Has anyone upgraded from an AudioTechnica ART9?

have not heard the Miyajima MC cart so do not know what it sounds like.

all I was trying to say was I was in overdrive, hard pressed on the search for the best LP playback nirvana, thinking I would find it the more I spent....just was not the case.....

and if you really want to throw a wrench into your LP playback/cart evaluations, don't do what I did and compare the LP to to high speed tape.

Doing so will change your perspective on many LOMC carts.

But if you want to walk down that path, put on the Acoustic sounds Reiner/CSO Pines on LP. then play the same tape available from Acoustic Sounds (you will need a high speed half track deck to play it). Holly cow, so many carts do not get it right.....and many add things not on the tape....

And don't forget the LP came from the tape, not the other way around.

If you can afford the ART1000, buy it, if not buy the ART 9, and you'll be 85% of the way there.

Can't tell you how many kilo bucks I flushed chasing LP nirvana.

happy listening.



 

@johnss i wish i could find all my records on reel to reel, but it's simply impossible because most of them are rare, and my taste is not what a typical audiophile reissue label can offer, completely different i would say. Knowing the fact that a tape is always better it is absolutely irrelevant when it comes to a choice of music on tapes available today in comparison with tons of vintage vinyl available today. This is the reason i am with vinyl, not with tapes. 

P.S. For some reason industry professionals claimed the MM sound closer to the mastertape than MC, here is the article i posted million times. 

I did a poor job of explaining.... when you are considering spending 8k to 15k or more on a LOMC cart, buying a tape deck and one tape should not be much of an issue. and even if you only have that one tape, you now have a tool for a true A-B comparison against the LP and any cart you wish to try be it MC or MM.

And I would tend to agree with your comment that most MM carts sound closer to the tape than MC carts.

the other point worth making when evaluating an MM or MC cart is the need before hand to make sure the combined system (cart, and phono stage) is (measures flat) with a known  input. YOu can use a NAB broadcast test disc for this or likely others as well.