AT-ART9 cartridge on Marantz TT-15s1 - I don't think I'm getting the performance I should


Some time ago, frustrated with what was likely cartridge alignment issues coupled with worn LPs, I upgraded my cart and sold my VPI Scout turntable and now have an AT-ART9 on a Marantz TT-15s1.  That turntable was recommended to me because of its relative simplicity in cartridge alignment.  I've been really enjoying the fullness and clarity of the AT-ART9 on some LPs.  By "some" I've found that I mean records without obvious wear and that are cut on the quiet side. 

What's bugging me is that I feel l am getting far from the best out of this cart.  I have read that it is REALLY finicky to dial in for best tracking results, and my cart doesn't appear to be tracking a lot of records well at all.   I started buying a lot of vintage sealed records to eliminate groove damage from being the issue.  But I've noticed that almost every album that's cut on the "hot" side plagues me with distortion that gets worse as the stylus gets nearer to the inner grooves.   For example, I've played a lot of '80s hard rock and metal, and I can almost count on any album from that era cut on the Atlantic label in these subgenres to give me distortion that's clearly due to mistracking. 

What may set me apart from others on this forum is that I don't have buddies with comparable systems in driving distance from me where I can bring my records to hear on their systems, so I really have absolutely no basis for comparison.  I have just read people say that they have never heard IGD with this cart, whereas I hear it on many 75% of my LPs.  I don't have any problems with known audiophile pressings though, like new stuff cut by Chris Bellman, Kevin Gray, on the Classic Records label, etc. 

I used to have my cart professionally set up, but after finding that my dealer totally bungled the setup on my VPI the last time, I decided to learn how to do it myself.   I got myself several Stevenson protractors and a 3x magnifier so that I could see what I was doing, and it absolutely looks to me like I've got my cart aligned as perfectly as one can get it using the null points on the protractor.  

I *do* however think anti-skate is causing me problems with my configuration.  I did have it set too high and that absolutely caused me more distortion in the inner grooves as well as a large number of records "sticking" (i.e. repeating instead of skipping forward).   But even after adjusting this heavily, I still find that in the rare case that I have a used record that skips, the tonearm "sticks".   That, to me, suggests too much antiskate, but I have set the antiskate to be almost as minimal as possible from the best that I can tell. 

Absent of a local dealer that I've yet to find who I can trust to identify and fix this issue (especially since the nut used for setting antiskate on the Marantz is so loose that it would easily change while driving my TT back home), I'm at a loss having done everything I can do to possibly fix the problem. 

Based on what I'm saying here and your experiences, am I most likely missing out on the supreme tracking abilities of this cart, or is there just a lot of really bad pressings and damaged used vinyl out there?   And if it's the former as I suspect, is there anything about the Marantz's tone arm that suggests it's not up to the task of supporting this cart?  




izgoblin
Based on your results with the Fozgmeter, I’m guessing that you have a damaged cartridge. You should not have to tilt the cartridge that much to achieve correct azimuth. I have an ART9, it was simple to set up, and has taken the sound quality of my system to a new high.
A somewhat surprising (to me anyway) update.  I calibrated the Fozgometer and realigned the cart.  It took some fiddling as one might expect, but I kept adjusting until I had the overhang and azimuth very close based on the Fozgometer reading.  I played Track 1 on the Analog Productions Test LP through the Fozgometer and it confirmed a perfect mono signal.  

At that point, I felt confident enough to play an LP that I wouldn't be too worried about damaging.  And frankly, I was floored.  Gone was any of the distortion I was hearing, but what shocked me was the increased clarity over all.   I played several records and heard IGD on none of them.  I even played some worn records, and while distortion on those was noticeable in the highs, it was clearly minimized from what I heard before.  

I've now played maybe 10 records and it is obvious to me that there has been a massive improvement.  So I thank those who pointed out an incorrect azimuth setting as being my problem.

That said, the cartridge absolutely is noticeably titled.  If one were to look at it straight on (can I post pics here??), you'd certainly assume that the azimuth is off.   But the Fozgometer and my ears completely disagree.  The sound is exactly what I hoped/expected it should be.

So the theory would be that my cartridge is damaged, but this is rather strange, isn't it?   It would seem to me that the cantilever would have to be bent for this to occur, but I've never had the cart sounding like this except for MAYBE the day I first installed it (my notes tell me every record I played sounded perfect on that day).  And wouldn't you think that if the cart was damaged, sound would be affected negatively and noticeably?   I know you readers don't know me, but trust me, my ears are kinda picky.  I can't say that it looks like the cantilever is bent when I was looking at the cart as it was mounted previously, but now it sure looks like it's sitting in the grooves straight on from the best that I can see.

If we assume the cantilever is bent, what is the most likely reason for this?  I've never had it any heavier than the recommended 2.0 grams (it was usually closer to 1.7 or 1.8), I only clean it carefully and as needed with the Onzow Zerodust or an appropriate brush, and it probably only has 100 or so hours on it (it's really tough to estimate).  

In any case, I'm curious to hear others' thoughts here.  
Lots of good advise posted.  I have had two ART 9's in service.  Replaced one with ART 9XA.  Have ART 9XI on order.

I would recommend to make VTA or SRA adjustments.  Level the cartridge, go up till it gets worse, then go down till it gets worse, then back up till you find your sound quality.
The tonearm is the only one that can be used with the Marantz TT-15S1 (the entire thing was actually made by ClearAudio for Marantz).