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Audio Technica AT-OC9ML/II - any fans or users here ?

ripblade said:
Boron is not bright, so you might call it polite, even warm. By contrast, sapphire and ruby rods sound almost shrill, and alloy pipes can sound shouty. Sometimes these attributes add to the experience, rather than detract.
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What do you base this on?
 
So you had the same cartridge with same cut with different cantilever materials?. Probably family of Jico styli for a Shure or something then.... Jico SAS is the only only I know of with options for so many different materials for the same cartridge
 
Sleiven said:
So you had the same cartridge with same cut with different cantilever materials?. Probably family of Jico styli for a Shure or something then.... Jico SAS is the only only I know of with options for so many different materials for the same cartridge
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Shure VMR with OEM Be foil and Jico SAS; Technics 205c with OEM tapered Be and Jico SAS; AT 150ANV with an assortment of needles that fit, including the ATN150ANV, ATN150MLX, ATN540ML and others with different profiles; Grace F9 with OEM Blue stylus, SS Ruby CL and assorted aftermarkets that fit; and a couple of wood bodied Denon DL103, one with the original needle and one fitted with a SS Ruby CL. In every case I prefer the pipes to the rods, but of the latter, the boron rod is easiest to listen to over long sessions.

My preference posted earlier is just a summary overview, subject to personal biases developed over the years listening to many different cartridges at various price points. Other than the specific examples listed above, stylus type varies but IMO is an influence secondary to the sound of the cantilever and body materials, irrespective of generator type.
 
lini said:
Is ist?

Then check this out:
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But that is not 'is'.
That is 'was'.

Anyway, without actual published verifyable measurements, or better yet blind listening tests (as I have no idea what bright, polite or warm would measure) the statements made hold little value as it's currently something some guy says somewhere on the internet.
 
Manufacturers chose different materials just for the fun of it. Boron rods are on many top line cartridge models because basic black looks pretty. The fact that it is the only part between the stylus and generator has nothing to do with it.

There's another opinion from some guy on the web lol.
 
” For fun”??? Not really
They use the cheapest material they can get away with , and charge a premium for anything better. Aluminium is cost effective and not bad.

I think you should take a look at Obray cantilever pages.
Boron is clearly the superior material with high stiffness/velocity and low mass. It beats Safire and Ruby any day, and aluminium too .. but aluminium can be closer to boron than you think since it is a hollow tube while boron is solid. On paper diamond is the best. But all material have a weak link and that is the fastening/connection to the coil cross (MC) . So maybe a poorer cantilever may have a better connection.. and win overall..
 
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mr_petit said:
But that is not 'is'.
That is 'was'.

Anyway, without actual published verifyable measurements, or better yet blind listening tests (as I have no idea what bright, polite or warm would measure) the statements made hold little value as it's currently something some guy says somewhere on the internet.
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The ruby/sapphire JICO cantilever variants had higher HF peak vs. boron, same with the zirconium cantilever I have. Both sounded brighter than the boron. The ruby I had was too tight in the body and was stuck in the body. Had to use a pair of tweezers to get it out, so that stylus is smoke now. Have not tried any JICO wooden cantilevers, and will never try either. Sticking to boron. That said, JICO does have variation in compliance, probably by different tension wire setting. This also affects damping of the HF region, and all my boron copies do look different in the 10-20 kHz region.
 
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