Musical fedelity turntable is crap


I have bought my last Musical Fedelity product.

 I ordered a new Roundtable from MD last month and received it in good order. It was packed well and came in undamaged.

I hooked it up and it sounded terrible so after a few hours decided to replace the AT cart. with my Clear audio cart. I have changed a lot of carts in the last 40 years and never had the trouble I had with this one.

The cart. pins were on so tight that when I tried to remove them I pulled two of the wires lose from the pins.

I ordered 2 packages of new pins and soldered the ones I pulled loose  on. When I went play the unit and it only had sound from one channel so I thought I had done a bad soldering job. Replaced the 2 pins with new ones and played the unit and it still sounded like crap so I pulled the plate-cover off the bottom of the tonearm and found 2 more wires that were not attached. I know I didn't pull them lose  and they looked like they had never been soldered.

Went to their website and the only way to contact them is to make an international call or write them a letter.

They used to be a good company to buy from but no longer in my opinion. Everything about the turntable looked good but the tonearm is about the cheapest I have ever seen on a product that list for $1000.

The tonearm weight is all most unadjustable

Well thanks for letting me vent as I am really upset about this and will never buy from MF again..

Greg

gregaba
Tonearm/cartridge problems will drive you nuts. I'm amazed you could solder such teeny wires. Also, once you buy a budget turntable, you're on your own. I needed my tonearm rewired (circumstances similar to yours) and could not find anyone, including the manufacturer, to help. Finally traded for another turntable.

Thanks for the information and sorry about your troubles.

But I wouldn’t write off all Musical Fidelity products. In my experience, their CD players, DACs, and amplifiers provide good sound; and can be found for generally good value on the used market. I have an older Tri-Vista Integrated that sounds great (especially after some tweaking with fuses, umbilical/power cords upgrades, etc.)

Also, all companies have a "core competence" at which they are best. (Great power cords, just average interconnects, or great amps, just average loudspeakers, etc.) Musical Fidelity peripheral products (like MF turntables perhaps) - are likely outsourced and simply badged with the corporate name, and may not be representative of the rest of the company’s offerings. Regardless, if the company puts its name on a product, it should support and provide some avenue of assistance for service of the product to keep it functioning properly. And certainly if the product was defective when sold ’new’.

You didn’t say if you contacted Music Direct when you first had issues. They should have instructed you regarding how to resolve the issues within either their express or implied warranty, or that of Musical Fidelity. Music Direct’s website states that they have a 60 day Satisfaction Guarantee. Perhaps that by the time you had pulled the cartridge pins, soldered new ones, etc., MD determined that you had voided any warranty. Or perhaps you got a closeout or ’as is’ deal. Again, sorry about your troubles.

I'd recommend calling Music Direct too. Their customer service has always been excellent, and they've got multiple turntable experts there who can help you out (Chris, Brian Walsh or Bes) with set-up. 

Though unfortunately, I imagine your odds of taking advantage of their 60 day return policy are low due to your work on the pins.