Audio-Technica ART 7

I think Dave has it right; the ART7 is actually improved over the ANV50, even though the latter cartridge cost or costs more (depending upon whether either or both are still available).  The introduction of the ANV50 preceded that of the ART7.  Maybe the hypothetical "ART10" will incorporate the technology of the current high-priced ART1000, where the coil is located just above the stylus tip.  I'd love to hear that one, but not own one for $5,000.  We're going to Japan next month, and I will look around for the local price of the ART1000. I doubt it will be cheap enough to justify my taking the plunge.

For what it's worth, I have read the comparisons of the ART7 vs the ART9, where reviewers AND Audio Technica say that the ART7 is not so good for jazz and rock compared to the ART9.  In my experience on my Beveridge system, that's a bunch of hooey. The ART7 is very dynamic.  That is one of its greatest strengths.  The dynamic aspect of its sound is related to what I wrote above about emphasizing the leading edges of transients.  At the beginning (first few hours), this quality was bordering on fatiguing, but at this point the cartridge has gotten a lot smoother, bringing out the instrumental details better than it did at first.

Is it really true that 2juki products are "gray market"?  What does that mean, in this context?  The phrase arose back in the 80s, when certain foreign cars could not be imported into the US, because they did not meet our then new requirements for emissions and etc.  Some privateers imported such cars and converted them within the US to meet spec or as near to it as they could get away with.  The parent companies would not honor the warranty on such cars, because they couldn't vouch for the longevity of components in cars that were modified.  Nothing like that is going on here.

Based upon my own experience with the ART-9 playing classical music I agree with lewm that the distinctions made by AT between the two cartridges and the music they can play well are a lot of PR BS.  Which is not to deny that they may be different.

When comparing the two cartridges a potential user should consider that the fair comparison is between the ART-9 and the ART-7 + an extra stage of amplification whether it might come from a SS stage or an SUT, each of which will intrude with its own colorations.

s it really true that 2juki products are "gray market"? What does that mean, in this context? The phrase arose back in the 80s, when certain foreign cars could not be imported into the US, because they did not meet our then new requirements for emissions and etc. Some privateers imported such cars and converted them within the US to meet spec or as near to it as they could get away with. The parent companies would not honor the warranty on such cars, because they couldn’t vouch for the longevity of components in cars that were modified. Nothing like that is going on here.

As someone into watches, I can tell you that "grey market" applies to all kinds of commodities that are sold otherwise than through authorized dealers. Some manufacturers are very strict about not doing warranty work on their goods unless it is first established that the good was sold through an authorized dealer. Recently (last five years), Omega has really stepped up their efforts to thwart any unauthorized dealers from selling their watches. With watches, it was common for grey market items to be sold with the serial numbers scratched out. The dealers would sell the watches at far below msrp (which is typically 40-60% above the cost to the retailer) but with notice to the customer that the serial number was removed and that any warranty work would be with the dealer and not with the manufacturer. Authorized dealers are told to sell at MSRP and that their dealership will be revoked if they sell out of their territory or at less than MSRP. I have first-hand experience that ARC and DeVore do the very same thing.

So 2juki is not an authorized AT dealer, or so I gather.  Where then would he source his product?  Does he obliterate serial numbers?

The source of gray market products is easy.  As lewm has written, " I bought it in Tokyo. There is no advantage to buying in Tokyo; price was about the same as eBay. 2juki has a good reputation; I would not hesitate to buy from him."

So a dealer in Japan gets them at a low wholesale price and sells at low retail price.  The US distributor buys at the low wholesale price and marks it up considerably and sells at a high retail price.  He can get the high retail price because he provides service of various kinds and some people feel that is of value.

The Japanese retailer can also buy extra quantity at a low wholesale price and sell it through his gray market distributor friend to US consumers, like through ebay, for a low retail price.  Simple.