I totally agree with @chakster and others who say that ART-9 cannot be for everyone. I also agree that expecting an equipment that sounds awful in the beginning to blow you away later is not an easy argument to buy.
Without showering any more praise for the ART-9 I would like to emphasise why I suggested @avanti1960 to hold on to this cartridge. This is one cart which has replaced at least in my own system some of my "favourite" carts costing 3 to 4 times as much. It is one thing to say "Hey I will take a $2k Ortofon over a $5k Lyra any day", it only means you dont like Lyra. But for me ART-9 has replaced my favourite Ortofons, Dynavectors, Decca and Miyabis. Lyra, Benz and Van Den Hul are not on my favourite lists anyway even though I have heard them in my own system. With that kind of backing I think if @avanti1960 likes Dynavector, he stands a good chance of liking ART-9. I agree that Dynavectors, especially XX2 and below are warmer than ART-9. |
@avanti1960 I know that the ART-9 will sound more tonally saturated after some more breakin but still here are few things I would point out:
1. Comparing MM and MC, in many cases MM can sound richer and smoother in frequency response. Apart from the fact that MC carts can have a rising HF and such, the phono stage also plays an important role. Most phonostages sound more graceful and colorful with MM carts due to lesser gain stages.
2. I have used the Lehmann blackcube SE. It is a very good phonostage for the price. The only area which I was not very excited was about tone colors. It sounded a bit grey. Otherwise it sets a very high benchmark for other phono stages under $1k.
3. Dynavector has a bit of that rosy tint in its tones till one gets to the level of Tae katora rua.
All this is not be taken as an excuse for what the ART-9 sounds like but more like an fyi which you may use to understand the system balance. After all every system is designed around some associated components in the chain. When a new gear is introduced to that system and that too something of a higher degree of performance, it may need some extra level of involvement in terms of matching it to the rest of the system. I hope you the ART-9 allows to remain excited about it through this process |
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@avanti1960 without knowing your budget I will just suggest the phono stages that I like a lot in the mid-budget range.
1. Naim Stageline (current model) with Hicap PSU
2. Pro-ject phono box RS with its battery PSU
3. Graham Slee Revelation
4. Plinius Koru
Tube phono stages:
Luxman E200/250
Rogue Audio Ares |
@lewm even I have not heard the JLTI phonostage. I think it is @chakster who has used it and recommended it along with MM carts. |
That's great news @j_damon. Which turntable and tonearm do you use ?
@avanti1960 please consider ARC phonostages too for the ART-9. I totally forgot about it. |
@j_damon thats a very nice system you have. I am sure the ART-9 will play very well. Keep us updated on how it breaks-in. |
@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
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@jollytinker I agree that the ZYX carts especially Airy3 and above have a special 3D halo effect which is quite special. I dont find it studio neutral though. It will be interesting when you go back and forth between the ART-9 and ZYX. Please do post your opinions.
@chakster I totally agree with you that comparing ART-9 with entry level carts is not very exciting to read. I am hoping there will be people who would compare it against the $2k-$5k carts and come up with a serious comment. I have done it and I have mentioned it here couple of times already. I really wonder why this cart does not have any professional reviews yet! Is it because reviewers already know it will upset the big names which is not favourable for their magazines ?
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I personally have had Van Den Hul Condor, Lyra Skala, Benz Micro Ebony TR and Miyabi standard/47 before the ART-9. |
Having lived with the 9 for over a year now, I'm really wondering at what cost will a worthwhile improvement come at? That is the whole point. The ART9 is not the ultimate cart but it is at a level where you are surfing in the upper echelons of what is possible from an MC cart. A worthwhile improvement from here means getting the top cartridges from other serious brands like Ortofon (A90 and above), Lyra (Etna and above), Dynavector (Xv1s and above), AT ART-1000, Transfiguration Proteus etc. Even among them you may have to choose carefully. So, when you are ready to get into that ultra-fi category it would make sense to look beyond ART9 |
@jollytinker many thanks for taking that effort even though many would have considered this to be a non-starter (looking at the price difference).
