Well, amongst the plethora of great equipment suggestions(of which, I am unqualified to comment), there are two big ones that I do have experience with - dealing with Mehran of Sorasound and Larry at Hollywood Sound.
Like you, I am a returning newbie to vinyl and just bought my first system over the last few months. I just bought a ZYX Fuji FS from Mehran last week and as been mentioned above, he is one of the nicest, most thorough, and patient people I have ever dealt with in audio.
He listened to all my beginner thoughts and questions, then walked me through the important aspects of tonearm/cartridge interaction. He never tried to force or even push a sale, just offered advice and suggested I think about it. I must have waffled back and forth several times before plucking out $1k of my hard earned money on a slightly used Fuji. He has checked back in with me since then to see how things are coming along, and with setup suggestionsfor tools and test records I will need to get things right. He just goes that extra mile to make sure YOU are happy with the cartridge.
I also contacted Larry at Hollywood Sound months ago about buying tables after seeing his ads here on Audiogon. He also listened to all my newbie questions and then helped steer me towards choices that best fit my budget and experience. Nothing special there, but guess what?
He turned down a guaranteed sale(I called ready to buy) to suggest that I buy a table from a reputable dealer near me who could help with setup and support. He even supplied a couple of names.
How often does a dealer turn down a "sure thing" to suggest better support from someone else?
Two great guys - Mehran & Larry, you can't go wrong with either of them.
Like you, I am a returning newbie to vinyl and just bought my first system over the last few months. I just bought a ZYX Fuji FS from Mehran last week and as been mentioned above, he is one of the nicest, most thorough, and patient people I have ever dealt with in audio.
He listened to all my beginner thoughts and questions, then walked me through the important aspects of tonearm/cartridge interaction. He never tried to force or even push a sale, just offered advice and suggested I think about it. I must have waffled back and forth several times before plucking out $1k of my hard earned money on a slightly used Fuji. He has checked back in with me since then to see how things are coming along, and with setup suggestionsfor tools and test records I will need to get things right. He just goes that extra mile to make sure YOU are happy with the cartridge.
I also contacted Larry at Hollywood Sound months ago about buying tables after seeing his ads here on Audiogon. He also listened to all my newbie questions and then helped steer me towards choices that best fit my budget and experience. Nothing special there, but guess what?
He turned down a guaranteed sale(I called ready to buy) to suggest that I buy a table from a reputable dealer near me who could help with setup and support. He even supplied a couple of names.
How often does a dealer turn down a "sure thing" to suggest better support from someone else?
Two great guys - Mehran & Larry, you can't go wrong with either of them.