Audio-Technica ART 7


Good day A,goners :)

I was in love with the AT OC9 III sound until I damaged it accidentally !!!!!!!!!! The needle broke off completely of the cartridge. I am looking for a replacement. 

I am wanting to stay with Audio-Technica, and looking into ART 9 and ART 7. I read the threads here and some other forums in regards to the ART 9 cart. Most likely will go for the ART 9. However, I am curious about the ART 7.

How many of you here are /were ACTUALLY using ART 7? With what phono stage and gain setting? What are the strength and limitation if you are using / used the ART 7?

I will be using it on a Project RMP 9 table with the 9cc Project arm, Simaudio Moon 310Lp phono, XLR cables (6dB additional gain) to BAT pre-amp.  

Thanks a lot for your inputs :)
Subho


 
128x128confuse_upgraditis

There is no Factory retip.  From the ART7 manual:

"When the stylus is to be replaced, replace the entire cartridge. Take the used cartridge to your dealer: This cartridge and other MC cartridges sold by AT are available at the stylus replacement price.  If this cartridge is no longer being produced, one of the MC cartridges currently being produced will be available at the stylus replacement price."

Which is still confusing, as there is no stylus replacement available at any price.

I would like to thank everyone who joined the discussion and gave valuable feedback on not only the specific cartridges I mentioned in my original post but also on buying experiences or decision making processes. 

As always it was clear how passionate you all are about good music and good sound, and above all how much you love the hobby.  Thanks again for sharing :)
My ART7 just arrived and i have about 1 hour on it.

My phono stage is a Aesthetix Rhea, with gain to 75. direct into the phono it sounded a thin.
I also have some suts i purchased a few years ago my favourite is an uesegi 5 L.  I  put that in the phono chain  and now running at 56 gain at 47kh. it now sounds superb, so natural and pure.
 I previously had at ART 9 the 7 is superior in my opinion. its on a FR64S
Good thread and very educational.  Well done folks. I've played in the "Gray Market" casino a few times over the years and it appears I've been lucky.   

Mick, if you've read the thread you know I own an ART7 too. I'm running it into a Manley Steelhead set to 65db gain via an MC input and 400 ohm load. Maybe you ought to try reducing the MC gain setting on your Rhea and try setting the load to 47K. With the SUT you can't achieve a 47K load because the SUT inevitably affects the load seen by the cartridge in inverse proportion to the square of the turns ratio. On the other hand I am having some issues with the sound of my ART7, so maybe you are doing the right thing and I am not.