I recently completed a several year quest to acquire a new cartridge. This quest was basically a major PITA and a nightmare!
Why? Well let’s take a look at what will be in store for all cartridge buyers’ in the US...and possibly other countries as well..IF they are seeking a top flite cartridge , like I was.
Firstly, and here’s where a big part of the problem lies: You will typically be unable to audition any cartridge under consideration...certainly not in your own home and more often than not, at your dealers either.
Then we have the fact that these products are closely monitored for who and whom can act as a dealer...which is then severally restricted by territory and distribution. We then add that the pricing is very well controlled...CAN WE SAY PRICE FIXING...which in most states is an illegal practice...but seems to be the rule here.
Let’s begin with my story...and then I am hoping that members will chime in here with their thoughts and probably also their own ’horror stories’....
About three years ago, I decided to acquire a cartridge that would replace my aging but still ok Benz Ruby 2... I wanted a cartridge that would surpass that Benz in most areas...and one that would be priced at about $3-$5K. A lot of money to be spending on this piece of gear...or so I believed.
At the time, I was considering the following models....Benz LPS MR, Koetsu Urushi and Rosewood Platinum and the Lyra Kleos, Delos, a EMT, the Kiseki Purpleheart, Air Tight ( entry level model at the time..cannot remember what it was called) an Ortofon A90--and a Transfiguration Proteus--lastly one of the ZYX models. After some research, i discovered that the Ortofon’s, the Zyx’s and the Transfigurations wouldn’t work with my set up --due to too low an output by the respective cartridges for my all tube phono stage. So this left the Kiseki, the Koetsu’s, the Lyra’s and the Benz’s...and possibly the Air Tight model.
Circumstances changed and my cartridge buying escapade was put on hold...until a few months back. In the few years since my last foray, I find out that Benz have basically gone out of business ( again!!) and so has Transfiguration. Meanwhile, the Van Den Hul line has come into the US again...this time with a new distributor. The Zyx line has totally been updated and the Lyra line is now more available than before...at least in theory. The Koetsu are now handled by Music Direct...who have essentially doubled the pricing across the board! Oh, i forgot, the Lyra line has increased by about 25% across the board ( i don’t think inflation can account for this!!) So where to start auditioning --the answer...nowhere! Instead I am supposed to rely on various dealers enthusiastic recommendation for these products...except for the fact that one dealer tells me that Koetsu’s are the best thing since mothers milk- and the other tells me that Koetsu’s are horrible with all the faults under the sun...( at least the ones that are in my budget..see above!) Can I hear any of these for myself...either in my system, or at the respective dealers...heck NO! ( and don’t think this type of scenario/ behavior isn’t consistent for other brands as well!--irrespective of whether the dealer(s) carries said brand or not!).
Here I am left with the choice of dropping several thousand dollars on a product that a) has no ability to be heard in my own system..therefore having no clue as to the results that I will get, b) has absolutely no return policy c) can be easily damaged by myself or others in the case of incorrect mounting to the tonearm...and lastly...and this is the one that really annoys me the most: I must shop for these products at a very limited amount of vendors who all are naysaying their competitors and acting extremely unprofessionally in the process. ( Do i really have to talk to the prospective rep for the line in order to determine the compatibility of the cartridge under question with my arm, the reasoning behind the asked price, where the dealer is that should be selling me the piece in question ( so as not to cross territorial lines) and on and on!!)
Then we have this little bonbon...The damn Japanese sourced cartridge(s) is available on several Japanese web sites at a price that is usually 50 -60% of the retail price here in the USA!! And that price in Japan is still at FULL RETAIL! ( Yes, I know it cost a ton of money to ship these things from Japan to here ( since they weigh a ton), LOL).
Where does this leave the US consumer in regards to the acquisition of a top flite cartridge...IMO the answer is between a hard place and a rock..You either pay through the nose and get totally ripped off by the likes of Music Direct and the various small independent reps in the US for these cartridges, or you takes your choice and risk buying from a grey market vendor abroad...but at a fraction of the price! BTW, mysteriously most of the top flite Benz cartridges continue to be very available from a vendor in China who seems to have cornered the market?? What’s up with this??
I can go on and about this journey, as I have just began to scratch the top of the heap in this story, but let’s hear from you guys as to your experiences and thoughts.... Was your top flite cartridge acquisition an equal nightmare, or was it something else?
Looks like the ZYX line has gone into a new cantilever material...Carbon Fibre. That should be an interesting aspect as to whether these cantilevers prove to be durable or not. Although, I would see no reason to suspect that they would be any better or worse than Boron.
