Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

HiFi Guy said:
Hi and welcome!

First, that turntable uses a standard mount cartridge. Is it’s got a P mount on it now, that’s because it’s using an adaptor. That’s good news- it opens up your possibilities.

That table originally came with an Ortofon OM series cartridge- the OM-10 that is still available for under $100.

Another oration would be a Grado. They start at $80 and fit the bill as far as what you are looking for.
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Thanks for the quick response. I'll look into the OM-10 as well as the Grado. One quick follow up: where do you recommend shopping for these cartridges? My initial inclination is to go on Ebay but perhaps there's a better, more reliable online retailer?
 
mingerton said:
Thanks for the quick response. I'll look into the OM-10 as well as the Grado. One quick follow up: where do you recommend shopping for these cartridges? My initial inclination is to go on Ebay but perhaps there's a better, more reliable online retailer?
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Music Direct and Elusive Disc carry both.
 
kvetcha said:
Is it a bait and switch when they sell you something better for the same money, though?

This is actually how I got my Soundsmith. Tried to buy a previous model on closeout for $1300 and they had run out, so they sold me the new one ($1999) for the same price.
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So I put my order in on that open box Soundsmith Zephyr, and I got an email asking if I'd rather have a brand new sealed version for 10% more, which is effectively $500 off retail.

Bait and Switch isn't the right term, but they seem to be drawing in customers with the open box price (or maybe also knowing an item is out of stock) and then trying to sell the new, in stock item at below retail. I've read of similar experiences with Hifi Heaven on other forums. It benefits the consumer sure, but are they just trying to move new product at lower than MSRP under the radar from manufacturers? Does it feel a little shady? Yes. Am I going to buy from them? Yes.

At any rate, I guess anyone in the states looking to buy something should see if Hifi Heaven has it first, and what price they'd be willing to sell it to you for.
 
Splunders said:
So I put my order in on that open box Soundsmith Zephyr, and I got an email asking if I'd rather have a brand new sealed version for 10% more, which is effectively $500 off retail.

Bait and Switch isn't the right term, but they seem to be drawing in customers with the open box price (or maybe also knowing an item is out of stock) and then trying to sell the new, in stock item at below retail. I've read of similar experiences with Hifi Heaven on other forums. It benefits the consumer sure, but are they just trying to move new product at lower than MSRP under the radar from manufacturers? Does it feel a little shady? Yes. Am I going to buy from them? Yes.

At any rate, I guess anyone in the states looking to buy something should see if Hifi Heaven has it first, and what price they'd be willing to sell it to you for.
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I believe @VMPKJ actually purchased that open box cart. HiFi Heaven is legit, but they are really bad at updating their site promptly.

I got mine this same way, though, and would definitely buy from them again, so perhaps the loss of profit margin is worth the repeat business.
 
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kvetcha said:
I believe @VMPKJ actually purchased that open box cart. HiFi Heaven is legit, but they are really bad at updating their site promptly.

I got mine this same way, though.
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Gotcha. Based off of yours and @VMPKJ experiences, I'm comfortable buying from them. Also, I did my math wrong. The new $2k retail cart will be $1,375.

I had been considering the Hana ML as an option (the Mofi arm is heavy, so finding a low compliance cart in the price and quality I wanted was a little harder than I expected) but really wanted the Zephyr, but at $800 more, wasn't sure I was ready for that. Super happy I can get the Zephyr at basically the Hana price!
 
Splunders said:
Gotcha. Based off of yours and @VMPKJ experiences, I'm comfortable buying from them. Also, I did my math wrong. The new $2k retail cart will be $1,375.

I had been considering the Hana ML as an option (the Mofi arm is heavy, so finding a low compliance cart in the price and quality I wanted was a little harder than I expected) but really wanted the Zephyr, but at $800 more, wasn't sure I was ready for that. Super happy I can get the Zephyr at basically the Hana price!
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At that price (also what I paid) it is a steal. Report back!
 
HiFi Guy said:
Music Direct and Elusive Disc carry both.
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Are those the best place to get cartridges, I am unsure about MD because FedEx requiring a signature even for something this small and my family isn't always at my house. So I wonder about stuff like TTL or LP Gear
 
duke86fan said:
Are those the best place to get cartridges, I am unsure about MD because FedEx requiring a signature even for something this small and my family isn't always at my house. So I wonder about stuff like TTL or LP Gear
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TTL and LP Gear are both legit, although I've heard of people having mixed experiences with TTL. They're not scammers or anything.
 
kvetcha said:
TTL and LP Gear are both legit, although I've heard of people having mixed experiences with TTL. They're not scammers or anything.
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i really liked the record mat my sister got me that was from TTL, unlike the other cork mat i got it was actually flat and did sound better, though that was done fulfilled through amazon i think

i dunno how it would be for styli and cartridges

it was just the option i would do if MD required a signature for FedEx on equipment
 
duke86fan said:
i really liked the record mat my sister got me that was from TTL, unlike the other cork mat i got it was actually flat and did sound better, though that was done fulfilled through amazon i think

i dunno how it would be for styli and cartridges

it was just the option i would do if MD required a signature for FedEx on equipment
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You can 'sign' FedEx packages online so they will deliver without an in-person signature.
 
Splunders said:
So I put my order in on that open box Soundsmith Zephyr, and I got an email asking if I'd rather have a brand new sealed version for 10% more, which is effectively $500 off retail.

Bait and Switch isn't the right term, but they seem to be drawing in customers with the open box price (or maybe also knowing an item is out of stock) and then trying to sell the new, in stock item at below retail. I've read of similar experiences with Hifi Heaven on other forums. It benefits the consumer sure, but are they just trying to move new product at lower than MSRP under the radar from manufacturers? Does it feel a little shady? Yes. Am I going to buy from them? Yes.

At any rate, I guess anyone in the states looking to buy something should see if Hifi Heaven has it first, and what price they'd be willing to sell it to you for.
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I got an open box from them. On another ad they offered me something else.

If they have what you want it’s great. Even better if they will give you a new one for that price.
 
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duke86fan said:
and thats what makes me nervous... sometimes they come while my mom and dad are at work and im at school so that would not be a good thing
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If you have a FedEx location nearby you can have them deliver it there so you can just pick up at your leisure.
 
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