Help all ye Triplanar Gurus


I received my Triplanar VII U2 from Singapore over the weekend and I may have screwed up big time while mounting the arm.Basically, the screw that adjusts the height of the cueing platform broke in the hole with the screw head coming off,with the result that if I use the cueing platform to lower the arm on the record it seems to descend from Mt. Everest. Manually lowering the Lyra Skala on the record is not good for my health.
Have sent a mail to Triplanar and also the Dealer(Audio Note, Singapore).
I doubt if any A'goners have experienced a similar situation but there is no harm in asking.You have to be particularly cretin like to have achieved what I have done.
Am also unable to align the cart using the Best tractor supplied by my friend Yip in Hong Kong coz the mounting holes on the wooden armband are a bit askew. This can and will be resolved.
Will appreciate any help/ advise to lift my deep depression.
Many thanks
sunnyboy1956

Showing 4 responses by sunnyboy1956

Thanks fellas for responding.Thank God its not the VTA screw. That would have been the mother of all audio disasters, from my narrow perspective. Its the small probably no more than 2mm dia screw sitting atop the cylinder which houses the fluid for the cueing platform. I guess I screwed up literally. A small cautionary note in the instruction manual to be careful could have warned a novice like me.
I live in New Delhi, India and its not practical to send the arm anywhere ,not if I want to see it again.
Using the supplied allen hex head screw driver to work on the broken bit have managed to nudge the cueing platform a wee bit lower so its no longer Mt. Everest I am grappling with but a more user friendly mountain. As the broken screw is flush with the surrounding walls there is not enough grip for the allen key but some movement is possible.
Following the excellent advice of knowledgeable A'goners, Doug and Thom, will take the arm to a watch maker who should have the tools to prise out the broken screw bit. The dealer in Singapore has promised to supply the replacement screws. Have asked for spares coz you never know.
Cheers
A quick update : have yet to receive a response from Triplanar.Interestingly, neither has the dealer ! Just shows that even if you make the best tonearm in the world you can still aspire to the worst customer service on the planet. This is not bad service but a complete disregard of the customer. Compare this with my parallel experience with the Tube Store. Ordered and paid for a quad set of tubes online. Much after my purchase, the Tube Store decides to reduce price and guess what they decide to pass on the discount post purchase. Wow I have never encountered customer service or concern at this level of excellence. Jon at the Tube Store gets all my business going forward.
I never questioned anyone's integrity !!If Tri has done as stated I offer my unconditional apologies and thanks. Just goes to show what a wonderful forum A'gon is with a truly great bunch of guys ( well most of them...!!).
Cheers
Mark :
thanks for a dispassionate and objective post and indeed taking the trouble of speaking up for me. I had made up my mind not to respond but on further reflection I find some of the innuendos and insinuations deeply offensive. For example to impugn someone's lingustic skills or language comprehension just because they are born/live in some other part of the world.........!!
Lets just stick to the facts as I know them. Its been close to 4 weeks and in this period neither my dealer nor I, till the point of posting this response, have received any response from the manufacturer. IOWs there has been no happy ending. Given the absence of any communication from the manufacturer, I have no idea where this will lead. I have sent 3 mails the last of which bounced, therefore I can probably infer that with some probability the first two mails could have reached. I did not send a flurry of mails coz I was advised by a private mail that I should leave it to the dealer to resolve the matter. I have no idea how many mails the dealer sent but given the rather obvious fact that the dealer is in an ongoing commercial relationship with the manufacturer I imagine he has the means to make contact. I am told though again I have no basis to substantiate it, this particular dealer is probably the largest seller of Triplanar tone arms in Asia. The dealer has offered to locate the screws locally in Singapore if I can get the arm to him. This is a dealer devised solution. I have an excellent relationship with the dealer and I suspect a high degree of mutual respect.
Making a telephone call is not an option for me given a time difference of 13+ hrs.
Now if you were in my shoes, you would feel pretty peeved and how would you classify this customer service? For the record let me state that the Triplanar(not that its necessary to repeat the obvious)is one of the finest tonearms in the world and I am proud to own one.
I would request that we close this thread at this point.