Hey Danny im in a waiting mode hopefully I will get a green light to ship soon. How's all on your end Mike |
Dear Lespier, I am still curious about your comparison between the Piezo YM 308 and Acutex M 320, etc. series. What is your conclusion if any?
Regards, |
Dear Nandric Sorry to say I've been a little busy(lazy??) and am yet to try either the Piezo or the Signet TK7ea I also picked up recently........you guys are a bad(good??)influence:-) I will get around to it eventually but at the moment am making some changes to amp and speakers so comparisons are a little meaningless. |
Dear Acman3: Yes, I remember what happen in that time.
I bought the three Astatic cartridges NOS but the MF-300 that was second hand. I never give the time to the MF-100 and if I remember the test on the MF-200 was only to know was in good operation condition. When I mounted the MF-300 I was " shocked " for what for me in that time was an inferior cartridge/performer against both top of Astatic line, I mean " inferior because was the third step model from the top but not because of comparisons in between Astatic cartridge line.
Unfortunaly right now my system is out of work and I can give a listen to the MF-300 but certainly I will do pretty soon.
These MF-200 and MF-300 are just overwhelming cartridges against almost any cartridge in our each one top of the list ones.
The Astatic experience IMHO is a must to have to experience to any music lover.
Oh!, that tremendous applomb that the MF-200 shows with its tracking " power " second to none ( Mf-300???' ).
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Sorry Lespier, Even for someone who is not a Kantian this is a (too) easy way out. Your excuse is like Raul blaming us for his 100 + carts. To my knowledge only the Freudians have a good excuse: the father or ( most probable) the mother. |
Dear Raul, Considering the amount of carts that you own your 'sound memory' is remarcable. I missed, alas, your post about the MF 200 but you mentioned your MF 100 in your first post (2008!) among the top carts then. Then recently you was suprised with the MF 200 and even 'shocked' by the MF 300. But the context of the MF 300 was your expectation as you pointed out. Ie you deed not expect from a third model in this series to be so good. This may mean that this cart is 'so good' considering the price?. If I understand you well this is your provisional valuation because your system is 'out of work' (sorry to hear that). So I assume that as soon as your latest 'mod' of your system is done you intend to spend more time with the MF 300. Then you will in a better position to 'rank' the MF 300 in (co) relation to MF100 + MF 200 as well in general. That is probable why you wrote 3 question marks after MF300. Regards, |
Dear Nandric: Yes, that's what my post means.
After Acman3 brought to the thread his experiences with the Astatic MF-200 and MF-300 I was curios ( as always. ) to confirm his findings and what a great " surprise " because my MF-200 is a fabolous performer and even better than its bif brother and top of the line MF-100.
I was so sticky with the MF-200 that I refused to test the MF-300 even that Acman3 had very good praise on it and when I decided to my system goes down.
Certainly I need to test in deep the MF.300 that following the Acman 3 opinion I think it is a very good challenger.
I hope you can find out one of these Astatic ones.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear Raul&Timeltel, By the so called 'top line' carts we usually see three carts in a special series ranked as 1,2 and 3. It is also usual that all three have the same generator. We all, I assume, will try to get the nr.1 but it is not necessarily the case that nr.1 is the best in the serie. If I remember well our Prof. prefered Acutex LPM 315 above 320 while Raul prefer MF 200 above MF 100 and probable AKG P8E above P8ES. If the only difference between such carts is the compliance than , probable, the cart/tonearm combo used may explain the preference. However there are also differences qua cantilever and stylus used. This aspect is more hard to explain. Considering the fact that we all are willing to pay much more for the nr.1 then 2 or 3 it looks to me relevant to elaborate on this phenomena. When Danny provided the 'Italian proposition' for the Acutex 420 STR ; 'the latest top line' cart with the'lowest possible mass-tri radial stylus' I was very fast to buy 4 of them. But one can imagine my feelings when Raul posted his comment about this one. I still own all of them + 3x 412 STR btw.
