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Audio Technica AT7V, Signet?

Hi there,
I do look around for a new system as well. I was very interested in a MP-11 or MP-20 from Nagaoka. But as me the technician from my local repair shop told it could be, that the arm from my PS-58 might be to heavy. As alternative he showed me the AT7V. As nobody can give me the right weight on this arm (in the Manual it is not writen either) how can I find out?

Regards

:music:
 
I just mounted a new one of these AT7V's am givin er' a spin as I write this...hellava bargain, that's for sure. I picked mine up off of Ebay for a song (new)..I dig it. I was snap to mount and align, and sounds mighty fine right out of the box.
 
Well there's definately a difference between the 'motor' of the AT7V and the AT440ML, the AT7V having a warmer or fuller midrange than the 440. It isn't entirely due to the innards though. The stylus assemblies are interchangeable between them and there seems to be more brightness coming from the 7V body with 440ML stylus than the other way around. There are big compliance differences too so the choice of tonearms for comparison matters.
 
I too am a new AT7V convert, running it on a Mitsubishi LT-20. After just a few hours playing it's sounding mighty fine!
 
The compliance of the 7V is 7cu @100Hz. I believe that's about as low as it gets for an AT cart. Only the 95E is a bit lower at 6cu. AFAIK

Apparently the 7V is a reborn Signet TK-7Ea. I think the 7V has lower compliance. The 440/120 generator is different. It seems much more dependent on loading, including capacitance. Total capacitance (440) should be kept around 200pF or less. The aluminum cantilever with a ML stylus seems brighter, regardless of compliance. Substitute a ML/boron or beryllium on a 440/120 body, and it sounds much more controlled and less bright. I was loading a 440 @ 32K. When I switched to a beryllium/ML, it was only a tiny bit bright at 47K, sounding lively instead of way too bright.

It seems that AT is voicing the newer carts more mellow, and they're a bigger bargain than ever. The 7V should mate well with med/heavy arms, within limits. The Jelco 750D has 20g eff mass, stock. That's the same as a Sony PUA-7. IMO this cart is like a gift from the cartridge gods for those with these kinds of arms. Just watch your hrs with the stylus. The elliptical has a small vertical contact patch. AT used to advise checking an elliptical after 300 hrs. That doesn't mean it's worn out at 300 hrs, this included worst case conditions like dirty records etc. But total life is probably less than 1000 hrs.

If I repeated some info here, excuse me. I didn't read through the entire thread.
neo
 
Hi.

I would want to know if the AT7V stylus is suitable for the AT-440ML body.

In fact, I have an AT-440 but it is not a really good match with my Jelco 750D. So I would want to try a less compliant stylus.
 
I know it fits, it's stored with the 7V stylus on the 440 body, I don't have any higher mass arms any longer. The 440 stylus is mounted on the 7V body in my spare headshell. Works great on a low mass arm that way.
 
could you please elaborate? was told 140lc on the 7v was not successful as the sense of rhythm was lost... perhaps the better cantilever on the 155 fares better in that regard?
 
not interested in other bodies. would you say the 155lc is an improvement over the stock stylus of the 7v? or more of a lateral step?

i'm afraid that a beryllium cantilever with line contact tip might sacrifice musicality for more resolution? would you say that is the case or is it just more of what the 7v elliptical has going on?
 
LP-THORN said:
Hi Jim,I have had a brief check regarding matching of the AT7V on the Jelco SA750D.It seems that the AT7V is a near perfect match for the Jelco,having a resonance fr. of 8-9 Hz lateral,and 10Hz vertical!!!!!! using an ortofon test record.That indicates a total effective mass(cartridge,screws and arm)of more than 26gr,taking into account the mass and compliance of the AT7V.So,the effective mass of the Jelco seems to be more than 18gr,possibly 19gr according to an ortofon chart.To find the eff.mass of the Jelco exactly,I have to make some calculations,but it will eventually be between 18-20 gr.This,including its +/- 13gr magnesium headshell.That is good,as by using a lighter headshell,one can tune almost any cartridge mass/compliance.
A bit too early to comment on the sound of the AT7V,as I have listened to it for only an hour or so.I will leave it on the Jelco for 30-40 hours and let you know of my findings,compared to my other MM cartridges.
Click to expand...

Hi.

At the moment I am listening to the AT7V mounted on my Jelco 750D. It sounds awesome, a very good match. I find the sound a little warmer and the tremble more fine and better integrated than what I remember of the AT-440ML on a Rega RB-251. In a nutchell, the sound of the AT7V is well balanced, with deep soundstage. At the price, a bargain IMHO.
 
