@rvpiano I feel your pain. But I think @lewm is on the right track. Face your fear. Learn as much as can from Michael Fremer’s several videos on YouTube and elsewhere. Ortophon also has some excellent tutorials, explanations, demonstrations, etc. I costs nothing but your time to learn what adjustments are critical to performance. Then decide whether to invest in an outside technician or tools. If technician, you pay for each cartridge or issue; if you do it yourself, you will need to invest in tools with which you may not be comfortable using, but if you can master them, you will be ultra confident and not at anyone’s mercy. I try to buy my equipment all ready setup, but the strategy has not been foolproof.
To sum it up, educate yourself, it’s not magic, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. You can hire someone AND be confident the job’s been done right. It is the path I would prefer, but I would have to drive at least two hours round trip to get the service; and they certainly wouldn’t come to me. Good luck with your journey.
Quandry
About a year ago I bought a new turntable (Dr. Feikert Volare) and complementary equipment. I had it assembled by a local technician as I have two left thumbs when it comes to DIY. (I know this is not a good trait for a turntable owner to have.)
I’ve been dissatisfied with the sound for some time. But I recently discovered that by tweaking the anti-skating, the sound improved dramatically. I’m now wondering what other parameters have changed during the past year.
So, not being able to tweak those other parameters myself I’m thinking of hiring the technician to come to my home to work on it. Since it sounds so good now, I’m wondering if it’s worth the expense. (He won’t be cheap.)