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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
jollytinker
213 posts
 
I've got just over 40 hours on the ART9 now and it's beginning to open up as other posters here have mentioned. I liked it right off the bat but I do hear improvements now in the top end especially. Love the open, detailed and relaxed sound. To my ears the cartridge has the same profile that others have already described - concise, detailed and "correct."

Ultimately I plan to do some more detailed comparisons with my other carts but I committed the cardinal sin of changing a few things at once (phono stage, tonearm wire and the ART9.) All of them require between 50 and 100 hours to break in so I'm on a marathon record playing binge at the moment. I'll post more here when everything's burnt in and I have a better basis for commenting. 

Pani - the Zyx is a universe premium. It's amazing but also so expensive (even if you get a deal on it) that it sort of requires you to get another cart as a 'daily driver'. The trouble there (and it's a first world problem if ever there was one) is that my other carts don't measure up after hearing the zyx uni. I'm using a Denon 103r and a Dyna XX2, both soundsmith retips, and an Auditorium 23 transformer with the denon. They are both very very good carts but the ART9 is already way more enjoyable to hear in my system.

So the question is - can the AT ART9 serve as a second cart to the Zyx, that's still relatively inexpensive compared to other contenders from Benz, Lyra, etc? So far so good....
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^ I'm curious to see if you end up liking the ART-9 better than any of the others. 
jollytinker
213 posts
 
Anything's possible ...
avanti1960
1,472 posts
 
Last night I removed the ART9 from my turntable and swapped my Dynavector DV20X2L with Soundsmith ruby cantilever and new line contact stylus.  Honestly I never gave that one a chance for some reason.

The ART9 sounds great on the best recordings but after I played more of my collection I noticed that it had tendencies that were leaning toward the dull / dark side of things.  Possibly a system synergy issue but the ART9 seemed to be breaking in in the opposite direction I was expecting.  Even though it has ~ 20 hrs of use I do not have the patience / confidence that it will truly open up to the extent I prefer.     The midrange is recessed and the treble falling off a cliff.  

The Dynavector / Sound Smith sounds fantastic and just what I was hoping for and will stay put for now.  
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^  Now that's interesting, avanti. I believe your experience is due to the fact that you admittedly do not have the patients/confidence (what ever that means) to wait until the cartridge is fully broken in. 20 hours is not even breaking the surface on what the ART-9 will do when fully broken in.

You're passing judgement way too soon.  I don't believe you are experiencing a "system synergy" problem either.  What you are hearing on your "best recordings" is the promise the ART-9 holds once broken in.

In all of the years in this hobby, I have yet to hear a cartridge that does everything to my satisfaction with less than 50 hours of break-in time ... the ART-9 included. Most new cartridges I've had take all of those 50 hours and some much more.
 
I'd say put the ART-9 back into the system, run it for 100 hours, then take out some of the recordings that you are really familiar with and play them again. You may be surprised. 


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