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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
fleib
1,124 posts
 
Right now you can get the MONO3/LP for under $100 from Amazon, direct from Japan. It's a med output coil - 1.2mV, 2.0g VTF recommended, load 30 to 47K or whatever. It has a .6 mil spherical tip on a thin, straight aluminum cantilever. Cu is 7 @ 100Hz, same as a 7V - med/heavy arm.

Not sure mine is completely broken in, but has superior presentation on mono records, if not resolution. It's a revelation on some older, noisy copies. When the tip wears, send it to Soundsmith for a level 1 - nude elliptical. Hard to go wrong. It sounds pretty good.

I don't know why all the Japanese manufactures use spherical styli exclusively on mono carts. Modern mono pressings benefit from more advanced tips, similar to stereo. Maybe they should try a Cadenza or Lyra mono on a Japanese pressing.

I too am trying to decide between ART7, 9, and 50ANV. I suspect 50ANV is the ultimate. It has a titanium base as opposed to aluminum, and titanium coil formers- armature. BTW, output is measured @ 3.54 cm/sec and has admirably low inductance/resistance.

Regards,
lewm
12,623 posts
 
So far as I can tell, 50ANV is no longer available, and I could not find that anyone is selling NOS ones these days. I got the impression, right or wrong, that ART7 replaces the 50ANV, in effect.
bill_k
887 posts
 
A quick search at LP Gear looks like they still have it available and on sale for $1,488.88 - http://www.lpgear.com/product/AT50ANV.html
dgarretson
2,594 posts
 
Hard to guess whether ART 7 is trickle down or an improvement over AT50ANV. I have an ART 7. The bodies of both are aluminum and plastic. The main difference appears to be(from AT web site):

"This product(ART 7) keeps the basic design of non magnetic core MC type cartridge AT50ANV and changed the coil winding frame from a pure titanium armature to a newly developed liquid crystal polymer armature by an injection molding. This product also succeeds in reducing the weight of the vibration system compared to AT50ANV and provides the extremely natural and clear sound quality and ability to express three-dimensional sound fields inherent to non magnetic core types... Liquid crystal polymer used for the coil winding frame has not only an extreme mechanical strength but also an unique property which increases the mechanical strength as the product becomes thinner. Therefore it is the most suitable material for the vibration system of cartridges. This has high intensity and vibration absorption properties, enabling high-quality sound by suppressing unwanted vibration when from power generation."
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
Speaking of mono ... I have tons of mono jazz and vocal recordings from the 50s. I was really impressed by how well the AT-OC9 MK III played mono records. It just seemed to get a lot more information out of those mono grooves than other cartridges I've had over the years. The cartridge is available from LP Tunes for $499. While the OC-9 excels on mono recordings, the ART-9 is even better. At over twice the price of the OC-9, it should be better. If I were running two tonearms and wanted a mono cartridge that sounded great, I'd go with the OC-9 MKIII and call it a day.

Want to hear a killer mono record? Are you a Brubeck/Paul Desmond fan? Here you go:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAVE-BRUBECK-JAZZ-IMPRESSIONS-OF-USA-LP-VG-VG-White-Label-PROMO-6-Eye-/361359501484?hash=item5422b468ac
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