I own an Audio Technica ART7 cartridge that I purchased new. At first, I did find it to be lean or clinical sounding, although from the start it was a champ at revealing detail and inner musical voices, as well as having a very articulate bass. Nevertheless, I usually got tired of it after about an hour per listening session. However, after 20-30 hours total, it began to shift in tonal emphasis toward the midrange and upper bass, and these days it is one of my favorite LOMC cartridges. (I own at least 20 cartridges of all types.) Despite the scoffing of MillerCarbon and Mijostyn, I would not attribute this change in my subjective experience of the ART7 solely to psychological adaptation to the sound of the ART7, because at any one time I am alternating among 3-4 different cartridges, running on any of the 5 turntables that are set up to feed two very different audio systems (3 turntables on one system, 2 turntables on the other). I rarely stick to only one combination of tt and cartridge for more than a few consecutive sessions. Thus, I don’t have a fixed mental reference for how music should sound in either of the two systems. The ART7 is not "training" me to hear it in any one particular way. I don’t know what is the mechanism for cartridges changing sound quality from new, but I do believe it happens. Think of it this way: cartridges can wear out for reasons other than stylus wear, so why shouldn’t they also "wear in"? So my advice to you is to give your new AT a little time, and hope for the best.
