Audio Technica ART20 cartridge.

I have had the OC9XML, ART9XA and ART20 on the same sound system. If I were to rate them on a 5* basis, I would rate the OC9 at 1, the ART9 ast 2 and the ART20 at 5. Yeah, that much better. I think Audio Technica has the dollars and the expertise to produce a high-end cartridge. With that in mind the ART20 is probably a good starter for high-end cartridges. Between myself and Theofile this may be the last cartridge we ever get.

 

I had paid in full to buy a brand new ART9XI when I saw a Japanese seller advertising the ART20. Thankfully I contacted the seller prior to shipping and he graciously refunded my money in full. I'm a little surprised by how much you rate the 20 over and above the 9 kirt. Not questioning or challenging your asessment, just surprised at the extent of the improvement you've awarded. It actually makes me more grateful that I bought the 20 instead of the 9XI. I have listened to a lot of highly rated turntable/ arm/cartridges over the years, using the same records that I have played on the ART20. Despite that the ART20 surprised me with the improvement it brought when I played those records. I knew that the quality that it brought to vinyl playback was uncommon. I wasn't expecting it.

My system is built of inexpensive great links which combine to make an overwhelmingly excellent chain. It is therefore capable both of great things and superb at revealing the excellence or otherwise of anything I add or do to tweak the system. There is enough capability to enable and convey a great addition and the opposite is also true. This system leaves nowhere to hide when a component falls short, whether by a fraction or a lot. Anything coming into it better be pretty damn excellent itself because there won't be any doubt if it isn't.

The ART20 like I said, surprised me with how much better it made this system sound. I had that impression from the first minute I played it. Time has only made me appreciate it more. I have said elsewhere that I am grateful to have put together this system. I'm a difficult person to please when it comes to hifi systems. I don't actually rate highly many I've heard or owned. There are a lot of reasons why a system sounds disappointing. Whether somewhat disappointing or greatly disappointing. I am lucky that my living room is a beneficial element. Possibly the most crucial element in the results I get. The rest of the system has the chance to really shine in this room, if it has the capability. This system is really capable. Capable enough to make a difficult to please listener grateful to have had the experience. The ART 20 has increased that gratitude. I couldn't care that there is better out there. I know that this system can clearly expose a lack of component capability. The ART20's inclusion into this excellent system has lifted the system's performance in no small measure. That's why I'm certain that it is a special cartridge. Every record I play confirms it.

 

The simple answer is that The ART20 is significantly better than everything else I have ever heard. Within the confines of my Audio Technica experience and staying with whole numbeers I cannot rate the 9XA halfway at 3. By comparison the 9XA is "marginally" better than the OC9 but if I were to go decimal then maybe the 9XA is 2.5. The point you agree with is the exceptional performance of the 20. If we expand beyond our experience then the ultras are sixes, maybe. But if we confine ourselves to finacial barriers up to $5000 maybe, our 20 might still be in that 5-star realm. Makes you wonder how much better it can actually get when the turntable/cartridge get up into the tens of thousands of dollars. That's a rabbit hole I don't feel like diving itno. Better cartridge needs better turntaable-needs better cartridge-yadda-yadda-yadda. The sound that I now have and I think you agree is so good I can assume it to be all I will ever need. In truth, it seems to me, the best you've ever heard is likely to be that which you heard most recently. I probably would have shied away from the 20 had it not been for your review. Again, I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Ridiculous. Just ridiculous: the sparation of voices and instruments is just ridiculous. Albums that previously seemed to be duds now just sparkle. I now have just short of 50 hours on it and I have to wonder if there is a further upgrade that could even come close to going from the ART9XA to the ART20. I don't know how long the 20 will be available since there seems to be so litle interest. I may have to buy a spare as you have done. I see one available on eBay at a reduced price. The other alternative would be to retip the 20 and use the 9XA as the spare. Still pretty damn good but it's no 20.

 

This will mean that it will be available for years. Many places all over the world have it in stock. If it is not selling it will remain in their inventories. I know from experience that my testimony of excellent products, which are not highly regarded by many due to limited corroborating discussion, is usually ignored.

 

And yet, quite a few of us are enthusiastically following this thread, even while cautiously eyeing that $2900 price tag, and at least one other person has jumped in the deep end based almost entirely on your words here. So don't be such a downer, people are paying attention, I've done some searches on Japanese pricing for the ART20, we just aren't quite ready for that jump yet

 

Davey, I'm not intentionally throwing cold water on either the ability of the ART20 nor the fact that now that I have started this thread, a dialogue exists for those curious about it. My system is comprised of components which lack credibility in some people's eyes. I, personally carry little weight as a commentator on anything audio related. Those two facts actually deter interest in any conclusion I might post. That is certain. Even that fact that I am posting these conclusions about the ART20 on the Steve Hoffman forums would water down some interest in this market segment.

