interesting. listening with a good set of phones you can see why the ART9 was such a superstar - superb bass and zero fatigue although this recording makes it sound muddier than mine ever was. the ART9XI as a direct replacement sounded very good but more open and neutral than the '9. I hope AT didn't screw the pooch.
My choice for buying the ART7 was that the coil inductance is 8μH where about every other AT is about 22~25μH. This will keep the "coloration" of the cartridge by design lower then all iron-core coils, which is most all available cartridges. The succesor of the ART7, the ART9XA does have a coil inductance of 2,5μH. This should make the '9XA even more neutral. I do must say that I gave the ART7 a lot of burn-in time before the lower end was as I wanted it. I came from a AT33PTG/II btw. For the record, a MM-cartridge does have a coil inductance in the range of about 200~600mH.
Ah, thanks Davey. I corrected it in my post. I knew this too, but I just pasted the μH just too much.
Interesting post, I had heard this about inductance value relating to coloration but it seems not all cartridges publish this spec. My Ortofon MC is very low in coloration audibly but I can't find the inductance spec but I assume it is high based on .5mv output voltage. On the other side are Soundsmith cartridges, a MIMC "fixed coil" moving iron cartridge is spec'd at 2.5mH (25oo uH !) per channel. This must explain why they typically sound so rich.
ART9XI now available on Ebay FYI. Too bad about the cost (for now) which is likely what it's value is. We just lost the supreme giant killing value of the previous model until the unit is released domestically and the price comes down (hopefully). audio-technica AT-ART9XI MC Cartridge Original Turntable Record Audio Parts NEW | eBay
It's listed at amazon from Audio-Technica at $1290, though also listed as temporarily not available. I suspect that will be the US retail price, so when available, you should be able to get it direct from AT for 15% less, or about $1100. Still high, but it probably won't come down for awhile.
Hopefully that comes down to about $1200 or less. I probably have 2-3 years left on mine. BIIN it still getting better.
Saw an old ART9 on The Bay for $999 shipped Brand-new Audio-Technica MC Cartridge AT-ART9 from Japan 4961310122713 | eBay
wow amazon is selling them direct. the cutaway section of the coil assembly is telling, how precise the coils and cantilever are positioned. anther thing about the ART9 is that the sound was always dead center- few cartridges I have owned had a consistent dead center balanced image. even my current ortofon is off a little despite best attempts at adjustments
My finding also, IME it is the ONLY cartridge that I have ever had that has perfect channel balance. So nice
I see the new AT-ART9XA listed for $1000 from one of the dealers on USAM, so should be readily available soon. Not sure why they are taking so long in the rollout, maybe COVID-19 related delays.
Hi, sorry to derail the thread but this not worth starting a new one. It's just a thought at the moment but I am toying with the idea of trying a Benz MC may be a low output ACE or a woody, don't ask me which. Since you seem to have one do you have any comment as to the sonic differences vs the AT's Thanks!
I kinda compared them on the previous page, not directly on the same table, but the tables were pretty close together The Benz Micro cartridges have always just had a little more natural sound to me, just make me more comfortable, like getting rid of feedback loops in amps, moving away from electrolytic caps, moving to low diffraction speakers, and low torque/low feedback turntables, along those lines... but that said, I've come to appreciate the AT moving coils a lot over the last couple years, I think the AT-OC9XML is an outstanding cart at the price. Audio Technica ART9 MC Cartridge- The Real Deal?
Sorry I've read this thread ages ago when it started but I've didn't followed to know my reply was on the previous page Put in other words, do I get this right and you think the Benz is more musical while the AT perhaps more rough sounding? EDIT: I don't know why the quote didn't work right but I think is still clear, is it?
I know but sometimes our descriptions leave the doors open to interpretation and I wanted to make sure I understand what you mean.
This is tempting. I'm going to wait to hear some comments on how this compares to the ART9, which I have, but is getting a bit worn. Anyone know what AT's policy on cartridge trade-ins in the US is?
There is nothing "rough" sounding about an ART9. You might prefer the Benz or you might prefer the ART9 characteristics. Make no mistake, the ART9 is an outstanding cartridge by any standard.
I don't think we were talking about the ART9, at least I wasn't talking about it in the post and brief comparison I linked since I don't have one.