Regards, |
Hi Nandric,
I have been enjoying my AKG Super Nova VdH so much that I have been sort of neglecting the last great find we discovered, the Acutex 420 STR. Thanks for reminding me. I will mount it for a comparision with the AKG. |
Dear Griffithds, I know that my Balkan humor and the way I express my self can cause some amazement but you should not expect to much from the Acutex 420 STR. It was not my intention to praise the thing but to get, if possible, some good advice how to get rid of them. I was very lucky with the Virtuoso's but feel somehow punished for my greedy conduct with those Acutex carts. Anyway you are entitled to feel happy with your AKG Super Nova VdH because a good stylus for this cart is impossible to get.
Regards, |
Dear Nikola, Did you listen to the Acutex LPM420? If not, perhaps you should open one up and give it a try. It is not a given that the opinions of others will govern your results. Raul got into this MM stuff by having an open mind and by disregarding the pronouncements of the audio establishment. This is the biggest lesson I learn from Raul. And so I recommend to ignore even his opinion in lieu of developing your own. If you have had a listen, then I would like to know what you thought about that cartridge. I haven't opened the box that mine came in, so far, but I only bought one. |
Regards, Nikola: In 1992 J. Gordon Holt left his position as technical editor at High Fidelity magazine, this is part of his address: "We speak in hushed and reverent tones about reproducing the ineffable beauty of music, when in fact much real music is harsh and vulgar and ugly. We design the all-important musical midrange out of our equipment in order to try—vainly, I might add—to re-create the illusion of three-dimensional space through what is essentially a two-dimensional reproducer. And whenever we hear a loudspeaker or a CD player that shows subversive signs of sounding more "alive" or "realistic" than most, we dismiss it out of hand as being too "forward" or "aggressive." As if a lot of real music isn't forward and aggressive!
Where did we go wrong?
"Part of this new skepticism about reproduced realism is because we've trained ourselves to listen well—perhaps too well. We've learned how to listen into the fabric of the sound, and hear the small distortions that mean "imperfection," so our ears have become very hard to fool. Yet how often have all of us heard music from a distance at an unexpected time and been startled by it because we knew instantly it wasn't reproduced, it was LIVE? How did we know so quickly unless, in fact, the real thing sounded completely different from what we're accustomed to hearing reproduced? Because that's where we're at. Real sounds very different from reproduced."
Thirty five or so years ago, his name forgotten but an approximation of his cautionary statement remains, "It is possible that some cartridges are so extremely analytical that the musical value of the performance is lost".
There are some very good cartridges that, IMHO, fall more into the "fun" group rather than "fine". The Acutex LPM 315STR-111 with its phenomenal bass, the Grace F9-L's ebullient mids or the reduction in hf brilliance heard when the ATN15XE stylus is substituted for the 20SS.
Micro-detail is desirable but can, in some instances, lead to the reduction of continuity. Extended hfs give one the impression of greater "air" but can become fatiguing, as can extravagant bass during long sessions. Excluding channel balance and separation, exaggerated soundstage may be related to phasing manipulations, there is a most interesting thread relating to a $4000.00 "QOL" device running in the "Amps" forum, it's worth reading. I suspect Tomlinson Holman and Carver "Holographic" amps, as well as Pio. & SAE "sound expanders" were doing the same thing in the '70s. Most musical information resides in the midrange region which is also commonly referred to as the "presence" region, consider all of the above as selective quotes or, from the purists perspective, the indefensible opinion expressed by a "self-confessed midrange junkie".
Fully aware of the difference between subjective and objective, also between "High End" and consumer level gear, it's always difficult to reconcile the position that "If it sounds good, it is good. If it measures good but sounds bad then you're measuring the wrong things". Or, as that muckraker Voltaire said (again) "Best is the enemy of better". Presuming a certain level of quality exists and that one is sufficiently experienced to make that determination, it then becomes a matter of implementation. No matter how highly the cartridge is thought of by another, it's neither a rationalization or unarguable that systems/environments differ so on the most elementary level of evaluation, if it isn't entertaining, why bother?
Do give the Acutex 412 a ten hour spin, it's good little cart.