I have not heard those highest grade ZYX carts. 4D is the highest ZYX I have heard it was one of the most impressive sonics that I have ever heard. The rest of the chain also amazing (Avid Acutus SP TT and SME V tonearm). The name 4D itself is explanatory on what it was all about, it presented music with such air, ambience and atmosphere, it was crazy. All that with as you mentioned, terrific transients and deep taut bass. While the soundstage was precise, it extended wall to wall because of those floating ambience. All this really created so many wow! moments in that listening session. When I compared this to lower end ZYX there was always something missing. Especially in the critical midrange zone the lower ZYX sounded less involving than other carts in general.
Now, I can imagine the Universe premium which is 3 times more expensive than the 4D to be actually ultra special.
The ART-9 may not be as uncompressed as a top ZYX or a DV but I dont hear any voicing per se. To my ears it disappear really well into a system because of its studio like character.
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@lewm are you planning to use an SUT with the ART7 ? |
@tablejockey I do not want to derail the ART-9 train but it will be interesting to understand which turntables would be considered "Uber" from the ART-9 perspective ?
Any good $5k turntable should be able to differentiate between a $1k ART9 and say $6k Ortofon A95 sufficiently to justify the difference in price. At the same time I do not expect a ART9 on a Continnum turntable either. However as one goes up the ladder of turntables, what is the level where ART-9 seems to be a non-starter ?
For the reference, before my current turntable I was using the ART9 with a Verdier TT. One may not consider it Uber going by the price and the fact that it is an "old" design but it was a legendary machine in more than one ways. On the Verdier the ART-9 was as good as anything, I would say it was the sweetest spot for a TT like Verdier. So, the "Uber"has to start much higher than the Verdier at least. |
@wrxified, I also had a AT33/PTG for some time and that piqued my interest into AT line up but I did not find it to be the last word in detail, dynamics and resolution. I mean it could be my second cart instead of the DL-103r but not my first cart. The ART-9 was in comparison a totally different level, letting me forget about cartridge upgrades for about 2 years now. I was using a Naim Superline with Supercap PSU as the phonostage which definitely is a very resolving phono stage to tell the difference between the 2 carts. Which phonostage are you using ? |
Lewm, your input regarding the effect of cartridge loading is very interesting especially considering I am currently running a very interesting phono stage by EMIA.
This is an MM phono stage and a Slagle built SUT is being used for MC gain. The MM stage has an input impedance of 300 kohms (not the typical 47kohms). Now, when I use a SUT with 1:20 ratio, the reflected impedance seen by my ART-9 is about 750 ohms (300k/square of turns ratio). This is almost like not loading the cartridge at all. The ART-9 likes to be loaded at 250 ohms in general. 750 ohms is very high and while the effect is a sound that is very live, there is some loss of body in the tones. What do you think would be the right way to load the cartridge down ? Can adding capacitance be an option too ? |
I wonder if there will be a sonic difference between
1. changing the MM input stage to 100k (by adding the 150k in parallel) so that the cartridge sees 250 ohms
2. Keep the MM stage at 300k and add a resistor to the primary of the Step up so that the overall impedance seen by the cartridge is 250 ohms |
Guys, I have arrived into a situation where I am probably going to sell my ART9 ! I had never anticipated this but it probably is the right way forward from where I see it. I bought a very expensive SUT to match my phonostage. While it sounds super, the gain is way too high and I hardly can use the volume control on my preamp. If I sell the SUT I will lose a lot of money so I have to get a lower output cartridge instead :-( |
I bought an Audio Note S8 |
@dodgealum very nice write-up. After I sold my ART-9, I am yet to find a reasonable priced cartridge that I could "safely" choose as an "upgrade". |
After reading through this thread I was surprised to see that @pani was so fickle in dumping the Art 9 after being so enthusiastic I was not fickle. I used it for 2 years happily. The longest I have ever used any cartridge without further contemplating a change. At one point I just decided I would like to try something else, probably a Decca Jubilee or so. I got a great offer on my ART9 so I let it go. |
All said and done it is the only under $1k mainstream cartridge that sounds hi-rez and fulfils the criteria to be on a high end turntable. If one were to spend $3k and claim that ART-9 is not a solid contender I can understand, but within $2k (which is the VFM range in the MC domain), ART-9 is a top contender. |
Frank, credit goes to you as well for setting it up well and matching with a synergistic phono stage to get the best out of this cartridge. It really needs a medium to light tonearm and a low noise full sounding, dynamic phono stage to shine through. Using a heavy or 12" tonearm takes away some of that agility and excitement from this cartridge. |
