this for anyone wanting better sound quality from their turntable.

I have a lot of vintage 60’s, 70’s and 80’s albums. This cartridge really made them sound better than the original audio-technics cartridge. Will continue to use them.

I am please to share with everyone that this cartridge works very well with my old school Technics turntable.