Audio-Technica Releases ART20 Moving-Coil Phono Cartridge

The Japanese manufacturer says, "the AT-ART20 delivers expansive, detailed sound with unmatched imaging and dynamics." The AT-ART20 is said to use advanced manufacturing and polishing techniques that have been developed in the eyeglass industry of Sabae City in Japan's Fukui Prefecture. The cartridge's body features graceful curves with a flowing, organic design that "has never been previously achieved."

The body is made of precision-machined titanium combined with an aluminium cartridge base and an elastomer under cover - a selection of materials that provides significant resonance reduction and lower mass. The cartridge body also features threaded mounting holes to facilitate installation.

Bob Peet, Audio-technica Global Product Manager – Analog Products, told StereoNET:

Our goal in creating the new AT-ART20 was to capture the full expressiveness of the original recording. To that end, the AT-ART20 embodies technologies and know-how that are the result of our 60 years of experience in phono cartridge design and manufacturing.

The AT-ART20 features dual moving coils aligned in an inverted "V" shape, which provides optimal channel separation for superior stereo imaging and wide dynamics. The front yoke of the magnetic circuit is 0.6 mm thicker than previous designs to improve magnetic flux density and increase the output efficiency by more than 15 per cent to 0.55 mV.

The cartridge employs a nude special line-contact stylus with a solid boron cantilever just 0.28 mm in diameter to precisely extract information from the record groove. The boron cantilever is connected to the armature using a stepped-pipe construction, which provides increased rigidity and improved strength with decreased resonance for a purer audio signal with clearer, more detailed sound. The AT-ART20's tip reinforcement plate is made of titanium, which reduces overall mass and improves the cartridge's high-frequency performance, which the company claims impressively "extends to 50,000 Hz".

The Audio-technica AT-ART20 Dual Moving Coil Stereo Cartridge is available now and sells for £1,895.

For more information visit Audio-technica