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Pani ... New ART-9 up and running ...

The Cartridge arrived and I took it down to Studio City to Acoustic Image to have Eliot Midwood set it up properly. Eliot is the bomb when it comes to setting up the Well Tempered turn tables correctly.

http://www.acousticimage.com/

So, last night I had Mr. Golden Ears over to get his assessment as well. For a brand new cartridge that had zero hours on it ... all I can say is WOW! This is one naturally musical cartridge that doesn't break the bank. Its everything I liked about the OC9-mk III, but it goes far beyond the OC-9 in every respect.

In a previous post, I talked about the many mono records I own and how good the OC-9 was with the monos. Well, the ART-9 is on steroids. Just amazing on mono recordings.

At under $1100.00 from LP Tunes, its a bargain. The ART-9 surpasses all cartridges I've had in the system before. That would include Dynavectors, Benz, Grado Signatures and a Lyra Clavis that I dearly loved. In fact, its more musically correct than the Clavis. The Clavis was the champ at reproducing the piano correctly ... the ART-9 is equally as good in this area.

Sound stage, depth of image, left to right all there. Highs ... crystalline. Mids ... female and male voices are dead on. Transparency ... see through. Dynamics ... Wow! Low noise floor ... black. Mono records ... who needs stereo?

Your assessment that the ART-9 doesn't draw attention to itself is dead on. You just don't think about the cartridge at all. Not what its doing, or what its not doing ... its just beautiful music filling the room.

Thanks again Pani for the recommendation. I'll keep posting here as the cartridge continues to break in.
oregonpapa

Showing 5 responses by dgarretson

dgarretson
2,617 posts
 
Congratulations on your ART9. It's great to see these favorably compared to some of the big boy MCs. I've had an ART7 for a few years. It runs with the best of my mostly vintage collection(Ortofon MC2000, Signet TK100LC, Grace F9 with Soundsmith OCL, Precept 550ML). I'm tempted to get an ART9 for comparison, but restrained by the notion that the non-permeable coil formers in cartridges like the ART7 and the MC2000 are theoretically superior. The even lower-output MC2000 is slightly more resolving and overall more satisfying than ART7. But for better or for worse, the marketing of phono cartridges has changed since the '80s. Probably for increased ease of use, interest in designing ever more low output pickups has waned. Fremer has written that the emergence of more powerful magnetics has produced much better cartridges without the need to go very low in output. Maybe, maybe not.

BTW ART7 is happy without a SUT given an active phono stage of 76db gain like Pass XP-25. No need for a SUT if you have sufficient active gain.
dgarretson
2,617 posts
 
Scm, I think 72db is sufficient, as my preamp's 76db gain is adequate for the MC2000-- which at .05mV has under half the .12mV output of ART7. However, but before trying it would be wise to check if the background noise level of the ASR Basis become objectionable when your preamp's volume control is cranked up.

Pani, FWIW the XP-25 doesn't work that way. The circuit amplifies any input at full gain and attenuates to obtain the 53db and 66db outputs. It's a very quiet phono stage.
dgarretson
2,617 posts
 
Hard to guess whether ART 7 is trickle down or an improvement over AT50ANV. I have an ART 7. The bodies of both are aluminum and plastic. The main difference appears to be(from AT web site):

"This product(ART 7) keeps the basic design of non magnetic core MC type cartridge AT50ANV and changed the coil winding frame from a pure titanium armature to a newly developed liquid crystal polymer armature by an injection molding. This product also succeeds in reducing the weight of the vibration system compared to AT50ANV and provides the extremely natural and clear sound quality and ability to express three-dimensional sound fields inherent to non magnetic core types... Liquid crystal polymer used for the coil winding frame has not only an extreme mechanical strength but also an unique property which increases the mechanical strength as the product becomes thinner. Therefore it is the most suitable material for the vibration system of cartridges. This has high intensity and vibration absorption properties, enabling high-quality sound by suppressing unwanted vibration when from power generation."
dgarretson
2,617 posts
 
I was considering ART9 for comparison to my ART7, but decided instead to test the AT value proposition against a more expensive LOMC. An Accuphase AC-5 just arrived. It seems an apt choice, as both cartridges are obscure and rather low output offerings from well-respected manufacturers... The AC-5 retails for $3K. I'll mount them to the two arms on my PD444 for a shootout.

I've already compared the ART7 to a vintage Ortofon MC2000. Like ART7, the MC2000 has non-permeable coil formers and a similarly miniscule .05mV output. They are close in performance. The ART7 has a bit more life in the presence region. The MC2000 is a bit leaner but more delineated, particularly in LF.
dgarretson
2,617 posts
 
ART7 at .12mV. I'm all in with two of them. 
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