The Blue Angel Mantis cartridge

Member 'mosin' is very experienced with these carts, and thinks highly of them. You might look him up in 'members' and shoot him an email. Friendly guy-plus you can talk about the *very* high end idler tt he manufactures.

Also, he posts on VA and Oswalds Mill, so you might do a search at those-I know he's discussed the Blue Angel at one or both.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1036349020&openflup&1280&4#1280

On misconception I feel I must clear up here. I have recently ordered a Blue Angel with an aluminium cantilever. It is not even close to $US5k. I got the price from Blue Angel last year and he has stuck to it even though his costs have risen, but I am paying well less than $US2k, although, as I said, he has said costs have risen and they are going to be more expensive in the future. Can't see the aluminium cantilever, or the ruby cantilever, versions going anywhere near $US5k though.

DS

Congrats on the new cartridge David. Sounds like you got a bargain.

This pricing discrepancy is confusing though. Big,big difference between US$5k and less than $2k.

Hi,
So much for 'misconceptions'.
It did bug me, so I went to the source, ah lookie here, 5k USD as I'd recalled. Now don't hold it against me if I had recalled a web-quoted price and not some 'special deal'. Just for the record, and THAT when the USD was A LOT stronger!

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Model: Mantis
Category: Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price: $5000.00
Description: Moving Coil
Manufacturer URL: Blue Angel Analogue Audio SA
Model Picture: View

Review by mosin on January 01, 2008 at 16:41:04
IP Address: 69.246.183.42 Add Your Review
for the Mantis

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I had some contact with the maker, and found him reasonably approachable, OK --- but in NO WAY would he even consider re-tip a cart (not his own to be fair).

Go speak to Jan Allaerts (in Beligium) and he seems to go out of his way to be helpful, just for the record too!

I live in SA, just for the record also :-)
So our Mantis maker was just fine, for me to go the long way to Belgium, or Italy (some other re-tipping works) rather then me sending a cart from Johannesburg to Cape town for a re-tip, just for the record. I don't consider that exactly too helpful, sorry.

His cart will sound fine, as we have heard, and I will not say it doesn't ---- but 5000 USD in Jan. 2008 for a Alu cantilevered Fritz Gyger or not... (Allaert uses these too, but no way with an Alu-tube canti) that is asking too much, I say.
Since he seemed to have adjusted his price to less than 1/2 !! That's a story different entirely.
Funny thing is, living kind of next door, I'm not even sure he'd consider this kind of discount around here --- he obviously likes his US business, good for him.
Greetings,
Axel