New Audio Technica ART9XA Up and Running.....

Very good news! We now have a better ART9. I may go for the XA too :-)

Yes, but the XA version is more of a replacement for the ART7 than it is a replacement for the ART9.  So, those who switch from the ART9 to the 9XA will need a bit more phono gain. It's all good, however.

Absolutely lewm.  Potential buyers, choose carefully.  The new XI and XA are quite different.  The XA is non-magnetic (air) core, a design that is inherently low in output.  A-T had to put on its thinking cap to update the ART9XA's predecessor, the ART7, upping its output from .12mV to .2mV in the XA.

By contrast, the ART9XI, with its magnetic core, has .5mV output (but apparently introduces magnetic distortions that are inevitable with such cores).

If I had gone with the XI, my preamp's standard MC gain of 57db would have been fine.  To utilize the XA, I'm having to bump the gain to 63 or 65db by switching out two internal resistors.

If folks are interested/able to spend a bit more the Charisma Signature One gives you everything the ART 9 has just more. Like my ART 9, the Charisma is exceedingly balanced and even-handed across the frequency range. It is also very transparent to the source yet somehow organic and natural sounding (sound familiar?). As I've said elsewhere, the ART 9 was the only piece of gear I ever regretted selling--a very fine cartridge for not a ton of money. The Signature One is all that and a bag of chips. Though I have not tried any other carts in the Charisma lineup, there may be less pricey models that provide a similar presentation just less. In speaking with Bernard Li he definitely knows the sound he is after and how to achieve it with his designs.

Correction after I hit post--not a "bit" more but three times more. The Sig One retails for $3800.