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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
safebelayer
66 posts
 

Audiolabrinth,

I have no personal experience with the EAR phono stages.  I started off with the Grado phono stage.  When I purchased the Heed Quasar, I combed thru the forums for a ps that was quiet, good tonality (tube-like, if possible) and affordable (for me).  The EARs kept popping up as being top shelf, though not for the money.  The reviews confirmed the quality, but never were they considered good bang for your hard earned dollar. 

That's when I came across the Heed.  The same distributor that brings in Cardas, Sonus Faber, Opera, and Unison Research suggested that I take a listen to the Quasar.  I got a new (demo) unit from Blackbird Audio in California.  Dead quiet, tube like (though a SS unit) sound, and super easy to use.  I only moved on to the Rogue Ares I have now because I found a screaming deal.

I don't think you'd go wrong with an EAR, I do suspect you can find something as good for less money or something better for the same.  My audiophile mentor convinced me of one thing...invest in a good phono stage, you'll never regret it. Goodluck in your search.



chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
You have to try JLTi phono stage, it’s absolutely amazing for any MC or MM cartridges. The best feature is RCA plug load resistors of any kind, so it is fully flexible in terms of R load, you can try whatever resistor you want to find the best for your mc or mm. Only a few phono stages will give you so much flexibility. it’s a solid state devide build around Diamond Transistor. Here is the old version. And you can simply google the latest version available from Australia. 
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,555 posts
 
Thankyou safebelayer.
jollytinker
213 posts
 
I have 55 hrs on the cart now with no major changes since the 40 hr mark. I was about to write a post here saying that the ART9 failed the piano test as @lewm put it about the Zyx. I had picked up a really clean Japanese pressing of Keith Jarrett's Koln concert, something I hadn't heard since I was a kid, but the piano sounded kind of funky. The percussive dynamics were there and it sounded like a real instrument in a real space, but the timbre was all wrong. The mid range and bass were sucked out and lifeless, as if it wasn't a very good piano.

I did some googling before I posted and I'm glad I did. Turns out - as I'm sure many here know already - that Jarrett requested a Bosendorfer concert grand that evening and got a baby grand practice piano instead, due to an error by the promoter. He said it sounded like a 'modified electric harpsichord'. His adjustment to that piano apparently accounts for the freshness of his playing that night, at least in part. So the ART9 not only did piano well, but it captured the idiosyncrasies of that instrument so effectively that I blamed it on the cartridge. ART9 1, jollytinker 0.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^ Nice report Jollytinker .... 

I've had Keith Jarrett's Koln concert in the collection a few times. The album has really good sound and the vinyl is usually silent too. BUT, Jarrett's humming and moaning throughout the recording is way too intrusive and distracting for me. His playing is great of course, but as a friend said one evening ... "if only they would stuff a rag in his mouth!"

I was wondering ... have you, or anyone else posting to this thread ever picked up on a pianist named Claude Williamson?  I've loved his playing since I was a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSJl3VtXxJA&list=PLxsLOAF2UJILZdcPLyBInhQDhvx58xF15
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