For my part, honestly, I have zero interest in being held in any regard as an authority voice on anything. My motivation in any assessment of any component that I have ever praised on any forum, is simply an honest portrayal of what I am hearing. Nothing more. The fact that what I am saying might be dismissed by 99% of anyone who reads it doesn't stop me from saying it. Nor does that fact sadden me. Really what I want to do is simply register a statement of my opinion about the item. I regard the opinion of those who hear the same as me to be more influential with regard to how readers of any thread I start consider the item I have opined about. Hence, I said to kirt that his ownership and experience with the ART9XA was much more relevant to readers on this thread than what I had to say.

It's not a downer if no-one believes anything I say. It would however be sad if someone in the segment of the cartridge market who might be considering a purchase never got to know that this is a bloody good cartridge. I think it is and I think that people should consider it amongst the others they have in mind. I don't think that I have the clout to persuade. By starting a thread like this which is discoverable on the internet, others who have purchased an ART20 like kirt, who agree or disagree, have a place to air their opinions. I have seen threads on other forums where members have asked about this cartridge. To date there are no owners of ART20s giving their opinion on those forums. I am not going to spruik this cartridge high and low. This thread will be it for me. It will be voices other than mine which will garner huge interest in this excellent cartridge. All I am doing is registering my honest opinion somewhere.

 

Due to my experience of starting a thread about the Yamaha GT 2000 on another forum I will more than likely have little more to say about the ART20. It will really be up to other people now. I have said my piece.

 

I've been saving up my pennies to make the jump to the Paua MKII ES, but am intrigued by the ART20. I had a Soundsmith Voice for a while which was a revelation in performance, but sold it for other reasons. It's unfortunate that it's so difficult to compare cartridges in your actual system.

JohnK

 

Dear ART20 friend; Your enthusiasm was the major reason for me diving into the deep end. And I am far from sorry, enthusiastic would be an understatement. So far you and I are just exploding with what may seem to others to be a needless litany of praise. Be that as it may, I will continue to sing the deserved praise of this cartridge. It is incredible and that is putting it mildly. Kirt

 

A just released review of the ART20.

Audio Technica AT-ART20 Moving Coil Phono Cartridge

 

You may well find there is.

 

Nice review. Don't know much about the reviewer Ken Redmond, but if Fremer can maintain that quality in future reviews, I think Tracking Angle will be a good source of info. I hadn't checked it out yet, but was a fan of the old print version, so good to see. Looks like they have imported and indexed the old content, so that's nice too.

 

The interesting points I noted in that review were his repeated referral to the outstanding low level detail of the cartridge. The fact that it is so evenhanded that it possibly exposes partnering problems in the system. He also made the important point that the wealth of detail still manages to maintain emotional involvement with the music.

The last point was referred to in each of the reviews so far posted and is a fine balancing act which many detailed cartridges fail to get right.

 

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE "BIG GUYS"
When discussing high-end cartridge brands with fellow audio enthusiasts I find that many companies like Ortofon and Audio-Technica don’t elicit from them the same respect and brand panache recognition they pay to some of the smaller cartridge manufacturers—especially in the multi $1000 price range, where many want to own a cartridge they feel was built by an “artisan”.
While having an artisan single-handedly craft your cartridge is certainly appealing, overlooking or discounting a large company’s focused effort on manufacturing excellence and the value it typically represents is a serious mistake.

 

A few posts back I spoke of the capability of my system. I promise I was not exaggerating. I wanted to co me back to that point.

So many audio lovers get caught up in 'flavour of the month' audio trends. Sometimes spending thousands of dollars on them. I would like to say, get the main elements of your system right:

The Source component. The amplification. The speakers. The room placement. Then, and only then, should you start spending substantial sums(for you) on better interconnects, cables, powercords, isolation etc. All of the peripheral elements contribute to a better result but they are putting lipstick on a pig if the fundamentals still fall short.

This cartridge needs a very good turntable/arm/phono stage, firstly. The benefit brought by the ART20 should be conveyed by very good amplification and speakers. It would be false economy to not have all of those elements up to scratch before buying an ART20. Especially that first element, the analogue source elements I listed above. I just felt that I needed to say that to anyone with $3000 burning a hole in their pocket who was considering buying an ART20: Are the fundamental elements of your analogue Source up to the task of properly utilising what the ART20 contributes?

