Meet Audio-Technica's most expensive moving coil phono cartridge ever. The handmade AT-ART1000X is the Japanese company's new, state-of-the-art, next-generation offering. Given its great success at the more affordable end of the cartridge market, the pressure was on to produce a suitably exotic flagship design. This one sells for around one hundred times the price of its entry-level moving magnets, no less.

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The original AT-ART1000 – launched back in 2017 – received a coveted CES 2017 Innovation Honoree Award. A marvel of micro-engineering, with tiny hand-wound micro coils shaped like 'mouse ears' glued perpendicularly to the end of the cantilever above the tip, it wowed the vinyl world. And now this latest iteration features a number of improvements. For example, instead of the original 'mouse ears', its Direct Power System sports improved non-magnetic rectangular air core coils, for enhanced efficiency and extended low-frequency output, the company says.

This premium cartridge uses exotic materials such as titanium in the construction of its body, which is strong but relatively light. Audio-Technica has specified a special line-contact stylus to sit on one end of the 0.26mm diameter solid boron cantilever; the latter is a popular material in the company's high-end moving coils and chosen for its high strength relative to its weight.

As you would expect for a high-end moving coil, the AT-ART1000X comes beautifully packaged – it's as if you're buying a premium Japanese watch. A comprehensive user manual with individual lab measurements is included. The cartridge body has pre-tapped holes for easy installation. A nicely designed stylus protector is fitted, and easy stylus alignment is assured with clear visual access to the stylus and cantilever. The cartridge pins are properly accessible, but Audio-Technica has kept the coil wires covered by the body to minimise the risk of damage. Due to the complexity of the coil assembly, a factory-only rebuild option is recommended. This ensures you can extend ownership with a lower replacement cost than the new price.

Audio-Technica claims a frequency response of 15Hz to 30kHz, with a channel separation of 30dB (1kHz) and a channel balance of 0.5dB (1kHz). It has an output voltage of just 0.2mV – low even by moving coil standards – so requires a good high gain phono input. If you run a voltage-based phono equaliser, you may need to add a step-up transformer. For the purposes of my review, I paired the AT-ART1000X with a Sutherland Transimpedance Phonostage. For much of the audition period, the cartridge was fitted to a Dohmann Audio Helix One MkIII turntable with SupaTrac Blackbird 10.5 tonearm.

The manufacturer says that due to the way the cartridge is made, each individual example is supplied with its own recommended tracking force setting, in the range of 2 to 2.5g. Static Compliance is put at 30x 10-6 cm/dyne, and dynamic compliance is 12x 10-6 cm/dyne (100Hz). Recommended loading is 30 ohms, and its total body weight is 11g.

THE LISTENING

You could call Audio-Technica the phono cartridge equivalent of Toyota because it has models to fit every application and budget – and all offer quality at sensible prices. Then there are its high-end brands, the stablemates Lexus and TRD, which build upon the scale and quality that the parent company is known for. Think of the ART designs as this cartridge company's Lexus line – it's about delivering smoothness, effortlessness and ease. Nothing that I threw at the AT-ART1000X seemed to upset it – and at all times its detail retrieval, speed, dynamics, bass power and extension impressed me greatly.

I've used lesser Audio-Technica cartridges in the past, such as the more affordable AT-OC9XML and AT-ART9XI moving coils – which have a slightly lean quality in the bass. Yet the AT-ART1000X defines itself with a deep, tight, controlled bottom end that is never loose or boomy. At the same time, the midband is clean, detailed and fast, and the top end is smooth without a hint of edginess or sibilance. It's a lovely thing to listen to.

This cartridge performs very well with all kinds of music. For example, Sera Una Noche's Malena was recorded by Todd Garfinkle of M+A Recordings at the Gandara Monasterio in the Argentinian countryside. Pedro Aznar's vocals are complemented by string and woodwind instruments which reveal the fine tonal accuracy of this cartridge. It also showcases its excellent soundstaging, with instruments delivered in a life-sized manner and positioned in the correct place in space. Imaging is so realistic that you feel like you're the only audience member in the church. Likewise, on Crescent by Brendan Perry, the panning synthesiser is exceptionally fast and deep.

Tonally, the AT-ART1000X is highly neutral. Its midband is precise and detailed yet never shouty, as the superbly cut Toy by Yello shows. Fifi Rong's ethereal vocals are outstanding, as they dominate the recorded acoustic. Boris Blank's hi-hat and drum programming can sound too forward with some high-end moving coil cartridges, but they have a pleasing shimmer here. Dead Can Dance's Song of the Stars reveals the speed, delicacy and incision of the Audio-Technica – with the beaded shakers sounding highly authentic. Not many cartridges can resolve this instrument accurately.

If there are any concerns I have about the AT-ART1000X's presentation, they are minor. You could argue that its musical flow isn't up there with the very best moving coils on sale. By this I mean a sense of rhythm and the ability to communicate all the emotion of the musical moment. This cartridge delivers dynamic impact and forensic detail aplenty – and also tracks extremely well. Yet compared to an AirTight PC-1 it doesn't quite have the natural ease, despite being open and honest in its presentational style.

THE VERDICT

Audio-Technica is best known for its excellent low to mid-price phono cartridges, so this statement design has much to live up to. The AT-ART1000X turns out to be superb – particularly in respects like detail retrieval, tracking, dynamics, bass extension and treble sweetness. Yet it is priced close to the world of exotic, rare, hand-built bespoke moving coils – which means competition is stiff. All the same, it offers a taste of the best that vinyl can offer, for considerably less money than some more boutique brands.

Having sampled moving coils costing two or three times its price over the years, the AT-ART1000X is genuinely worthy of comparison. In this cartridge, Audio-Technica engineers have come up with something seriously special. I hope its design innovations will eventually trickle down to the company's more affordable models, to broaden access to both the technology and its musical benefits.

For more information visit Audio Technica