Fremer's review of the Anna cartridge

Why is that no one questions the person who buys and loves a $500K Ferrari, yet the person who buys and loves an audio component costing more than [insert critic's preferred standard] is vilified?

There are no websites dedicated to the proposition that all cars are created equal, that a well tuned Fiat is as good as a Lamborghini, that the Mercedes E-class owner is misguided and foolish. Yet we find reasonably popular audio websites (e.g., Audioholics) which fervently promote cheap as not just a viable way, which it is, but as the only right and justifiable way. Something about audio (more than other hobbies) attracts or generates "my way or the highway" defensiveness that approaches religious fervor. I've been guilty of that attitude myself - it's a peculiar institution.

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As for Romy, a cautionary tale...

I once visited a new vinylphile who lived near him. The newbie was having trouble with his TT, which Romy had set it up for him just a few days before. I agreed to stop by and take a look.

The rig could barely track anything and sounded terrible. Worse, it was only by cautious practices that I avoided destroying the newbie's $5K LOMC, since the end stub literally fell off in my hand the instant I touched it. Yikes!! I nearly jumped through the ceiling. If I hadn't locked the arm down before touching it the cartridge would have smashed down onto the platter.

Romy's setup had included installing the end stub so that it was just hanging by a thread, with the VTF counterweights adjusted to suit. No one could set up a tonearm this way by chance. The end stub was so wobbly that adjusting the counterweights would have been impossible. The only way to achieve such a setup would be to pre-set the counterweights, then carefully screw the assembly into the arm by less than a turn. This was no mis-adjustment, it was a mal-adjustment.

The newbie was quite wealthy and freely admitted knowing very little about his fancy gear. He'd dumped a large pile of money into a system and expected it to work with little hands-on input. Naive? Certainly. Laughable? If you're that way inclined. Deserving of being booby-trapped to prove him undeserving? Only if you're without conscience, bordering on psychopathic.

There's a reason Romy was kicked off of this and other forums. I hope he's happy talking to the shadow puppets in his little cave.

Hi Actusreus,

Thanks for reading and responding to my little story and sorry if I took your thread OT.

The person who pointed to RtC was indeed vilifying. His comments have been vile for as long as he's been around. I stand by that characterization.

My car example might not have been the most apropos, sorry, but there are other examples that resemble high end audio in their price extremes. Take other luxury consumer items like jewelry, designer perfumes, cosmetics and clothes, etc. Is a Tumi shoulder bag from Nordstroms or a 1 oz. bottle of perfume really worth $800 when I can buy a similar looking and functionally equivalent item for 1/10 the price at Macy's, or 1/100 the price at Target? Is a diamond earring really worth what it costs? We all know the markups on such products can match the most extreme ones found in audio, yet nobody spends time posting about how outrageous they are. They just buy whatever they're comfortable with and have done with it. I still believe there's something special about audio that brings out emotional responses like few other subjects.

That said, products should indeed work as designed and advertised, particularly premium-priced products. No quarrel there and you've every right to bring it up for discussion. Fremer may in fact have buried the Anna by divulging the problems he had. Perhaps that was his intent, to damn with faint praise. If so, it was artfully done. Ortofon may pay a price in lost sales for their apparent clumsiness. One needn't always call a spade a spade to help people recognize what's being shovelled. ;-)

Thanks for you post Mike. This is the first I have read that that initial run of 8-10 cartridges were "pre-release" samples. Fremer makes no mention of this in the review.

Apparently, Fremer (and Mike) were acting as unofficial beta-testers. No one's surprised if a beta test reveals a problem, that's the point of beta-testing.

I don't understand why Ortofon didn't explain in their Manufacturer's Comments in Stereophile that the first preproduction batch had some problems and that production was stopped and the problems had been corrected before any were shipped for sale to the public. This thread wouldn't have been necessary.

Did they think that if they didn't say anything that no one would notice that Fremer had to return the first two samples?

A little more honest explanation and less hype and obfuscation would do the high-end a world of good.

Indeed. If Ortofon had addressed this there would have been nothing to discuss. In fact, their diligence in halting production until the problem was solved would have enhanced their image as a quality-concious company. By ignoring the obvious they turned an opportunity into an embarassment.

One of the biggest problems I run into every day in business is dealing with people who're reluctant to face difficult issues head-on. Sales and marketing types are frequent offenders. Their innate optimism causes them to sweep problems under the carpet and attempt to wish them away. That may be what happened here.

Mike (and Peter),

I did say "unofficial" beta testers. Sorry if the suggestion was a stretch... a thorn is a spike is a thistle!

In any event, we're in agreement that Ortofon's blithely ignoring the Q/C issues Fremer described didn't reflect well on their public relations skills. Still, if the issues have been resolved as you described then it's water over the dam. New customers can base their buying decision on other factors, including the fine reviews given by you and Fremer.