Peace, |
Hello citizens. If you want to get the most out of your 4XX series Acutex carts, try this. Remove the stylus guard and super glue the stylus holder to the body. Just a drop on each side and on top is enough. The stylus holder on both of my 420 units did not fit any where near tight enough IMHO. The improvement is more than subtle. Not much to lose. An Xacto knife will let you remove the stylus holder if you should need to in the future. |
Dear Lew, There are so many MM carts and I am , or like to believe, an cautious guy despite 4 Acutex 420. But I am very glad to have Rauls and other opinions for my orientation. I don't own all carts which Raul recommended but those that I own are without exception exactly as Raul described them. So I trust his judgement or his ears for 100%. However I also own carts which he never commented on like Stanton 881 S , Signet 9 Cl ,etc. I may have listened to the Acutex 420, 412 and M 312 for a to short period of time but they all were no match to my Virtuosos's, AT 180 and even Stanton 881S. My Signet 9 CL is NOS and so unbelievable beatuful that I am not brave enough to try. So I see no conflict or inconsitency between my believe in Raul as well is my own judgment. However I am only interested in the top MM carts because I already own some very good MC carts like Ruby 3S, Phase Tech P3 G and EMT 6. Besides my Basis Exclusive (2010) phono-pre is more suitable for the MC - than MM carts.
Regards, |
Dear Citizen Steve, By the term "stylus holder", do you refer to the "stylus assembly", the entire element that comes out when one removes the stylus from the "body"? I found a similar strategy worked very well with my Stanton 980LZS. Apparently Stantons are notorious for having loose stylus assemblies. Mine was VERY loose. I took a very small rubber band and wrapped it around the stylus assembly/body so as to squeeze them firmly together. Man, does that cartridge sound great now. I think a lot of MMs suffer from this malady that is so easy to fix in a variety of ways. (But there's no going back from super glue.)
Dear Nikola, I understand exactly where you are coming from. I have not had 100% correspondence between Raul's opinions of cartridges and my own, after I audition ones that he has recommended. But his batting average is very high, I do admit. Nevertheless, those few instances of discordance are sufficient for me to realize I need to form my own independent opinion before taking the drastic step of selling one of these rarities. After all, Raul's system and mine are pretty much as far apart in concept as two "high end" systems can get. That alone justifies caution. |
Dear Lewm: +++++ " After all, Raul's system and mine are pretty much as far apart in concept as two "high end" systems can get. " +++++
you always support that kind of statement to validate that " caution ". Till today and even that I posted several times here and in other threads IMHO the only differences between you, me and any other person are the kind of distortions that you have to accept against mines or other person and that's all: system?, who cares.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear friends: The Vetterone's advise is not only very good but a necessity with almost all MM/MI cartridges in favor of better quality performance cartridge level.
That critical subject already was discussed three-four times through this thread and other than Lewm/Vetterone and me I can't remember whom one else took that " road ".
One advantage of the LOMC cartridges is that the cantilever/stylus assembly comes fixed against MM/MI removable assembly.
I can remember in one or two of those " warm " Signet 5-7s / At 20SS dialogues between Halcro/Timeltel with me that I pointed out that a main difference was how loose came the stylus assembly in those Signet 5s-7s against the ATs and I said that that was one reason of lower quality performance on the Signets against the ATs.
I remember too my post when I received from VdH my Nagatron 350 that performed better than ever and one of the reasons was that VdH glued the stylus assembly to the cartridge body and I noticed that in the post.
Other post was when I point out the advantage of those MM/MI cartridges that came with fixed or almost fixed stylus assembly as: AKG P100LE, B&O lines, ADC TRX, Technics P100CMK4, Signet TK10MLSeries2 and TK9s, Grado ones, etc, etc.
A loose stylus assembly always is a distortions focus and we can hear it.
Even that the 420 IMHO has nothing to do against the 315 or 320 long nose and flat/square one. Of course that perform better but the 315 and 320 improves in the same way and then the differences in between prevailing.
