Vinyl Asylum

Rich and full? Really? The AT OC9ML/II is the brightest, most sterile, uninvolving

74.214.45.198

Opus 33 1/3

In Reply to: RE: Nude AT-OC9 posted by BPoletti on October 29, 2014 at 18:17:52

cartridge I've ever suffered with. Could not sell it fast enough.

Opus 33 1/3

Follow Ups:

Loading helps - reuben 06:11:31 10/30/14 (1)
The secondary of my Cinemag is loaded with 10K in parallel with 47K. The brightness is gone and the sound is clean. So clean that I understand what you mean when you say the sound is sterile, but I consider that a strength, not a weakness. The cartridge gets out of the way and is true to the source.

-reub
- Tried numerous loading options with the Stealth. I'm sorry, but - Opus 33 1/3 06:36:28 10/30/14 (0)
  sterile is just that, sterile. No flesh, no richness. Just uninvolving.
  
  I tried the cartridge for nearly 6 months, then sold it for whatever I could get. Good riddance.
  
  Opus 33 1/3
I had a similar experience with mine - 1973shovel 04:02:54 10/30/14 (0)
I didn't find it overly bright, but certainly sterile and uninvolving.

Then, some years ago I discovered the Vinyl Asylum, thereby the Denon 103R and Dynavector DV20X2. I've been far more musically satisfied with these two cartridges than I was with the OC9ML/II.

I tried it on two different tables, (Maplenoll and Roksan / Rega 900) along with a several SS and tube phono preamps. Additionaly, I was using classic tube amps, some bordering on warm and soft. Nothing I'd classify as dry or hard. I didn't hate the OC9, but eventually found I preferred warmer sounding cartridges.

2�
It's a picky cartridge... - Bry 20:03:42 10/29/14 (5)
The OC9MLII changed character from one install to the next more than any cartridge I've owned. I can see how some would come away with the impression of it being overly lean but in the right system it's got good weight and dynamics.

Edits: 10/29/14
- I tried to like the OC9. I really did. Had it mounted on the JMW-9 arm - Opus 33 1/3 03:43:25 10/30/14 (3)
  of my Scout. Where the Dyna 20XL sang beautifully, the OC9 just sat there, screaming harshly. It definitely shared a "house sound" with it's AT MM brothers, the 440ML and 440ML/a. I hated them, too.
  
  Surprisingly, the modest AT-120E/T I found to be a very warm, involving MM.
  
  Opus 33 1/3
  - No point in trying to like audio gear - Bry 07:52:21 10/30/14 (2)
    There's way too much of it out there to spend a long time fiddling with something that isn't doing the job.
    
    Of course, sometimes after I get rid of something I wish I could have it back to try in a new situation, but then my house would look like a hi-fi pawn shop.
    - RE: No point in trying to like audio gear - Crazy Dave 12:47:47 10/30/14 (0)
      I agree! Some people are more sensitive to certain kinds of distortion that others. I could like with the AT MM sound, given the price, in the right setup, but prefer my Shure M97xe in my Grace 707. There are inmates her who can't stand the Shure. The only AT MC cartridges that I have worked with were Signet cartridges in the 80's, so it does not apply to the current crop.
      
      "but then my house would look like a hi-fi pawn shop." Oops, my sound room kind of does!
      
      Dave
    - Gotcha./nt\ - Opus 33 1/3 07:53:13 10/30/14 (0)
      Opus 33 1/3
- RE: It's a picky cartridge... - BPoletti 21:06:12 10/29/14 (0)
  Interesting. I think the OC9's performance is also dependent on using a very good phono stage. I've had the OC9s on several tables and all have sounded quite good using Herron Audio phono stages. That's all I've used for the last 15+ years.
RE: Rich and full? Really? The AT OC9ML/II is the brightest, most sterile, uninvolving - BPoletti 19:03:24 10/29/14 (3)
Probably wasn't the cartridge. Probably something downstream in your system. What is the weak link in your chain?
- The AT. At the time my system used a Rogue Stealth phono preamp, - Opus 33 1/3 03:38:40 10/30/14 (2)
  A Rogue Cronus tube integrated amplifier and Magnepan speakers. None of those could remotely be called lean or bright. Actually, the opposite.
  And several folks whose ears I trust agree with my assessment. Ask Mosin or even John Elison.
  The AT does all the "audiophile tricks" very well. What it fails miserably at is conveying the music.
  
  Opus 33 1/3
  
  Edits: 10/30/14
  - RE: The AT. At the time my system used a Rogue Stealth phono preamp, - John Elison 20:13:00 10/30/14 (1)
    Although I tend to agree with you, I don't think I hate the OC9ML/II as much as you. I have many recordings made with that cartridge but I prefer to listen to recordings made with other cartridges. The OC9ML/II is my least favorite, but I don't think it sounds quite as horrible as you indicate. I actually played mine for a couple of years before replacing it with a DL-103R.
    
    I do own an Audio Technica cartridge that I really like, the AT33EV. It has a totally different character than either the OC9ML/II or the AT33PTG, both of which sounded very similar to each other in my system.
    
    Best regards,
    John Elison
    - The AT-33EV remains on my short list. /nt\ - Opus 33 1/3 02:39:46 10/31/14 (0)
      Opus 33 1/3

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