@srafi I just did a direct comparison of the ART9 and the XX2 (mkI not MkII), both on a modded to the max SL1200 with Terminator T3Pro arm. They were pretty close in my opinion, the owners of each preferred their own purchases. The ART9 was clearly a great value at its price.
My quick descriptions: ART9: balanced, more micro details, low key presentation, wider soundstage; great with full symphony, maybe a little polite & boring
XX2: Richer mids, more natural dynamics, organic; good on vocals, rock, lesser recordings, not as many "hifi attributes"
All this was based on only one session of about 3 hours.
If I could get the Dyna for a small increment over the AT, I might go that way. Wish we had a 17D3 to try at the same time. That would have been interesting. There is another thread with comments about all this...In the end I chose something else and thought I could always head this direction later if I get the urge. Cheers,
Spencer
My quick descriptions: ART9: balanced, more micro details, low key presentation, wider soundstage; great with full symphony, maybe a little polite & boring
XX2: Richer mids, more natural dynamics, organic; good on vocals, rock, lesser recordings, not as many "hifi attributes"
All this was based on only one session of about 3 hours.
If I could get the Dyna for a small increment over the AT, I might go that way. Wish we had a 17D3 to try at the same time. That would have been interesting. There is another thread with comments about all this...In the end I chose something else and thought I could always head this direction later if I get the urge. Cheers,
Spencer