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Hi Guys, great thread with an excellent hook: Is the AT7V indeed a resurrected Signet TK7? The latter of which is a cartridge of lore. After reading the thread though it is neither confirmed nor denied. Since the TK3, TK5 and TK7 are all a similar sonic family with increasing levels of refinement as the model number increases might anyone be able to do a comparison of one of these three cartridges and the AT7V?
 
About six years ago on AT's japan website there was an AT9V stylus available, possibly a linear contact model, alas it is no longer listed.
 
I am happy with my AT-7V with the following caveats:

1) Check stylus alignment. I had 2 samples with canted styli. Fortunately, a gentle nudge will realign the stylus.

2) Use a quality rigid headshell. In my system that made a big difference over a thin stamped headshell.

3) If it sounds a little bright, try loading it at 35 kOhms.
 
neobop said:
The compliance of the 7V is 7cu @100Hz. I believe that's about as low as it gets for an AT cart. Only the 95E is a bit lower at 6cu. AFAIK

Apparently the 7V is a reborn Signet TK-7Ea. I think the 7V has lower compliance. The 440/120 generator is different. It seems much more dependent on loading, including capacitance. Total capacitance (440) should be kept around 200pF or less. The aluminum cantilever with a ML stylus seems brighter, regardless of compliance. Substitute a ML/boron or beryllium on a 440/120 body, and it sounds much more controlled and less bright. I was loading a 440 @ 32K. When I switched to a beryllium/ML, it was only a tiny bit bright at 47K, sounding lively instead of way too bright.

It seems that AT is voicing the newer carts more mellow, and they're a bigger bargain than ever. The 7V should mate well with med/heavy arms, within limits. The Jelco 750D has 20g eff mass, stock. That's the same as a Sony PUA-7. IMO this cart is like a gift from the cartridge gods for those with these kinds of arms. Just watch your hrs with the stylus. The elliptical has a small vertical contact patch. AT used to advise checking an elliptical after 300 hrs. That doesn't mean it's worn out at 300 hrs, this included worst case conditions like dirty records etc. But total life is probably less than 1000 hrs.

If I repeated some info here, excuse me. I didn't read through the entire thread.
neo
Click to expand...

Reviving this thread in hopes of a definitive answer to the question: is the AT7V actually a resurrected Signet TK7Ea cartridge (or the same generator)? There has been some related discussion in the recent AT120E vs AT130E thread and thought that discussion belongs more appropriately in this thread.

I'll admit to being hopeful that it is (anyone seen a TK7Ea or TK7LCa for sale lately?) but I'm more interested in nailing this discussion down - it's been ongoing for more than three years now.

Lini believes the AT7V generator is closer to the Signet TK1Ea or TK3Ea (would AT use OCC wiring in a bottom of the line cart?) than the TK7Ea but it doesn't make sense to me that AT would put a stylus assembly equivalent to their next to the TOTL (TK5Ea) on a bottom of the line cartridge body. The fact that the TK7Ea and AT7V bodies have an identical external appearance combined with the '7' designation would be more consistent with notion that AT used a TK5Ea-equivalent stylus assembly on a TK7Ea body.

To date we haven't seen any specs for the TK7Ea or TK7LCa so we don't yet know for sure if they are (or are not) a match with the AT7V. There may be absolutely no relationship between the two and it might only be a coincidence that there's an identical looking body that accepts the same stylus assemblies and has the same number. Maybe it doesn't matter if they are the same but it would be nice to know for sure.

Jack
 
I don't have the spec sheet for any of these carts. The 7V is current so they are known. What I've been told by someone who owns and is familiar with, many of these Signets, is the TK7LCa is identical, if not very similar to the TK3Ea, the lower inductance model, and the 7V is similar to both. When LpGear first started carrying the 7V they had a description that said (in different words), it was a resurrected Signet TK7LCa. They've since revised that description and took that part off.

Maybe someone has more specific information, I don't. As far as the wire type, that's hard to say too. Signet was a high end line and more extensive use of OCC wire is a distinct possibility. When I sold Signet in the mid '80s, it was in a high end shop. I wasn't even aware of some of the budget models that carried the Signet name, although we did have the TK1 through 7. It could be that all those with similar body/stylus types and the TK9 and 10, had OCC wire, but this is conjecture.
neo
 
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