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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 slimpikins5

slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
191 posts
 
Thanks for the input; I actually found the mass of the arm at 10 to 11 grams too.

It’s too bad the ART9 doesn’t have tapped threaded mounting holes so that short/lighter screws could be used. I suppose aluminum mounting screws would be a good option

I just looked up the specs on the AT15ss and it's 8 grams mass vs. 8.5 grams for the ART9.  It sounds from what you are saying, I should be trying to work with a mass which is lower; more towards the 8 grams or less.
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
191 posts
 
OK, OK.... I have been following this thread for half the day (read from the start).  I am sold.  I was considering the Delos and the Clear Audio Concept MC Black also the Ortofon Quintet Black MC; but it looks like the ART9 will be it.

I have some questions which perhaps someone here who is far more adept at matching components than I would perhaps lend a hand to.

There is a lot of chat about compliance, tone arm mass, SUT, etc.   May I ask on thoughts about this set up I have and if it would be a right mix for the ART9:  Turntable is a VPI Ares3 with the Super Platter option, my tone arm is a SME Series IV and I have been using my old vintage AT15ss (same basic cartridge as the AT20ss) which has a not too old NOS stylus, original OEM AT and the Clear Audio Smart V2 phono stage.  The cartridge is to me, amazing, but now I feel like I have to get this new AT ART9!   I have no idea if the SME Series IV is high low or medium mass  arm, but it plays so well with the AT15ss which is about 7.5 gms, I'd assume it would work out fine with the ART9.   

Also, does anyone know the Mounting Hole center to Stylus Tip distance on the ART9?  My AT15ss is around 8 mm, or .375 inches.

Thanks in Advance for input....
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
191 posts
 
For my set up to hit the sweet spot, what weight cartridge would accomplish this?
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
191 posts
 
Thanks Wrxified for the information... the nylon hardware certainly looks interesting.   However I am not sure I'd need it if I am reading the chart correctly.  On the left side where it reads 18 for the spec you supplied on the ART9, it lands at 9hz if I come across to 8 to 9 grams which would be the cartridge and some minimal mass from the screws.  That is squarely in the green.   That is if I am reading this chart correctly.   
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
191 posts
 
Here is my take on it: The SME Series IV is regarded as one of the best tone arms ever made; so it would make sense to me that it would play well with most cartridges out in the market place or people would not compliment how it performs. I guess that is a back door way in to saying it probably will be within the good parameters.

Speaking of the clouds opening and angels singing down to me; I had that exact same experience when I put together my VPI Ares3/super platter table with the SME IV. I had been using a very highly touted vintage Marantz 6300 with the AT15ss (both of which I bought new when I was in college and I thought this TT was just outstanding. When I picked up the Ares3, it came to me with an arm board drilled out for the Dynavector high end tone arm, so I had to put it into my Bridgeport mill and machine a slot for the template of the SME (I just barely made it on HTA as the geometry of the two arms are different). It took me two days of work and fine tuning on the TT base to get the two to fit up; a big issue is the right angle DIN plug which causes a sharp bend in the cables which I had to make a relief cut for.

The long and short of this is that I ended up transferring the AT15ss (with a NOS OEM stylus and about 100 hours use) from the Marantz 6300 over to the Ares3, so this was a true apples to apples comparison of what a TT and tone arm combination arm will do. YIKES!! I could not believe what I was hearing! There were instruments playing on well listened to records I have that I had not heard before. And the soundstage/imagining was like being in a concert hall. I just couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. As noted earlier, the AT15ss is an 8 gram cartridge in an aluminum body MM, It’s in the suggested range of 5 to 16 gms. from SME. I don’t know the other specs on compliance, but it sure does work! I am guessing since that it is in the same family as the ART9, things should be just fine.

Honestly, I had always thought that most of the high end TT/tonearm units out there were for the eye candy appeal more than anything else with a marginal improvement in performance.  Was I ever shown the light.....
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