Pani ... New ART-9 up and running ...


The Cartridge arrived and I took it down to Studio City to Acoustic Image to have Eliot Midwood set it up properly. Eliot is the bomb when it comes to setting up the Well Tempered turn tables correctly.

http://www.acousticimage.com/

So, last night I had Mr. Golden Ears over to get his assessment as well. For a brand new cartridge that had zero hours on it ... all I can say is WOW! This is one naturally musical cartridge that doesn't break the bank. Its everything I liked about the OC9-mk III, but it goes far beyond the OC-9 in every respect.

In a previous post, I talked about the many mono records I own and how good the OC-9 was with the monos. Well, the ART-9 is on steroids. Just amazing on mono recordings.

At under $1100.00 from LP Tunes, its a bargain. The ART-9 surpasses all cartridges I've had in the system before. That would include Dynavectors, Benz, Grado Signatures and a Lyra Clavis that I dearly loved. In fact, its more musically correct than the Clavis. The Clavis was the champ at reproducing the piano correctly ... the ART-9 is equally as good in this area.

Sound stage, depth of image, left to right all there. Highs ... crystalline. Mids ... female and male voices are dead on. Transparency ... see through. Dynamics ... Wow! Low noise floor ... black. Mono records ... who needs stereo?

Your assessment that the ART-9 doesn't draw attention to itself is dead on. You just don't think about the cartridge at all. Not what its doing, or what its not doing ... its just beautiful music filling the room.

Thanks again Pani for the recommendation. I'll keep posting here as the cartridge continues to break in.
128x128oregonpapa
Aigenga ...

Wish I could help you, but I don't have a clue. Why not send an Email to LP Tunes? Here, this will take you right to the spot: http://www.lptunes.com/articles.asp?ID=83
According to this web page, the Jelco SA-750L has an effective mass of 11g not including cartridge. The Art-9 weighs 8.5g and has a dynamic compliance of 18. That compliance with an effective mass of 19.5g creates a resonant frequency of about 8.5 Hz. This is on the low side of the safe range. The Jelco is fluid-damped, which reduces the amplitude of the resonance which makes things even better. You could also use a lighter headshell to take a few grams off the effective mass. I have a headshell like the Jelco and it's about 14g. That's on the heavy side. The matchup as it is should be fine, but if you could get a 9-10g headshell it would be just about ideal at 9.85 Hz.
I use the ART9 with SME M2-12 tonearm which is a 12" tonearm with effective mass of 14 grams (without cartridge). It is sounding superb!
Gents: Using an OC9MLII but am very much considering an ART9. For those who have taken the plunge....any regrets? There are a lot of cartridges out there for $1K why should I be getting the ART9?