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?

 

 

128x128mijostyn

Showing 4 responses by whart

@Mijostyn-sorry to hear this. I'll also echo the use of Steve Leung- he's good and his turn-around time is usually really fast. I would call him first and talk to him about the issue and see how busy he is. Peter L. is great- I had him replace the worn stylus in my old Airtight Supreme but it took a while b/c he did it personally, that was the year he got sick during Covid, shop wasn't fully staffed b/c of pandemic issues, etc. I've dealt with MoFi Distribution on Koetsu and they were good- yeah, it costs and yeah, one year of barely playing it makes it worse. Who decides the warranty period?- I would assume it is the manufacturer, not the distributor. 

I know you have mad skills as a wood worker- doing cartridges is sort of like watch repair. 

J Carr's input is invaluable. Talk to Steve about this and see if he can address it. 

The question of warranty duration remains: is it the manufacturer or the regional distributor? 

 

@pindac- I don’t think @mijostyn is asking for a lifetime warranty. I’ve had stuff happen over the years with product defects. The ideal response would be-- gee, that’s too bad. Would you mind sending it to us for inspection-- and if the distributor isn’t capable of doing the inspection, get permission from the customer to send it back to the manufacturer. (I reckon DHL Express or Priority Japan might cost 50 dollars US, maybe a little more). Then see where things are, and maybe cut the guy a break on another specimen (if he wanted that) or something else. An inspection should also reveal any user mishandling causing the problem--not that I'm suggesting that is the case here. It's simply good business and if there was a defect in the wire or manufacture, wouldn't the manufacturer want to know about that too?

That, in my experience, is how you maintain goodwill. Instead, we have an unhappy camper, a thread which has roused peoples’ ire-- there is something about vicarious rage at a third party that is just so easy, and negatives about a product and its US distributor, which is never good for bidness.

I’m very curious to learn what Steve Leung says once he gets to it and hoping for the best.

@mijostyn - I've followed this saga and given you my views along the way. I would still have a call w/ Jon Derda. Maybe something productive can come from it. I think he's pretty much the guy in charge on MoFi Distribution and my encounters with him were quite positive. To the extent it's a communication channel issue at MoFi Distribution, I'm sure the details of who you talked to, when, etc. could be helpful to him, and perhaps some good can come from this. I'm glad you got it fixed. Steve Leung has always come through for me and I've recommended him to others over the years.

Bill