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

Thanks for all the support, greatly appreciated. I bought this from an private seller, not a distributor so no replacement available from him. He did agree to refund, but still a pain. I believe I saw good things written  regarding 2juki on ebay, is that correct? Along with the ARC the VPI has the JMW memorial 10.5" arm and then into a Mac 2200 pre-amp, never used a lomc but manual does indicate it is suitable as Oregonpapa mentioned. Thank you again, you are very helpful.   

Are there customs charges when ordering from 2Juki?

One last question, when I go to ebay and look at  2Juki's picture of the cart, 3rd picture in,  I roll over to zoom and that stylus looks off to the left as well, is it just me? Thanks in advance.

J_Damon, while a number of members here have reported excellent transactions with 2Juki, including purchases of the ART9, if you are in the USA you may want to consider LP Gear.  They are currently offering it at a special price ("subject to allocated stock") that is only $59 higher than 2Juki's current price, but which would get you a USA warranty.

Re your Mac C2200 preamp, it provides about 15 db of gain for its line-level inputs, which is plenty for a line stage.  So while you may find yourself using the volume control in the upper part of its range (depending on power amp gain, speaker sensitivity, preferred listening volume, and the dynamic range of particular recordings), that in itself is not a problem and the issues I mentioned in my previous post that might arise in a few systems will not arise in your case.

Oregonpapa 1-6-2017
... the ART-9 doesn't seem to have a rising top end built into the design. I believe this is one of the major things that contributes to the natural sound of the cartridge. Maybe someone with more technical knowledge than I would like to comment on this.

That has been my perception as well.  The cartridge is very well balanced and accurate throughout the spectrum, and does not over-emphasize or under-emphasize any particular part of it.  I can't shed any light on why that may be so, even though extensive technical specs and descriptive information are published for the ART9 (kudos to Audio Technica for that).  But it's interesting that it is able to display that sonic character regardless of whether it is loaded with 100 ohms (as in your case, with the ARC PH-8), or with a nearly infinite number of ohms (as in my case and that of two or three others who have posted in this thread, with the Herron VTPH-2).

Regards,
-- Al    
 

I bought my ART9 from LP gear and the cantilever is perfect, it was the first thing I checked. I added the next day shipping and it was delivered less than 24 hours after I placed the order.  
I'm running mine at 56db gain and it is perfect.   I also loaded it to 1000 ohms and it does sound slightly better than the 100 ohm setting. 
With respect to the sound I checked my alignment and found I did a hasty job the first time around- it was off 2-3 degrees from parallel with the null point lines.  
The sound is now absolutely stunning and brings out the best in really good recordings.  Last night I was listening to Roger Waters Amused to Death and it has never sounded better with any other cartridge.  It sounded amazing!    
The sound stage was huge, the opening guitars were soaring and sounded spectacular.  Water's vocals popped out of nowhere and were center stage, smooth and present.  But the key moment was when the backup singer came on with her solo near the end of side one- so smooth and lifelike, absolutely zero sibilance on "S" sounds, they sounded just like someone speaking / singing.  Completely natural.  
As for dynamics- I played a freddy hubbard reissue and the trumpet notes just seemed to flit out of the speakers like hovering bursts of sound- no hesitation or delay- just instantaneous notes that sounded so live and real as a cartridge with superb micro dynamics can deliver.  Just fast and effortless and made my old cartridges sound slow and hifi by comparison- including the Dynacector DV20X2L and Ortofon 2M black.  
I am glad I found out what this cartridge was all about.  Count me in as another satisfied ART9 customer!