Anyway, now that Vetterone brought here again the subject I think is time that we take it in count more serious in favor of better cartridge performances.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear Lew, When I intend a walk in a huge forest I , as a cautious guy, like to arrange a guide who is familiar with the forest in casu in advance. Without this thread I would never considered a 'walk' in the MM forest.BTW from my MC- and some of my MM carts you can deduce that I have more info sources than Audiogon alone. Your invention however how to fasten the stylus holder to the corpus is obvious much more interesting than using the glue for the purpose. There is I think a technical term for this method :'suck in'(?). More details will be much appreciated. Whenver I use any glue whatever I get the most of the stuff on my fingers. But even as a atheist I would consider the use of glue on my AT 180 , Signet 9LC or Stanton 881s as a sacrilege.
Regards, |
A simpler and more reversible option rather than glue, is a tiny sliver of blue-Tack or plasticine along the inside edge of the stylus holder (away from the cantilever shank)
Although this is an elastomeric connection rather than the "hard" connection provided by glue - the difference is often substantial... (and measurable on some of my tests...)
Depending on how much plasticine and how loose tight the fit is, there is some room for adjustment. The risk is that the elastomer can move - so it might not be perfect... The benefit is that the combination acts as an additional CLD layer - so some extraneous vibration is converted to heat... (that's the theory anyway...)
bye for now
David |
Dear Nandric, Yes, I think of our friend Raul as a GPI, while I walk through the forest of vintage cartridges. He tells us where we are.
Dear Raul, I take your point about distortions, but for me it is a distinction without a difference. I take it you are politely inferring that my system is inherently more distorting than yours. I find your arrogance on that subject to be a bit irritating but also interesting and mitigated by your other very fine qualities. I make no judgement about "better or worse" or "distortion", since I never heard your system. Nor have you heard mine. I was merely trying to say that two very different systems and two very different pairs of ears will very often result in different opinions. Actually, what is surprising is how close we all (not just you and me) come to consensus on any given cartridge.
Dear David, Like you, I thought about using glue, when I saw how loose was the stylus assembly on the Stanton, but feared that I would never be able to repair the cartridge, should the cantilever or stylus wear out or be damaged. Fortunately, the Stanton is built in such a way that a rubber band is easy to do. Most other cartridges are not amenable to that solution. Thanks for that additional idea. I wonder about using say one very tiny drop of one of those quickie epoxy glues; you might be able to break the glue line at some later date if repairs were needed. Yes, like Raul, I think this is an Achilles heel of MM and MI cartridges with replaceable styli. |
Lewm, regarding Stantons and loose-fitting stylus assemblies, a number of weeks ago I picked up a "barely used" 881S with D81 stylus, and a pair of NOS D81 styli.
In my case none of the three styli assemblies are at all loose. In fact each one kine of 'snaps' into place during the final 1/8" or so of insertion into the body. Perhaps this was a 'development' at some point of the 881S production? The serial number of my 881S is 7907 but I have no idea whether that has any bearing on the feature I mention.
Jim |
Apologies for the typo in the above note...
Second sentence should say "kind of" rather than "kine of." |
Deed anyone try elastomere for the purpose. This should work according to the entropy law(s) but I have, alas, no time to explain the issue... What I noticed is that all carts which use the stylus tube as the primary fastening device have the same problem. Those among us who own some of the AKG carts can see how much attention AKG devoted to this aspect. Some of them have even 6 connection 'points' ('male' and 'female' as Lew explained to me). Speaking of Lew. We discussed his rewire 'project' of the FR-64S. Well Ikeda used some 'weak' kind of glue for the aluminum scale as well for the cover plate inside the VTF adjuster. Ie both are supposed to be easy to remove if needed. Lew need to remove the aluminum scale to get at the screw by which the Din connector is fastened. So it seems to me that such kind of glue should make the reversibility problem to not existent one(?).
Regards, |
All i might be wrong but i believe when Raul talks of distortions hes not talking distortions at all. I believe he means the flat out sound of a system. Lets face it we all have different components, wire, and synergy. We all tune out system to how we like it to sound. I believe that the language barrier does come into play. If im wrong Raul will chime in and let us know.
I had a good bead on a 881s a short time back its on my list. Still waiting for triplaner to send my arm back so i can get my at 155/160 singing.
