Rather than replace the AT95 that came with my Thorens TD240, I decided to spend an extra ~$30 and go for this unit. I'm not sure if the AT95 had degraded that much from use, or if the Ortofon 2M Red was that much better, but I instantly picked up subtle background sounds in better quality vinyl (i.e., 180g) that I hadn't noticed before (whaaaat? There's a twelve string guitar in the background?!). This was a great addition to my system.