You could be #2 with Lab grown Sapphire….
A Story about a Defective Signature Platinum
Last week I was listening to music at a healthy volume while sitting at my computer. I have an auto lifter (Little Fwend) and after the arm lifted I noticed a static noise with occasional popping coming out of the left channel about 40 dB down. At first I thought it was a bad tube but it disappeared when I turned the volume down. It is in front of the Preamp. None of the other sources had the noise. Swapping tonearm cables did not seem to change the sound but then I noticed that the sound was also in the right channel just farther down. Disconnecting the tonearm stopped the noise. I change over to an MC Diamond, no noise. Same with the Atlas, no noise. Swapped back to the MSL, noise is back.
The cartridge is exactly one year old but it rotates with two other cartridges and might have 75 hours on it. I called the dealer who told me to contact MoFi distribution, the US agent for MSL. Turns out the cartridge only has a 90 day warranty and I was told I would have to send it in for a rebuild for $6000! Can't they just fix the problem for maybe $500, No. Can't I just send it in for evaluation? The stylus and cantilever are brand new. No, a rebuild is the only option and you have to do that through the dealer, click! Most very expensive cartridges have a 2 year warranty on them not to mention that most companies would cover such a defect even off warranty as in the absence of physical damage it is obviously a manufacturing defect, a bad solder joint or maybe just two wires rubbing together. This is very disappointing and as far as customer service goes Home Depot is better than MoFi, Sears is better than MoFi! MoFI is right up there with Anthem Blue Cross! The service rep could have offered to look into it. Maybe communicate with MSL and get their opinion. I am sure if MSL knew about it they would gladly fix it and actually be embarrassed. The Japanese are like that. There is no way I can find to get directly in touch with MSL.
$6000 is not an option. I am not going to throw good money after bad. I am also not going to off a defective cartridge on someone else. I am going to take the cartridge apart and reflow the solder joints and make sure the wires are separated. If that doesn't fix it, it goes in the trash.
Mistakes and defects happen, it is what you do about them that counts. MoFi failed dismally in this regard. MSL makes a fine cartridge but I would only get another one if they changed agents and increased their warranty. Obviously, I will avoid buying any other MoFi products myself and warn others about their customer service. I have no further use for the dealer who did nothing to help. I have had superb service from Musical Surroundings, Soundsmith, B+H Photo and the Cable Company. All handled issues with ease. Has anyone else had trouble with MoFi? What companies have provided you with excellent service when the sh-t hit the fan?
Showing 6 responses by tomic601
@mijostyn Well ya flunked Engineering… You are thinking the Balsa serves two functions, not 3. A skill you might find VERY helpful in your endeavor is forward and backward pass analysis on FUNCTIONAL attributes of an Enginerred good. Of course if you do a tolerance stack analysis, you might decise the angstrom level TT drive isn’t necessary… ( it’s still cool ). Hint ; the orientation of the Balsa actually is important….. Precision of word use matters… a careful read of my prior note says primary bond… @pindac has a significant grip on that…. the 787 is ancient, like me. The -10 variant…not so much…. i’m sure it incorporates new tech in composites as deemed appropriate…. If an 18 year old neighbor can listen to Zeppelin, i can partake of the Drifters…. get off my lawn… |
Hilarious….. I think i was pretty clear with the mention of balsa was to spur interest.. I was entrusted with steering that organization precisely because i didn’t know…. I made it a cornerstone of my management philosophy to attempt the practice of Humble Inquiry ( thank you Dr Schein )….RIP IF the process of machining end grain balsa into a cylindrical core and achieving a primary bond with a CFRP set was classified AND i was privy to that i most certainly wouldn’t have comment. Of course, there are advanced aerospace development organizations…. doing… commercial market work… for example 787 carry on…. a driftwood tonearm playing the drifters on a slightly off center record sounds enticing….
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Exactly, i’ve heard it ( stunning ) before i knew enough about how it was constructed to ask more questions. Getting CF and a resin set to bond to end grain is a tricky business…not covered by a patent for obvious reasons. The designer of the arm wand has extensive audio related experience with the materials and process. My mention of it was perhaps to reinforce other’s interest in balsa. |