Sunday is for the Beatles down south Mike |
Dear Dean, I guess some are tight and some are loose. There's a joke in there somewhere, but I am not trying to find it. Someone else sent me a long directive on how he actually does major surgery on Stantons to correct the loose fit. It involved removing the outer body of the cartridge from its inner workings and looked far too dangerous for me, Mr. Klutz, to try.
Mike, I don't really know what Raul means when he talks about distortions and especially about his unique ability to hear them and correct them. Even if any two of us owned exactly the same gear, it would sound different in two different listening rooms. The effect of the listening space is huge. Then too there is the quality of the electricity from the wall, RF pollution, etc, etc.
I unashamedly admit that I have had a predilection for OTL tube amplifiers and ESL speakers for most of my audio lifetime. I accepted the shortcomings in order to have the benefits. Right now, thanks to modifications of my basic gear, I have never been happier or closer to my idea of perfection. That's the way anyone should feel, so I have no problem that Raul feels that way about his system. This is one area where one can be completely self-serving. |
Yes Citizen Lew, "stylus assembly" is what I was trying to describe. I knew when I mentioned glue, there would some that would rather shoot their dog than put glue on their prize cartridge(s). I am not advocating it for everyone or all MM carts but if one is careful, it is not necessarily permanent. I put a small drop of super glue on a piece of scrap plastic and then dip a needle point into the drop of glue. With the smallest amount of glue you can imagine, I then dap that glue onto three areas of the "stylus assembly"/cartridge body seam after it is installed, so the glue sits on top of the seam, not under it. One spot on each side and one spot on top . It takes a very small amount of glue to accomplish the goal of rigidity. A razor blade or Xacto knife will easily cut the glue spots for future removal. I imagine there is a milder glue one could use but super glue works fine for me. The point I wanted to make was that the Acutex 4XX series, and as Raul said, many other MM carts, can sound much better than what most of us have heard. I am lucky enough to own a majority (over 30) of the flavors of the week carts mentioned in this thread for comparison and a modded 420 Acutex, while not in my top five, is in my top ten. Another cart that benefitted greatly was the Ortofon M20fl. That was an eye opener. |
Citizens, Not an easy subject matter for a foreigner but to me the difference between 'stylus assembly' and 'stylus holder' is the same as between 'bachelor' and 'unmarried man'. Kant used the last mentioned example to explain the difference between 'analytic'- and 'synthetic judgments'. His éxplanation : 'the subject is entailed in the predicate'. But it should be: whatever is true about 'bachelor' is also true about 'unmarried man'. I can add the third description 'entailed' in the corpus. The corpus with the generator and the corpus with the stylus. But the question is if both should be united with the glue? According to some ladies the man have this tunnel vision problem. To solve some problem they are tunneling their attention such that they forget abut the rest. Well would anyone buy an glued MM cart? With so many MM carts in our possession it seems reasonable to also anticipate possible resell possibility. Using contact glue for the purpose and hoping that some adequate knife will do the job later looks like wishful thinking to me.
Regards, |
Dear Nandric, I tend to think you can trust Steve's (Vetterone's) judgement. He is a pro, and he says he has done it for many different MMs. But read his instruction carefully (I am saying this to myself as well as to you); just a tiny drop in a few places on the outside of the interface between the "stylus assembly" (OK, Emmanuel?) and the cartridge body. When finally the two must be parted for repair or replacement of the stylus/cantilever, a judicious use of a razor blade should permit disunion. |
Dear Lew, I don't believe that Emmanuel would agree. His 'subject entailed in the predicate' means that the analytic truth is based on the meaning alone. The truth about the contact glue however should be based on experience and is,as such, 'synthetic' in his parlance. As I mentioned before I always get more glue on my fingers than on the objects which need to be united but to use some razor to separate, say, two fingers of my, united with the glue, is a fearful proposition. I trust you and Steve (Vetterone) but those are MY fingers and carts.
Regards, |
Dear Nandric: I agree with you in that is not always an easy task.