@hdm Without doubt, one doesn't know what the results of a re-tip from a after market re-tipper will be until one receives the result and listens to it; but I have a few friends who have gone this route ( with high priced cartridges) and none of them were very pleased with the resulting SQ. One attempted to sell his cartridge with full disclosure, he got a few pennies on the dollar after months on the market. So, the after market re-tipper is not something I would consider.
I believe that the carbon fiber cantilever is an option, available on some of their product; not all ZYX cartridges use it. The rest will continue to use boron. Based on the SQ imparted by CF in the context of some other audio components I have heard (speakers, tonearms, headshells, cartridge bodies, etc), I will stick with boron. But I doubt that CF cantilevers would be less "durable" than boron, under normal conditions of use.
Sitting here right now listening to my AB copy of Aja with a ART9 on a $1500 TT and could not be happier. I live in a Metro area of 2 million people and no true hi end shop where you can even purchase a $3000 cartridge. I gave up and ordered the ART9 from 2juki. It is a wonderful cartridge that is still getting better with each play. Will probably order another or get a Van Den Hull or Fritz Geiger next time. My direct path pre is VERY kind to every table and cartridge it has been hooked up to. Would love to hear the $3-5K carts but at some point common sense takes over in regards to the hassle and the 7 layer BS salad that accompany very high end audio.
@thepreludeimplicit. You bring up some very good points. Why do you have no true high end shop in a Metro area of 2 million...where you can purchase a high end cartridge? I guess I’m lucky, as in my area with about the same population, I do have one or two shops that are dealers...although they don’t seem to carry any inventory. The 7layer BS salad is certainly prevalent these days, which is why I think it is so very important to listen to gear in consideration in one’s own system before committing to an expensive purchase. Others apparently are only too happy to risk large $$ on either someone else’s recommendation, or just go in totally blind. Not ideal at all imho.
I have been able to minimize risk by doing the following:
A - do the homework B - listen in a showroom on a setup that approximates your own as best possible C - buy the showroom model. The minus: it’s used, but by salespeople who are supposed to know how to handle it and usually has no more than 50 hrs on it. The plus: it’s 1/2 price, it still comes with the dealer guarantee, and it’s already broken in.
My only bad experience was with a Grado, sold to me by an inexperienced or irresponsible salesperson who claimed he did not know that it was incompatible with my Sumiko MMT arm. The store owner knew, however, and took it back immediately.
i bought my Benz and my Koetsu Black and Koetsu Rosewood Platinum that way. My Koetsu Onyx was a gift. Lucky me as I wouldn’t ever spend even 1/2 price on an Onyx. I try to keep my spending within reason: there are starving children in Eritrea! 🙄
Once I settled on a cartridge, I stay with it. I’ve gotten decades of use out of the Benz and the Koetsu Rosewood Platinum. The Onyx is a relatively new addition.
I have been sending them all to Van den Hul for retipping for 20 years at least. He does excellent work at a fair price. Doing so degrades the resale value but I have no intention of selling them so it does not matter.
You guys have seen too many James Bond movies. As against Chakster’s experience with 2juki, there are many others who have had good experiences buying from him. (I purchased a used, vintage tonearm from him, not a cartridge, and I was very pleased with the transaction.) The risk for a new cartridge would be that the distributor in your own country would probably not honor the Japan-only warranty. Why should he? I am certainly not questioning Chakster’s veracity here. I’d like to know more.
Well, used items is another story, no problem with them or with vintage stuff he could sell. But the question is why a brand new ZYX products is cheaper from him than from anybody else? Serial number of the very old ZYX appeared on a brand new ZYX cartridges from Juki. My own brand new ZYX Airy III came with fake serial number. I did not tell about the source when i asked to check serial number with US Distributor and Japanese manufacturer.
I’m not sure where 2juki would get a ZYX cartridge with a "fake" serial number, in the first place, unless the implication is that the cartridge is not new or not what it is labeled as.
Serial number most likely replaced by him or his supplier who would like to remain unknown, this how someone trying to get rid of the overstock by selling products to greymarket dealers (to sell them for much lover price than official price, even with discount). This is a real war between manufacturer/distributor and grey market sellers.
What i can say for sure is that a distributor will be happy to make a discount too, maybe not all of them. And to make a good contact with a honest distributor is much better than with a grey market seller (imo).