 

Well, maybe. I chose to go one step at a time and I imagine many others will never have the means of any kind to compare any of the components on a side-by-side basis. So what I was left with was choosing which component to improve first and then go from there. I consider the source to be the most important so I started with the turntable and worked my way up through three before landing on the Marantz TT15S1. I am a headphone guy and I ended up going to a tube-type headphone amplifier and hi-end headphones. Then I was at the point where I was certain that I would easily discern whether or not the cartridge improvement proved real. So I wnet to moving coil for which I needed a phono stage and from there I started with the Audio Technica OC9XML. Next was the ART9XA that I plalyed for 800 hours before discovering the ART20. So here I am again declaring how astonishigly good this cartridge is. I am still curious as to how much better an even more expensive cartridege may be. But then I would have to wonder if I would have to improve the rest of my system to adequately make the comparison. Not going there The most recent entries in our thread point to the idea that the ART20 is an audiophile cartridge and I am happy with that. So I'm just going to continue to hear all of my vinyl as if they were new because as Theofile also said, the ART20 is that much of an improvement.

 

Yeah I think you have reached a fairly elite level with your cartridge. I'm in the same neighborhood with an Ortofon Cadenza Black which was preceded by an Art9.
Your table is a good one, but I would consider upgrading that before a cart if you have money to burn.
But you currently have a nice table and very nice cart. As long as the 20 is a good match w your arm, enjoy!

 

Thank you for your agreement as to how good my turntable/cartridge may be. I have given thought as to what I might do if I decide to improve my cartridge choice and I am aware that my turntable may limit the improvement. But for my own reasons I love my TT15 and I think I am willing to take my chances if and when I upgrade the cartridge. If the "improvement" has no positive impact I will accept that the turntable is the cause and let it be. Otherwise I will have entered the rabbit-hole of audio improvements that could cost a lot for an otherwise minimal improvement.

 

This was the quote from the Tracking Angle review which in my mind aptly sums up the essence of this cartridge:

"Its ability to mine detail minutia from the grooves and present them so the listener can more clearly understand what the artist brings to the performance is among the best I have heard from any cartridge"

I constantly marvel at the ART20's very subtle, yet very informative, ability to unearth and reveal previously unappreciated vocal inflection which adds so much life to the ability of a great singer to inject feeling into the performance. Although the entire spectrum from lows to highs thrills, the filigree delicacy of the treble is stunning.

 

I think I might describe the performance improvement of the ART20 over the ART9XA by comparing the detail difference between a 45RPM and 33 1/3RPM versionof the same song. And it's probably better than that but that should supply a vague idea of the improvement. Yesterday I was listening to the Everly Brothers' legendary harmony and the separation of voices was clear and distinctive. So, again, how much better it can get is relative but this idea might be better than comparisons to cartridges you will probably never hear. And that's a comparison to a 9XA which is by no means a run-of-the-mill cartridge.

 

I find that better cartridges like the ART20 tell one more decisively which records stand above the rest. All records sound better with a better cartridge, but some really surprise with the extent of the improvement, far above the improvement of other records.

 

I'm a little disappointed to have seen so little interest int the ART20. Or maybe those who do have interest have chosen so far to not express it. But the recent memo from bajaed describes his opinion that the ART20 is "fairly elite". So I might guess that this is the bargain-basement version of a high-end cartridge. But betweeen what you and I have discovered thie ART20 performs well-above its weight class. And I might conclude that valuing this clarity is a rather minority opinion.

 

And Iguess I might add that there is a down side. As much as we might value high-end clarity it comes at a price. Some of the Beatles albums from the sixties end up producing shrill voices that border on the uncomfortable. Not true of the more recent masters but Magical Mystery Tour is one that I have to shift to a different mode of amplification. My main mode is headphones through a tube amplifier, straight-up, no tone controls. So the alternative is to plug my headphones into my integrated amp that does have tone control. Or just listen to it less frequently or skip the songs that are too shrill. So I think it's fair to admit that this high-end cartridge may prove uncomfartable for certain LP's. Theofile has reported the same in a different way. Newer vinyl sounds just spectacular. If I were to guess why, it would be that the master engineers cranked up the treble to deal with the less-responsive cartridges of that age.

 

Well, so much for that expectation, it is actually listed at close to full price at Thakker (they say 6% discount), so €2,520.17 for US buyers, or around $2700 versus $2900 + sales tax in the US, so up to around $500 less depending in which state you live. Maybe it will come down some after they feature it for a while... Audio Technica AT-ART20 MC Tonabnehmer | THAKKER