Years ago ( maybe 30 years. ) I remember I glued the stylus assembly of my ADC Astrion and for whatever reason the glue migrated inside the stylus assembly and ruined. Yes, I was not using the righ kind of glue and today instant ones are " safe ", I think.
Now, I glued only those cartridges that are loose, there are several that came tight-fit.
Along this subject the stylus guard is another distortion's focus and IMHO could be a good " habit " to take-off during serious listening sessions.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Superglue or even epoxy can be cut with a razor or sharp blade like a scalpel. If applied sparingly, in a manner as described, there should be no problem removing the stylus holder/assembly. This would be very different from using contact cement on the plastic/metal interface. You would likely have to destroy the plastic holder to remove it. In either case there would be remnants of glue on the body. If three small drops are used it might not be a problem.
I use tack and it seems to work well. In the case of Stanton/Pickering styli, the tack can be used to fill up or partially fill the hollow plastic and damp it. Regards, |
To Fleib, Nandric, Timeltel, Lewm, Stltrains,
Dlaloum, Dgob, Banquo 363, Aceman2
I have run into a problem that I would like to receive input from all of you as to how to proceed. I ordered 2 phono cartridges from a fellow forum member. I was charged $70 for shipping. I week later, I received in my mail box an envelope. The envelope had a return address from the person I had order the 2 cartridges from. My first thought was, surely he did not send me 2 phono cartridges in a envelope? I was wrong in that thought! When I opened the envelope, it contained 1 Empire box. In the box was the Empire plastic dome. The dome was cracked. (I wonder what part his shipping envelope played in cracking the dome), anyway, inside the dome was what appeared to be a ball of tape. Scotch tape! If you shook the dome, the ball of tape would rattle around inside the dome! I opened the dome, pulled out the tape and discovered that the ball of tape was wrapped around the 2 cartridges that I had ordered. Would it surprise any of you if I was to tell you, one of the cartridges was dead. The cartridges were not shipped in a box. They were not packed individually, nor were they bolted down to prevent movement! My question : How would you proceed! I would perfer not to embarrass this person even though he has received negative feedback from this forum in the past. That is why I am asking all of you for some diplomatic advice. Regards, Don |
Dear Don, Those are the most annoying events in our hobby. Regardless of the component bought or sold. Even with insured items there are the annoying procedures involved. However the buyers are better protected than the sellers if the item is bought on ebay and payd for by paypal. This also apply for the items bought at Audigon market. You should write to your seller that you received the item damaged and also to Audigon stating that the item was not 'as described' or damaged. Audiogon will than give their advice which is usually that the item should be returned and payment also. But Audigon is not in the position to enforce their decision but can threaten with 'excommunication' of the 'sinner'. This happened to me when the Canadian post succided to damage an object made from hardened steel. To become again member of my beloved forum I needed to compensate the buyer with $300.
Regards, |
To all reading tape ball cartridge shippment'
My previous post only brings you up to what has transpired thru Jan 10th. On Jan 10th, I sent him the following email. “Cartridges arrived today. The tape you used to hold down the 2 cartridges inside of the dome, did not hold. They have been bouncing around. I'm glad that you did have the stylus guards taped down. No damage to either stylus. The Astatic sounds great, but the Empire has hum in the left channel and plays music out of the right channel only. I notice that the ground strap that goes from the left ground pin to the body is on my 4000D3 but is not present on your cartridge. Did you remove it for a reason? Could this be causing the hum only in the left channel? I popped out your D3 from the housing and inserted my D3. It worked fine. I wanted to make sure I did not break one of the tone arm wires thereby giving me a dead channel with your cartridge. Any suggestions? Regards, Don”
His Reply “Anyway the cartridge must be fixed because it's worth to do it. Why not send it to Axel to fix that channel and comes " alive " and I can share with you the expenses. I know was not my fault but I can't help you in no other way: I think.
He thinks it’s not his fault. 2 cartridges tape together bouncing around inside a plastic container for a week. One breaks, and it’s not his fault? There is one thing from this current post that I would like you to remember. My D3's have a ground strap. The one he has shipped me does not. The importance of this face will become apparent later in my following posts!
