Played a few sides last night and had no issue with output/noise etc but I will say that my phonostage has quite high gain so even though it's fine here, it may not be if you have low gain.
I am awaiting a loaner phonostage to check this out. It's just a bog standard, off the shelf type but has average gain etc. Nothing special, so to speak.
I'll do a writeup on a separate thread once ive done all the listening and experimenting.
Location: Northamptonshire
Posts: 185
I'm Angus.
Slight correction, OC9/MLII is much better than OC(/MLIII in my view.
Angus
Quick update,
Played Lynard Skynard, Guns n Roses, Carlos Santana and Metallica this morning and it shows no obvious signs of not being up to the task. Lots of dynamics and aggression where needed and delicacy at other times. Not sure what the marketing men at AT were thinking when they said it was better suited to classical and Jazz, not the case here.
I suspect it was no more than a marketing ploy to appeal to the huge amount of classical and jazz vinyl collectors in the Far East ...
Sonore Rendu - Cambridge Audio Edge W - Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
Location: Northamptonshire
Posts: 185
I'm Angus.
The OC9/MLII has in my view a better stylus profile and cantilever than the MLIII. In fact I see that AT have renamed the later version to OC9/III, no ML. Don't know when that change occurred but the current III has a line contact stylus with a smaller major radius (40 um compared to 75 um). I think that there was a version called MLIII but don't quote me on it!
Angus
ps I see that the HiFi World review called it an OC9/MLIII but the accompanying picture shows a cartridge with OC9/III clearly written on the side.
Art 9 received today and installed in SME IV. Right from the start the soundstage is more forward than the Zyx and it is more dynamic which is what I was after. I am looking forward to the improvements during the breaking in period but am already impressed.