As an update on ART9 impressions the cartridge was sounding a little too rich and overly smooth in my system as it continued to break in approaching the 15 hr mark. The great recordings still sound amazing but many of my other (mainly rock) recordings seem to sound a little too rolled off with a touch too much midrange warmth. Jazz and instrumentals are perfect but vocals sound too warm and laid back. People are recommending to let it break in more but I replaced it with my Dynavector cartridge and am enjoying that one for the time being.
ART9 added back in per recommendation to see it through to at least a 40hr break-in. Has some nice qualities- especially a clean, refined sound. Looking for deeper bass, more dynamics and upper midange presence to emerge.
yes. the good news is i have become an ace at cartridge install and alignment and that my investment in a digital VTF scale paid off big time
20 minutes on each of the Cardas break-in locked groove tracks (1 hour in total) is probably the equivalent of about 20-25 hours of regular play to get a cartridge quickly into action. Combine that with the cleaning/degaussing sweeps and I think of the Cardas Sweep Record as being pretty much a mandatory tool to have around. My gut feeling is that this is more an issue of subjective preference for one cartridge over the other that may even vary from record to record within a specific listener's collection. The Dyna retipped by Soundsmith with ruby cantilever and line contact stylus is likely to be much better than stock so it would probably be a very good cartridge. Having a fair bit of experience with Soundsmith retips (I've had 3, 2 of the standard ruby with line contact and one with the ruby and OCL stylus, all on rebodied Denon 103R's), my feeling is that ruby cantilevers better aluminum considerably and then there is the issue of quality of stylus and/or profile. The ruby cantilevered Soundsmith retips that I've used have been very good cartridges but compared to boron cantilevered cartridges they are quite different. I'd describe the ruby as being a bit more detail oriented; they place the listener in more of a front row position while the borons I've used offer up more of a mid hall kind of presentation that doesn't present detail in quite such a forceful manner. They're a bit more "big picture". Not that one is right or wrong; this is a subjective hobby and I believe it to be more of a subjective preference. Personally, I've grown into the boron camp over the years. I find it to be more natural sounding, but again, this is subjective and not a right or wrong issue. Someone with a preference for a bit more excitement or detail might just as easily find the more front row/detailed presentation to be "superior". This may what be Avanti is hearing with the two different cartridges. Then there are other issues such as one cartridge being a better matchup with a specific tonearm or phono stage that might give it the edge over the other. Analog is a complicated game.
No more break in required. After another removal of the ART9 I started listening to the my other cartridges and was struck with how artificial and noisy they sounded (relatively). Before I ordered the ART9 I was listening to the 2M black and wondering why the heck I needed another cartridge. After installing it again the other night I could not believe how badly it sounded relative to the ART9. What I thought was sparkle, air and treble extension now sounded like edgy, unnatural noise. I literally could not tolerate the sound- that I used to love! The DV also has some of these tendencies but not to the same extent. The ART9 is a supremely clean sounding cartridge. Not a tinge of edginess, distortion or harshness throughout its entire range. I knew it sounded clean from the start but I was focusing primarily on the tonality- which was initially distracting. I took the clean, lush natural sound for granted and thought it to be a subtly different from my other carts. Not so! The back and forth comparison made the differences very obvious. The way it allows vinyl to sound so clear and clean is the strength of this cartridge and worth the price of admission IMHO. It is the real deal.
I will eventually put one of these on my new table. Gonna be a bit, I have auditions with a Denon 103 and Hana MC Low output elliptical up first. Once I get my headshells, that is. Reading your posts I am quite happy I got an arm with removable headshells, that process of remounting and realigning has got to be exhausting.
But now i am an ace at cart installing! Seriously, removable head shells would be nice but man, I would be too tempted to swap out all the time. I hope I am finally "good" for the long haul. Good luck with the Denon and Hana which have good reputations!
Thanks! I appreciate all the words about the Art9, seems to be exactly what I want but I want to give these others a try. Breaking in the Hana now. One big reason I wanted removable headshells is I want to finally get a decent, but not spendy mono cart but don't want to fork out for a dual arm table.
Good call. do mono carts really make a difference? the guys on audiogon (oregon pappa, etc) swears by the ART9 for how good it is for mono records FWIW.
