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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 2 responses by tketcham

tketcham
291 posts
 

Hi, Avanti1960, I've been using an ART9 with my SME 309 (9.5g effective mass) without problems and it sounds very good, even surpassing a Dynavector Karat 17D3. The one potential problem using the ART9 (or ART7) with a lighter weight tonearm is subwoofer pumping, as discussed here: http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=vinyl&n=1141823&highlight=art9+pumping&sear....

I use sealed subwoofers so haven't had that problem. People with ported or servo subwoofers can use a rumble filter.

Regards,

Tom

tketcham
291 posts
 

Avanti1960,

I haven't heard an Ortofon cartridge but I can say that in comparing the Dynavector 17D3 to the ART9, I found that the tonal balance shifted from a slight emphasis in the lowest bass output (~80Hz and lower)  to a more balanced bass output. I found that with the 17D3 I had to lower the volume levels on my subwoofers to keep the bass in correct balance with the upper bass and mid-range. With the ART9 I increased the volume levels of the subs a bit to have the correct balance. That and I noticed more control of the total range of bass frequencies with the ART9; there was a better rendition of acoustic bass guitar plucks, deep percussion drum thumps, and the full tone of electric bass guitar notes. The 17D3 wasn't quite as articulate.

The differences weren't dramatic, but if you were listening to the bass lines and drum thumps and paying attention to the overall tonal balance, I found the ART9 to be a better cartridge in my system.

My turntable and tonearm combination (Gyro SE/SME 309) has been described as being slightly dark but I think it's a matter of system compatibility/synergy and room acoustics more than a particular component. That said, I really am enjoying the ART9 in my vinyl setup.

Regards,

Tom

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