You will be pleasantly surprised. Steve cleaned and adjusted both my AT ART 9's and they both came back looking and playing like new! And he will send you a video of your cart playing on his VPI / B&W rig. I saved mine! Cheers, Doug
Looking forward to hearing what it sounds like with everything as it should be. I love the way this cart sounds with my VPI Scout so I'm hoping I'm in for a big surprise. Regards, Sam
I wonder how long the ART9 will be gone? I'm trying to decide whether or not to mount my Denon DL-301 MKII spare cart. I bought a demo Fozgometer a while back and I'm kinda itching to try it out.
It's funny that you say this because I have a Denon DL -301 II as a spare besides my AT ART 9's Cheers, Doug
Received my XI order today. Put a couple hours on it, first impressions are good. Started out a little coarse but was headed in the direction of refinement pretty quickly. I have an original 9 as well, so it will be interesting to compare once I get over 20 hours on the XI. So far I cant tell if I prefer 59dB or 63dB (my 2 best options according to KAB calc), but I imagine the choice will become more clear as the stylus runs in. Mainly using a VinylNirvana Thorens 125 with Jelco arm.
Another thumbs up for Steve at VAS. Had a kitten mishap with my Art9XI (my fault for not getting the dust cover down fast enough) and Steve was able to straighten things out and fix the suspension. I got the sense he was busy, but he was very responsive. I was in no hurry and stressed he shouldn’t make it a priority - it came back at about half the cost I expected.
I wish AT made the ART9XA with a special line contact tip instead Shibata. I prefer the former. They are quieter. Because of that I got the OC9XSL. It's just about broken in with 54 LP's played and sounds great. AT really needs to factory seal their boxes though. It was lame that I had to wonder if I got a return when I bought the OC9.
But they have the ART9XI with the SLC tip, same as the old ART9. I agree that it does seem an odd move to use the Shibata on the XA, though the ART7 (predecessor to ART9XA) is still in production with the SLC tip for a couple hundred $ less. Personally, the ART9XA would be more attractive to me with the ML tip.
Alright folks after WEEKS of reading through numerous threads and reviews, I’m throwing in. Got a new ART9XI coming my way. recently bought a new phono preamp that apparently does MC really well, but have never even heard what makes MC special. @avanti1960 has been a big proponent of the cart, and I see him around other threads with similar musical interests as myself (and equipment, with that SL1200G… if I could find one, I’d have one too but settling with my mk2 for now)! I have the KAB dampener. Guessing I should keep that on. 100ohms and 60db gain?
I ran mine 56db until broken in and then 66 db FYI. It can take more gain once broken in and sounding smoother. congrats and i hope you like it!
100 to 200. 200 is best for me. 60db should be fine, again can take more gain if you have it once broken in congrats and enjoy !
upscale audio will give you a discount e-mail coupon if you buy something (tubes, interconnects) or if you are a repeat customer. I got 12% off my last cartridge buy. also music direct has often given ~ 10% or so by asking. talk to john
The reason I didn't go with the XI is the gain was too much for my phono stage. I was able to just get by with the OC9XSL although even it could be hot at times. I've since had custom phono boards (Ryan Sound Labs) made for my Naim pre-amp with 53db gain and that seems about perfect for the OC9XSL in my set-up.
The XI is the one with the .5mv, the XA is the low output .2mv! I think the OC9 outputs the same right?
I just bought mine on Amazon because of the major return policy. No discount like other retailers, but also no 30% restocking fee if I find the cart not jiving with my system! I believe they are an authorized retailer, it was directly from Amazon not some third party reseller, so should be fine with warranty too.
cool idea, never thought of using AMZ for a cartridge. wish i would have bought my semi-recently sold soundsmith there !
Yes, absolutely, I have bought a few cartridges from Amazon before and never had a problem. Actually, I just received a Jico stylus replacement for my Shure M97xe. Let us know how you like your new ART9XI when you get it.
I went ahead and mounted the Denon tonight on my Scout. Is it a great spare cart? Yes. Does it have the detail retrieval and the refinement of the ART9? No, not even close, not even in the same league. I'm glad I went ahead and mounted it as I really got a wake up call. The ART9 is worth every penny.
I'm glad to read this slovell. I always wondered about the 301 but I was too lazy to mount it! Cheers, Doug