On my French forum a few members have bought at 2juki without problems. Zyx cartridge are another problems. 2 members have bought zyx and received not working cartridges, they got an exchange. But other members got non working zyx from an official importer too. So zyx is a bit special and on WBF forum one member got a 15000 dollars zyx not working. So there are rumours than zyx use subcontractors, hence the grey market and non reliability problem. Personally my zyx airy got the suspension destroyed before 1000 hours so my next cartridge will not be a zyx. A pity because zyx sound fantastic.
On my French forum a few members have bought at 2juki without problems.
No problem until you would like to upgrade the cartridge officially when it's time to (when the diamond is worn), so you can not do that with grey market ZYX with fake serial numbers (Nakatsuka-San refuse it). You can only proceed with third-party vendors, the problem is that no one can give you the same cantilever and the same stylus mounting style, look at the picture of my Airy III original cantilever.
What I wanted to say is 2juki seems a serious man but buying a aux is a different thing. On pinkishmedia the English official importer said that it's s rare than zyx cartridge need retipping as the suspension generally fails or get jammed up with debris.
@gilles130 if anyone would like to repair the suspension then it’s also impossible, same logic, ZYX cartridge body is sealed, nobody knows which material has been used by Nakatsuka-San for suspension/damper. If you proceed via official distributor then you will get a brand new cartridge or next model, but all you need is to ship your original cartridge back to Japan via distributor to get special discount for the next one. They do not repair or retip ZYX, they will give you a brand new ZYX. You can’t do that with grey market cartridge from grey market seller who manipulates with serial numbers. End of the story.
For those who would like to save buying grey market product there is no benefits when it comes to retip (or suspension repair) they can only proceed with third-party vendors to get some sort of Frankenstain instead of original ZYX. In my opinion ZYX cartridge is for rich dudes ready to pay for a new one when the first one is worn out (full support from the manufacturer if the high price is not a problem).
You ended up with another cartridge, me too So ZYX is not for me.
I have a mark Levinson mlc1 cartridge from around 1981. It has been retipped twice by van den hull and the suspension has lasted more than 32 years. I am going to send it to Torlai in Italy to get it repaired. I have ordered a Benz LP.S
"Where does this leave the US consumer in regards to the acquisition of a
top flite cartridge...IMO the answer is between a hard place and a
rock..."
Poor Davey has just three thousand or maybe even FIVE THOUSAND
DOLLARS to spend on a phono cartridge and the mean ol' audio industry
has just too many traps & tricks.Your essay clearly expresses your suffering.I think you are in the wrong hobby my friend. Or stick with digital technology. It's a lot more...binary.
@tsloan You sound like another dealer who is trying to justify this practice. Or maybe you are just fine with the status quo and are happy to get fleeced...either way, very weak, IMO.
I have been sending them all to Van den Hul for retipping for 20 years at least. He does excellent work at a fair price.
Too bad it has the bad habit of sticking VDH stamps everywhere and to sign with the electric pen every cartridge that has been entrusted by the owners for a simple revision or for a full refurbishment. For a simple check of my Audioquest 7000 has engraved in his body bottom with the electric pen his signature, month and year without asking consent and all this has greatly annoyed me; I still can not wont send cartridges to this person.
@best-groove. I can sort of understand your frustration. However, how did the cartridge sound when it came back to you, was it as good as when original? If so, I would think that this would override the issue with AJ doing his thing. When you say a simple check...what did AJ actually do...besides mark up your cartridge?
best-groove, Has it occurred to you that vdH may mark cartridges he has worked on so that, if the cartridge shows up on his bench again years later, he will have a record of his work and the date thereof? I admit it's an eccentric practice but probably without malicious intent. Ten years from now, you may in fact benefit from his having done it.
@daveyf a simple check of the suspension after a few years of break.
@lewm if he wants to keep a record of the cartridges entered in his laboratory he can mark the serial numbers that every 50 year old head has on it and should ask the owner if he wants to put his damned permanent signature on it. Imagine if every hi-fi repairer put his signature on the front or on the chassis of the electronics that repairs ... Mark Levinson, Accuphase, Audio Research etc.etc. all signed by the repair technician. :(
He also treated my father’s Nakamichi MC 1000 in the same way, except that in this head he limited himself to sticking stickers everywhere, in the body, in the box, in the owner’s manual, in short everywhere, and the work (substitution cantilever and stylus) also if it was done over 35 years ago it is horrible .... maybe that day it was drunk or it was still a noob; my father first and I then after having inherited it we have never had the courage to use it in 35 years for fear of damaging the records, only now I decided to remedy the bad work by sending it to another cartridge man to do it all over again.
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