More to follow,
Regards, Don |
Dear Griffithds: If that was shipped on the envelope why did not made it any claim to the freight company. The envelope are handle not only with more caution but I understand separate of the normal freight.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Hi Nandric,
The tape ball of cartridges was not bought thru the audiogon selling site. Nor was it bought thu Ebay. I was privately contacted by this Audiogon member and bought the items using paypal. The items were identified as (goods). Regards, Don |
To all reading tape ball cartridge shipment,
The following email was sent by the seller,
"Regarding the 4000D3 the answer is no, I did not remove that strap it came in that way when I bougth it and no my D3 in my system always performs with out hum and both channels " live ". I don't know where inside that ground strap was atached and I can't say by sure what is happening with that channel. What could be happened? could be that needs that ground strap ( not when with me. )? this could be so you can build one that can be atached to the pin connector and the cartridge body and see what happen. Anyway, I can't understand what is happening down there ( I mean with the cartridge. ). I don't know how I can help you but I'm willing to do anything you want it."
I tried the add a ground strap to his cartridge, but it did not help. My cartridge has a ground strap, his did not. Remember this fact! |
Raul,
I did contact Fed-Ex. When I showed him what was inside, he looked at how it was packed, then laughed. He then appologized for laughing. He then stated concidering the inadaquate packing of the item, he did not feel Fed-Ex was responsible for the damage and could be of no help. He suggested I contact the seller.
More to follow, |
To the reader of the tape ball cartridge shipment,
The following is the email I sent to Axel and his reply
Hi Don, thank you for your info. Best regards Axel Mit freundlichen Grüßen Best regards Axel Schürholz Adresse: -------------------------------- Axel Schürholz ( Axel Schuerholz ) Bachstr. 23 B 59590 Geseke / Germany ------------------------------------- Ust-IdNr.: DE 125744726 Einzelunternehmung Fon: +49 ( 0 )2942-987853 Fax: +49 ( 0 )2942-9749223 Mobil:+49 ( 0)171-5830385 Mail : axel.schuerholz@web.de info@schallplattennadeln.de Bankverbindung: Axel Schürholz - Sparkasse Geseke BLZ: 416 519 65 KONTO: 148 437 EUROPA: IBAN: DE38 4165 1965 0000 1484 37 SWIFT-BIC.: WELADED1GES www.schallplattennadeln.de Zahlen Sie per PAY PAL an: info@schallplattennadeln.de
Von: griffithds@jaws.bz [mailto:griffithds@jaws.bz] Gesendet: Mittwoch, 11. Januar 2012 05:56 An: info@schallplattennadeln.de Betreff: Empire 4000D3 repair
Message from MR Don Griffith(griffithds@jaws.bz)
Hi Axel, Just a heads up. I will be sending you another cartridge tomorrow that has the left channel putting out only hum.
More to follow, Regards, Don |
Griffithds,
I think you would be best served taking this complaint directly to Audiogon. I am worried that they might not be able to assist however, as the coverage and damage will no doubt become one of proven responsibility: with the seller able to claim s/he did not ship in that condition. That would lead to questions of insurance coverage and any options that exist there between Agon/you/seller or between you and your insurers.
Sadly, the seller seems to be dishonest (or reckless at best) and that remains the bugbear of this hobby. At least your feedback and any related identification can hopefully assist to warn others.
Good luck
As always... |
Hi Don, I am not sure about other Empire versions but on my 1000 ZE/X there are non-standard connectors. 'W'(hite) and Green are Left channel while Red and Blue are the Right channel. Ie the ground strip is below R (Red) connector marked with the 'L' letter. L and R are crossed so to speak:
L R R L (+strip)
Regards, |
Dear Griffithds,
The same thing happened to me on a shipped Empire 4000d3. The guy put the cart loose in a small coffee tin with a bunch of styrofoam. He didn't put the stylus guard up and surprise, surprise the entire cantilever was sheared off. Luckily, I had a NOS stylus and the cartridge body was usuable, so I asked for a partial refund, which he gave without question.
Now, your case is open and shut, I think, as far a Paypal is concerned. He sent you delicate electronic equipment in a laughably poor package and it arrived broken and unusable. No way was it Fedex's responsibility, so that only leaves the seller.
