Audio-Technica ART 7

@dgarretson i don’t mind buying even used, but the purists should know that official retip or any support is impossible if the manufacturer detect grey market product.

@chakster,

You sound like a broken record.

I purchased my Art-9 from 2juki and it is perfect. So too was the Shelter I bought years before. Dozens of audiophiles posting on multiple sites have reported the same over the years. Juki has a 100% positive feedback. Should something be wrong with a cartridge upon arrival, it can be returned--typically if it arrives in bad shape the seller will pay return shipping, notwithstanding the listing. If it comes in good condition it will have a long life and not be in need of any "support." Before you accuse a seller of manipulating serial numbers, which is to say fraud, you should offer proof which you have not!. Retips commonly cost about as much as a new cartridge from Juki. The only correct thing you have written is that the official (high mark-up) distributors don’t like grey marketers. I would not hesitate to buy from Juki again.

I have also read very positive comments about Thakker.

I think Dave has it right; the ART7 is actually improved over the ANV50, even though the latter cartridge cost or costs more (depending upon whether either or both are still available).  The introduction of the ANV50 preceded that of the ART7.  Maybe the hypothetical "ART10" will incorporate the technology of the current high-priced ART1000, where the coil is located just above the stylus tip.  I'd love to hear that one, but not own one for $5,000.  We're going to Japan next month, and I will look around for the local price of the ART1000. I doubt it will be cheap enough to justify my taking the plunge.

For what it's worth, I have read the comparisons of the ART7 vs the ART9, where reviewers AND Audio Technica say that the ART7 is not so good for jazz and rock compared to the ART9.  In my experience on my Beveridge system, that's a bunch of hooey. The ART7 is very dynamic.  That is one of its greatest strengths.  The dynamic aspect of its sound is related to what I wrote above about emphasizing the leading edges of transients.  At the beginning (first few hours), this quality was bordering on fatiguing, but at this point the cartridge has gotten a lot smoother, bringing out the instrumental details better than it did at first.

Is it really true that 2juki products are "gray market"?  What does that mean, in this context?  The phrase arose back in the 80s, when certain foreign cars could not be imported into the US, because they did not meet our then new requirements for emissions and etc.  Some privateers imported such cars and converted them within the US to meet spec or as near to it as they could get away with.  The parent companies would not honor the warranty on such cars, because they couldn't vouch for the longevity of components in cars that were modified.  Nothing like that is going on here.

Based upon my own experience with the ART-9 playing classical music I agree with lewm that the distinctions made by AT between the two cartridges and the music they can play well are a lot of PR BS.  Which is not to deny that they may be different.

When comparing the two cartridges a potential user should consider that the fair comparison is between the ART-9 and the ART-7 + an extra stage of amplification whether it might come from a SS stage or an SUT, each of which will intrude with its own colorations.