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Short Life For ART7? (longish rant)

Posted by Meatface (A) on November 25, 2016 at 12:29:20

I noticed some distortions a couple of weeks ago while listening to the recent mono Beatles Rubber Soul without summing the channels. So, I put on some headphones to investigate further. It was a mess. Sibilants smeared from side to side and there was a crunchy layer anytime things got a little dense. It sounded like a Grado Prestige at the end of a Todd Rundgren record. Since the last three carts I've had were AT Line Contact/Microline styli, I'm not used hearing such things, unless the record is damaged. I checked a few other records I know to be cut hot, and the same problem is there.

I checked adjustments, leveling, etc... everything was dead on. The adjustments are solid and easily repeatable on my tonearm. I played with VTA, VTF & overhang. I could dull some of the S's by increasing VTF and lowering the VTA, but the crunchiness was still there and of course, much of the magic was gone too. The strange thing is, if it's dialed in correctly, it sounds gorgeous, as long as the tracking isn't challenging.

The only other cart I have here is a very worn AT440mla that has been laying unboxed on a shelf for years. It probably had nearly 2000 hours on it. I slapped it on, without fussing at all with adjustments, It tracked perfectly! No distortion, no indication that I was listening to a mechanical device at all! It's not as fun to listen to and I don't want to damage my records with the old stylus.

I've had the ART7 for 19 months. I spin 2 to 3 sides almost every evening. That should still have me well under 1000 hours. The amount I spent for it is a bit of a splurge for me these days. I truly love the way this thing sounds, when it's working properly. I've had many very nice cartridges in my life, and this baby could sing!

Thanks for letting me rant. I guess I'm not really looking for an answer. Should I send it to Soundsmith?
I could buy another one, but not if I have to replace it so soon.

Mark

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