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
Oregonpapa, Can you say how "Robert" is making those measurements?  What equipment, what test LPs, what load resistance, etc?  I am not necessarily a big fan of Lyra, but those reported deviations from flat response seem oddly extreme.  Also, Raul is a fan of Lyra, and it hardly seems likely that he could tolerate such "distortions" without noticing the problem. 

Also, it seems based on the appearance of the various graphs that in the case of the Lyra cartridges vs the Dynavector Karat 17D3, you are comparing measurements done at least two different ways; the Karat graph looks exactly like the package insert that comes in the box with some cartridges, i.e., a straight line from 20 to 20kHz.  The evaluation of the Lyra cartridges cannot have been done in the same way using exactly the same methods.  So, at least those 3 graphs (Atlas, Dorian, Karat) are not scientifically comparable.  I have not looked at the rest of the data, but I am betting that the same caveat applies.

lewm ...

Thank you. I'm glad you stepped in to comment. I'll share your comments with Robert to get his feedback and get back to you. 

Robert researched through the Internet using Google Search and did a cut & paste on his findings. However, the rising top ends of many of the MC's have been an ongoing conversation between the two of us for years. He's made the claim throughout that the 17D, with its flat response, is the best cartridge for evaluating what's on the record for reissue purposes. Perhaps not the most spectacular ... just the most accurate and truthful according to Robert.  He and I both love what the ART-9 does by the way. 

Frank
Frank, very interesting stuff from Robert. 
It's funny in one sense as the 17D...17D3 all have a reputation for a more tipped up treble than the rest of the Dyna family. Does that imply that the others further up the line are too reticent on treble? I wouldn't think so based on my own listening to DV-X1s, XX2s, etc. 
Wonder what Robert would say about the VDH Colibris that I used to own, as I'd suspect they are tipped up a bit too? Cheers,
Spencer
@sbank @oregonpapa I have absolutely no doubt about the rising top end of the Lyra and vdh cartridges. I have not heard the Atlas and Titan though. On the other hand the Dynavectors are smooth. Benz to my ears are "voiced" to sound comfortable. I don't find them natural. In that regards I have a lot of respect for Ortofon. Would love to know frequency response of a Cadenza Black or Windfield