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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
avanti1960
1,452 posts
 
been playing records on it for the past (2) days.  treble and top end is starting to emerge but with a little edge to it.  surface noise is more noticeable.  not bad but noticeable.  
sound is very good but i miss my ortofon 2M black and may switch it back soon to compare.  
the 2M black's only flaw is a slight lack of dynamics.  tonality, realism and transparency is superb.  
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^

Give it some time. It really starts to open up at 50 hours and continues to improve from there. Also, have you experimented with VTA?
avanti1960
1,452 posts
 
i'm waiting...  i remember the 2M sounding slightly edgy when it was new. 
haven't experimented w/ VTA.  looks dead on at 92 degrees.  
pani
1,218 posts
 
2-3 days is too short. I remember being somewhat concerned about the high frequencies for the first 10 days but I let it play. I would say play it for 2 months and then compare it with 2m Black (if you still want to at that point). It takes that much time to disappear. 
pani
1,218 posts
 
Initially keep the VTA flat and tracking force at closer to 2 grams. Loading at 100 to 120 ohms. After a month bring the tracking force closer towards 1.85 grams. After 2 months 1.8 grams. And finally when you feel it is almost settled, get it down to 1.76-1.78 grams. You can also start playing a bit with VTA after 2 months. Not much, just a bit to see if you like a more open sound (tail up). 
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