opinions on the Audio Technica ART AT9 MC

I like this cartridge very much...for Rock, Southern Rock and Blues. In direct comparison to the ART7 I preferred this cart for the music I like, but if I were a Classical Music kinda guy I'm certain I would prefer the ART7.

But after owning these carts and the Denon DL-S1 (amazing cart) I'm back to my modified DL-103's, in fact I just purchased another and am of the opinion that for Rock & Blues a modified DL-103 is best.

Getting back to the ART9, what I liked most about it was the way it pushed vocals out front, the singer often sounded as though they stepped a few feet out in front of the rest of the band. It also has a bit of growl to it...a nice edge to lead guitars and Saxophones. It's not polite in any way, which is a preference for me.

Enjoy!

What he said..., posted on January 20, 2017 at 09:12:48

Shep
Audiophile

Posts: 249
Location: Southeast U.S.
Joined: March 13, 2001

...echoes my brief experience w/the ART 9 to date. I got mine just before Christmas when I saw them on Juki's ebay site for $850 & couldn't resist. I moved from a AT PTG33 which I find in comparison to be slightly warmer than the ART 9. The ART 9 seems pretty much neutral to me, has great clarity and more 'punch' to it's presentation than other cartridges I've used. I'm extremely pleased w/it in my system so for.

The one observations so far (for me, in mine) is that it seems to have higher output than the .5mv spec would indicate. The AT PTG33 was spec'd w/the same output, but I've doubled the value of the gain resistors in my pre since installing the ART 9 and will need to increase gain resistors again to get to the same volume level as the AT PTG33. It's not an issue but maybe something to consider in system matching.

RE: opinions on the Audio Technica ART AT9 MC, posted on January 20, 2017 at 11:23:59

dirtyvinyl

Year and a half ART 9 here.

There is a an extensive thread on Agon

The ART 9 kicks the coils out of 2 other $1K carts used-Sumiko Blackbird and Benz Micro Glider. Both carts have their strengths. What the 9 seems to do is incorporate them in one package.

I hear believable displays of tone at both ends top and bottom.
For quite sometime, I struggled with a compromised setup resulting in sibilance on some albums.After persistent fussing(trial and error) all gone. Spend the time to dial it in. I was impressed with it right out of the box and playing just a few songs.

There may be other carts in this price point that are just as nice, but I'm done.

RE: opinions on the Audio Technica ART AT9 MC, posted on January 20, 2017 at 14:11:43

Mel
Audiophile

Posts: 2993
Location: New York City Area
Joined: February 21, 2001

Wonderful cartridge at a great price. See the extensive thread at Audiogon. And on that thread consider the long list of expensive cartridges it was said to better. A bonus which I think derives from a very large scale manufacturer is that it lines up perfectly out of the box, that is: stylus and cantilever.

I don't believe in matching components to the particular kind of music. As the great HP used to say: if it plays unamplified classical music well it will play everything well.

Vinyl Asylum

opinions on the Audio Technica ART AT9 MC

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