Pani ... New ART-9 up and running ...

I posted comparisons vs. Dynavector XX2, but it wasn't mkII, and I didn't say that the ART9 came out ahead.
It came out ahead on value for price if that 2x factor or ~$1000 is important in your decision. 
I found both carts excellent and could live with either, but I found the ART9 a tad polite and lacking warmth; not on an absolute basis, but relative to the XX2. The ART9 was very neutral in tonality, detailed and had very clearly defined images in space. 
The XX2 had a more engaging way with vocals and more 3D body to the instruments, excelling with instruments like cello and acoustic guitar, but a smaller soundstage overall, with slightly less ability to untangle each instrument from the next in a large orchestra. 
My takeaway was that listeners primarily listening to rock might prefer XX2, and those into classical might prefer the ART9.
Granted all this was based on just a few hours listening, but we are all hungry for viewpoints so I didn't hesitate to share mine in case it might help somebody. I recall that the night of the comparison I felt that I'd wished that the next lower priced Dynavectors were on hand to compare to ART9 at equal price points. 

To go WAY OUT ON AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION LIMB for sh*ts and giggles here if I had to line up other carts I've lived with relative to these on a sonic continuum it would be like this:

VDH Colibri XGP <> ZYX Airy3 <> ART9 <> Signet MK111E <> XX2 Allnic Verito <>Denon103R

The left side would be described by a random room of audio buffs as detailed/delicate/airy/bright/trebley/fast/neutral/hifi/transparent/tape-like, while the same group of fans & detractors might call the right side smooth/relaxed/diffuse/rocking/warm/smeared/musical/concert-like. YMMV.
Hey if I keep going this way, maybe I can turn a whole review into just a thumbs up or thumbs down :-) Cheers,
Spencer

I don't have as much experience as some of you here. I now have a new SL1200GAE and about 25 hours on the ART9. I am loving this combo. Running my Parasound JC3+ at 100 Ohms. I can only compare to my last set up which includes VPI Scout 1.1 and Soundsmith Zepher. The SL1200GAE with the ART9 is in another league entirely and the ART9 has some more break-in to go.

Having lived with the 9 for over a year now, I'm really wondering at what cost will a worthwhile improvement come at? I've used several Dynavectors, and do like them, XX-2 mk11 and 17d2 which I still have bought new in 1991, and it still sounds fine. Art9 is in a totally different TT though, a rebuild of a Sony TTS 8000 with SAEC 506/30. This combination with very careful set up is addictive. I recently re-wired the 506 with silk covered silver which brought more out of the art9 than before, depth, definition space and bass /hf extremes are extended but very natural, nothing is fighting for attention more than other area's, just more like the music flows better. So, how much more does the ART1000 give over the ART9? Or, a Dynavector XV-1t??

"Having lived with the 9 for over a year now, I'm really wondering at what cost will a worthwhile improvement come at?"

ps68- I mentioned in another thread at some point, we should see a MKII model and perhaps there is something to fill in the considerable gap  with the 9&1000?

Following what's been done with other other models, kinda expected?
Been playing mine for 1.5 years, if a revised model came out, I would buy one.

Having lived with the 9 for over a year now, I'm really wondering at what cost will a worthwhile improvement come at?

That is the whole point. The ART9 is not the ultimate cart but it is at a level where you are surfing in the upper echelons of what is possible from an MC cart. A worthwhile improvement from here means getting the top cartridges from other serious brands like Ortofon (A90 and above), Lyra (Etna and above), Dynavector (Xv1s and above), AT ART-1000, Transfiguration Proteus etc. Even among them you may have to choose carefully. So, when you are ready to get into that ultra-fi category it would make sense to look beyond ART9