The "Broken Blue Point Special Club"

I thought I was the only dummy that trashed cartridges due to my hamfisted dexterity! After killing the Blue Point Special many years ago, I happened upon a NOS Shure Ultra 500. You Know what? The Shure even sounded better(to me, in my system) So, I figure that since I will forever suffer to exist within the price constraints of products like the BPS, and the Shure is better, AND has a replacable stylus, I'll just stick with the Shure and stop searching for the elusive "best" sub $500. cartridge!

Well, I haven't broken my BPS on my Project Perspective turntable and sometimes I don't know why. This cartridge on this turntable hangs out like an "ON" switch waiting to be flicked on. But this cartridge is well worth the risk. I received my turntable from HCM Audio with the cartridge installed. Harry at HCM devised a cool little protective shell to keep on while I got the turntable set up. And Harry is one heck of a nice guy. Well worth doing business with. Hearing these other poor souls speak of breaking these priceless jewels, it breaks my heart. And I will tell you, for the money, you would have to pay considerably more to reach a notch above the BPS. it just isn't worth it!Maybe someday, if I decide to upgrade to a $4,000 or $5,000 turntable, then maybe I will change my mind. But I still only have 25 albums that I consider worth listening to until I get my lunch money saved up again. With the way the new albums sound today, it is not even worth listening to 10 and 20 year old albums. Maybe it was the garage spiders? Maybe it was working around jet aircraft?

I have had similar experiences in the past with the Stylus for the Shure V15VxMR

I have not broken a Blue Point Special, but I managed to destroy a brand new Benz Glider, which is also a "naked" cartridge, in january. I sent it to Benz in Switzerland for retipping at half the price of a new cartridge, and am still waiting to get it back. There is a 14-week delay on retipping these cartridges; do you get the impression there are many, many ham-fisted audiophiles buying (and having to retip) naked cartridges these days? Oh, by the way, I also managed to drop a brand new Sumiko Project turntable BEFORE I destroyed the Glider; the tonearm snapped off and the spindle bent. It was replaced by Sumiko for a repair cost of only $220. I went back to using my Linn and 10-yr-old van den Hul MM-1, which has a body and which I have never broken. But I guess it's only a matter of time. I wonder if I will somehow manage to turn my whole stand over next time?

My my my, In a perverse way I am comforted by the number of responses to my confession of klutzism. I guess I'm not all that rare a bird after all. Sorry to hear about each of your mishaps. The price we pay for our "big black CD's" is steep indeed.

"big black CD" is how my golfing friends 4 year old described our beloved vinyl when he saw it for the very first time at my house two weeks ago.

Thanks all and good listening.