Audio-Technica AT-ART9 phono cartridge

@catcher10

1. As for a warranty on a cartridge, I think if it looks right and sounds right from the get-go you’re good to go for the duration. Given proper treatment I’ve never seen a cartridge fail. Have you?

2. The last cartridge that I bought from Japan directly had a defect that was visible. I found the Japanese merchant (EIFL) extremely helpful and an exchange was effected very quickly. Ebay offers additional confidence, as does purchase by credit card.  I have bought other, non-audio, items directly from Japan and find their business ethics quite high.

3. If you look at the AT USA site you will not find the Art-9. That suggests to me that the model is not distributed in the US except as a grey market item. If I am correct, AT USA is free not to honor the warranty even though purchased from a US dealer. If presented to AT USA they could either fix it, fix it for a fee or not fix it. It can always be sent to Japan for repair--not such a big deal these days.

4. In any event, if anything goes very wrong, and for retipping, you still have Soundsmith.

FWIW, I had a good experience purchasing an ART7 from 2juki and an AT33MONO from a Japanese Amazon seller.  In the latter instance I didn't go for rock bottom price, but rather chose a vendor with good Amazon ratings.

Catcher 10

AT will not only provide no support for warranty repair but will provide not support of 'ANY' repairs if the item was not bought from an authorized US supplier.  This is even if you agree to pay all charges. I find this a bit strange but I do understand them supporting their sales staff.  Thankfully we have aftermarket re-tippers who are willing to take our money.
Regards,

Wanted to report; I ordered the art9 through eBay, last Monday, from 2juki - the Hong Kong vendor. I received a confirming email the next day; couple of days later I got shipping status and tracking number; on Saturday a messenger service showed up and delivered the cart. The box was sealed and, after inspection, there was no apparent damage.

Even though I had my turntable off-line for re-capping and service (thought delivery would take at least two weeks), I was able to get the cart mounted on a headshell and playing to verify that it was fully functional. The eBay guarantee assures that the item arrives as advertised. Perhaps if there is some down-the-line problem with it, I would regret not buying through a US source, but for now I'm pleased.

As to performance, even after a hasty setup and limited listening, the art9 is clearly a high-end performer. I'll report my listening impressions on the other thread later; but I wanted to let readers know about my buying experience.

Excellent, wanders ... 

It's a wonderful cartridge ... especially after 50 hours or so.