Ortofon A90 or Air Tight PC-1

Airtight anyday !! wasnt too impress with the A90. Too smooth for my taste.

Thuchan

I heard it on two occasions: one was a Kuzma reference TT and arm , while the other was with a VPI HRX, JMW 12.5 arm.
On both occasions i found the sound consistent which is smooth, a little rolled of on top, refine, dynamic, superb bass dynamics, wide soundstage... In short it had most of the audiophile virtues of a very hi end cart. However I felt it was a bit too smooth for my taste & lacked that "musicality" or "involvement".

However, I would not dismiss the possibility that 1) the carts were not broken in, 2) improper set-up with the arm and cart 3.) incompatible loading with the phono stage. 4.) break in issues as the cart has around 150 hours on it.

My experience with the the PC1 after 20 hours or so was "my type".

As I go along w/ analog, i realized that set-up, compatibility issues are super critical.

BUT I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of considering an A90 in the future if I hear it in another system matched properly, etc....

Thuchan_> am always open to things! looking forward to hearing the A90 in a different occasion.

Not to flame or anything, some of my friends who tried the A90 describes them as a sound similar to eating food without MSG, sweeteners or flavoring. "Bland". Neutral, natural... again, to each his own as some of them love it, some of them "no feelings". Personally, I would like to experiment and spend more time playing with it...

Downunder,

The guys that have played with the A90 are veterans as they have numerous carts they owned and collected. One chap has 10 carts in his stable: Clearaudio Titanium, Airtight PC1 Supreme, Mysonic Labs Hyper eminent, Miyabi 47, Koetsu Blue Lace, Dynavector XV1t, Miyajima Shilabe, and A90.
there set-up is also very well tuned as they have been vinyl addicts for years.
In the same way, when i heard the A90 at my buddy's setup, its the same experience we have heard. It has all the audiophile qualities to be expected in a cart but lacks that musicality, "soul" as some would say.
Nonetheless, its perhaps the synergy, or some other factors that we are getting this particular result.
I myself is very puzzled because the reviews from magazines of the A90 has been nothing but exemplary.

Anyways, since there is a large variable playing when doing analog, I would leave our observations at that until such time we can hear the A90 perform as the way it should perform as indicated by the positive reviews on the net and the magazines.,

downunder,

I agree. Am sure if i have the chance to live with the A90 in my system. Tweak it around, am sure there will be some positive attributes in there I would "learn to love".
Someday....