Audio-Technica AT-OC9XSL Dual Moving Coil Cartridge with Special Line Contact Stylus

The AT-OC9XML is basically the VM740ML on steroids. It takes all the great qualities of the 700 series MM carts and multiplies them by 10. More 3 dimensional sound stage, better Highs, Fantastic lows... I highly advise pairing this cart with the AT-LH11L Headshell to get the very best results from the cart. Mine is mounted on a Unitra GSH-630 and it is a fantastic sounding cart right out of the box tracing at 2g with an Anti-Skate setting of about 1 - 1.2. My Phono stage is set to 60dB of Gain and loaded at 200ohm. Coming out of the Wharfedale Super Linton's, this cart will make you smile all day long if you have really good vinyl. Prefer the performance of the Micro-Line stylus over the Shibata or Line Contact any day!!!

It’s probably a little early to be writing a review, but I will give my initial observations on the Audio Technica OC9XEN moving coil. 1:Speed- This cartridge presents Bass with speed, tightness and clarity. It’s not muddy or boomy just well defined. 2:Build quality-The build quality is excellent for a cartridge in this price range. As I stated at the beginning I may be a bit early with my review, having only recently received this. I’m probably at about 8 hours of play time, but it is impressing already. One thing I have noticed is out of the box the high’s are not shrill or overbearing, for a lot of new cartridges MM or MC that tends to be the case. While it’s been a while since owning a moving coil, I’m sure technology has advanced some, but this has reminded me of how smooth, balanced and detailed they can be. I can’t wait for this to get thoroughly broken in. I report back on my thoughts once it has some more play time on it.

The cartridge I replaced was a very average Shure. Wanted to go audiophile. I selected this and the Cambridge MC preamp. Wow! First thing I noticed was a dramatic reduction in surface noise. Thrilled about that. But the openness, clarity and depth was an enormous improvement. The top end sounds absolutely perfect to me right out of the box. No harness whatsoever.This has SO richened my enjoyment of albums. Very happy.Setup note: I used a protractor, but still had distortion in the right channel - especially in high pitched instruments like violins. I began moving the nose of the cartridge toward the spindle and after a couple adjustments all the right channel distortion went away. This must be setup absolutely perfectly.

I've been reading about the evolution of Moving Coil cartridges of late, which universally state that older ones are bright and modern ones have a flatter frequency response. I decided to hear this for myself and (being an audiophile cheapskate) focused on the $500 price range (at least until I upgrade my tonearm) and find something to compliment my 80's DV Karat. I chose the OC9XML over the OC9XSH because of the Shibata's reputation for finickiness in set-up. Note, every time I change something in my system, it always sounds different. I have no idea what is right.The system: AT OC9XML (compared to DV Karat) on a Sumiko MMT on a Thorens TD124 into a Marantz PM-11s3 driving a pair of B&W 803D3's.Indeed, the OC9XML is not as bright as the Karat. The sound stage is not as broad though more defined. One can easily discern instruments or voices located at the same position in the sound stage. The dynamic range is very good, especially the detail is frequency space. The OC9XML is a faster cartridge than the old Karat. The OC9XML has more punch than the old Karat, though not to the extent of the Denon DL103D. For this reason, I rarely play the DL103D. I tested voices with Anne Haslam on Novella and Sandy Denny on Who Knows Where the Time Goes. The OC9XML performs great.The OC9XML proves to be a good match for the Sumiko MMT (and similar arms). I like the flatter frequency response, the more defined sound field, and the faster response. I highly recommend it.

If you're looking for a little more Pizzaz in you current MC Cartridge, this Audio Technica may be your ticket. I have a similar Hana Shibata Low Output cartridge that sounds Warm and Smooth as Velvet, very easy to listen to. But sometimes I look for some "excitement" in my audio that gets my toes tapping. If some excitement is lacking in your audio, this AT Cartridge may add some "Zippity Do-Da".UPDATE: I haven't bought a new A/T Phono Cartridge in over 3 years. This AT Moving Coil cartridge has really "Mellowed" out and is no longer the "Top Heavy" Treble monster it started out to be. It's still very HF capable, but it's No Longer "over the top" with High Frequencies. It's now balanced out and Very Satisfying and is clearly my best sounding A/T Cartridge. My Wife bought this for me late last year, and it's now right up there with our two Hana cartridges.

This is my first Movin Coil purchase.Can't even really put into words how much resolution this cart has. Amazing depth and intrument seperation without an over exaggerated stereo. Vocals sound so realistic and natural it's almost weird. Very neutral frequency response.It's letting me know just how good the pressings and masterings really are in my collection...a joy to listen to any type of music on.

The one thing I noticed with this cartridge, that I always notice on higher fidelity music(I.e mofi gold cd’s and hi res, etc), is that it plays at a much lower volume - more quality vs. quantity, and with that, you most likely will be turning your phono volume higher to achieve the same level of volume than you would with other inputs on your stereo. But the detail and music/sound with this cartridge is just absolutely phenomenal. Much better quality than an entry level cartridge without a doubt. For me, I find this to be more about music quality rather than higher volume levels(loudness). It also depends on what kind of quality records you’re playing as well. I prefer original master recordings and half speed. They sound really nice with this cartridge.