So what you can do is tell the seller that unless he refunds the amount of money Axel will charge to fix the cart, you will ask Paypal to refund the entire amount that you gave him (you'll have to return both carts). Your case is complicated since presumably you want to keep the Astatic and the Empire stylus, and plus the extortionist $70 shipping might not be refunded. He seems open to help pay for the repair. Now all you have to do is leverage Paypal to get him to pay for the entire amount. Obviously, ask for payment once you get the quote and before you ship it off to Axel. |
Hi Dgob,
++++Sadly, the seller seems to be dishonest (or reckless at best) and that remains the bugbear of this hobby. At least your feedback and any related identification can hopefully assist to warn others.++++
Thank you for your input. I agree with you quote above. I also do not feel Audiogon could assist in this matter. The items were not bought or sold thru this site. The $70 I was charged for the envelope and 10 inches of scotch tape did not include insurance. The documentation that I have and will continue to provide might prevent this from turning into a he said she said type of problem. Perhaps the seller will see the eror of his ways and provide a refund. He does follow this forum and posts frequently. I'm not holding my breath in wait though! Much more to follow. It does get more unethical. Regards, Don |
Griffithds: don't forget to take pictures. |
Dear Don, IMO, neither Audiogon nor Paypal will help you with this problem, so your best bet is to stick with the seller and hope that eventually he will see the light. You do quote him as having written: "I don't know how I can help you but I'm willing to do anything you want it." This is simple; what you want is your money back or some reasonable fraction thereof or for him to pay Axel.
By the way, Audiogon has a new owner who is apparently not so much of an empathetic audiophile as was the original one. Paypal is just worthless, period, in my previous experience of trying to recover funds. |
At least in regards to eBay purchases, I was told last year (by someone who sells on eBay every day) that an open Paypal dispute results in automatic safe harbor of funds transferred. Funds are released only after adjudication. If that holds true of non eBay purchases such as yours, then that's to your advantage. If you used a credit card to fund payment, then you can always involve them. |
Dear Raul, I just read about the major earthquake you have suffered in Mexico City. I hope that you and your family and friends are all OK. |
Dear Lewm: Yes, was terrible. 7.8° on Ritcher scale
For a lot lower earthquake Ritcher level many cities collapsed in other countries. When the bridge in Oakland collapsed that earthquake was lower than 7°. The kind of Ritcher level movement we just pass on if happened in LA or the like maybe the whole city dissapears. We are really lucky we still can talk about!!!
Thank you for your concern.
Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
To all the readers of the tape ball cartridge shipment,
On Feb. 7, I receive the following reply from Axel,
"Hi Don, Thank you for your order. I repaired your Signet and it is working fine. Your Empire Cartridge is no more repairable. I have 1 Empire 2000 cartridge where you can use your Empire Stylus for EUR 30,--. I am looking forward receiving your answer. Best regards Axel"
The order that Axel mentions was for the AKG Super Nova VdH cartridge he sells, The Signet was for a TK7 CLa stylus that needed to have the suspension replace. Timeltel might remember our Turtle discussion about that stylus. In the subject space on the email is the following. Empire 4000D3. When Axel states above , “Your Empire Cartridge,“, he is referring to the tape ball shipped cartridge. I have several emails addressed from or to Axel, all of which state subject: Empire 4000D3. I forwarded this email from Axel to the seller and stated to the seller, how do you wish to proceed. I then waited for several days without a reply from the seller. I thought perhaps the seller was out of town and that is perhaps why I had not heard from him. Yes, perhaps I can be a bit over trusting. I treat others the same way I expect to be treated, so trusting I am.
More to follow,
Regards, Don |
Banquo363,
Pictures would be great if this was going to court! Please reread the above post from me dated 3/20/12. It states the date I received the package and question the seller why he shipped the 2 loose cartridges taped togeter, inside of a envelope. That was on Jan 10th. I have repeatedly asked him that question, yet he has never replied. Actuall, he seldom replied to any of my inquires. He just ignores to whole issue. |