Angsty
Well-Known Member
I would not surprised if VPI outsourced re-tipping to VAS given their shared history and proximity.
The VPI Turntable Thread
- Thread starter JohnnyCashFan
- Start date
Mather
Unknown Member
So I just checked and the current cost of a 2M Black stylus, just the stylus, is $850 CAD. That's pretty much made the decision for me. Unless the SHYLA has some sort of incredible retip deal, I'm going SoundSmith. $850 for a black every 1000 hours or about $525 CAD for a Zephyr MIMC Star. No competition there.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
All I will say is Europe is still much cheaper for the 2M black same as the 2M blue.
£374.99 shipped to Canada. They remove the vat as it’s for export.
That’s $620ish so even if you did get hit for customs it’s going to be less than the local price.
But yes the soundsmith is still a way better deal.
Ortofon 2M Black Replacement Stylus
Ortofon 2M Black Replacement Stylus Replacement stylus for the flagship 2M Black moving magnet cartridge. All 2M cartridges' styli can be interchanged with replacement styli from the rest of the series, but the 2M Bronze and Black have a superior cartridge body, when compared to the 2M Red and...
www.analogueseduction.net
For any yanks, without import duty, looking for a 2M black £374.99, or £594.99 for the lvb250, inc shipping is a bit of a steal.
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Mather
Unknown Member
It's honestly insane how much this stuff has gone up. The entire black cart is only $80 more than the stylus. It was like $650 last time I bought one barely 1.5 years agoAll I will say is Europe is still much cheaper for the 2M black same as the 2M blue.
£374.99 shipped to Canada. They remove the vat as it’s for export.
That’s $620ish so even if you did get hit for customs it’s going to be less than the local price.
But yes the soundsmith is still a way better deal.
Ortofon 2M Black Replacement Stylus
Ortofon 2M Black Replacement Stylus Replacement stylus for the flagship 2M Black moving magnet cartridge. All 2M cartridges' styli can be interchanged with replacement styli from the rest of the series, but the 2M Bronze and Black have a superior cartridge body, when compared to the 2M Red and...www.analogueseduction.net
For any yanks, without import duty, looking for a 2M black £374.99, or £594.99 for the lvb250, inc shipping is a bit of a steal.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yeah there was a price jump on pets earlier this year. It’s why I jumped on the quintet. It’s gone up to €999 but a store here still had some they’d bought in before the price hike so I got it for €830.
Any 2M styli in North America seem have an other side of the ocean tax on them too, it’s so much cheaper to buy from analogue seduction even with shipping.
Mather
Unknown Member
Love that store, ordered from them in the past. Great guys
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yeah pre brexit I ordered some pretty expensive bits of gear of them as well and they were just really sound on the phone and everything was so easy!
SnowmaNick
Well-Known Member
I have a midterm goal of changing my speakers. Of the three that I was looking at, they’ve gone from $10k to $15.5k, $17k to $27k, and $22k to $38k (!!!!!) in the last two years alone. I went from thinking of getting new speakers next year to wondering if I can get them in 3 years, (if they stop going up).
Mather
Unknown Member
That's just completely insane. Good lord.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Just be prepared for the SoundSmith retip to take 8 to 10 weeks; there is always a long backlog.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Worldwide List of Phono Cartridge Retippers and Rebuilders - The Vinyl Press
Worldwide List of phono cartridge retippers and rebuilders. Cartridge damage and wear evaluations. Third party phono cartridge repair services.
thevinylpress.com
Mather
Unknown Member
Yeah I mean i will be keeping the black on hand for just such an occasion. But I'll just be happy as long as they continue to offer the service and it's not $1000
OMC
Well-Known Member
You must have looked into The Music Room's operation at one time or another, right? Local to us and they get great gear in all the time at waaay below retail prices. I've dealt with them and they are straight shooters.
SnowmaNick
Well-Known Member
spydrwebb44
Member
Back with an update, folks.
I'm still dealing with trying to figure out the "hum" feedback from the addition of my Classic 3.
Have a couple messages into VPI and Darlington Labs, respectively, and imagine I'll hear from them soon.
In fairness, I've been more or less unavailable dusk to dawn these past three days.
In different news, I made a significant transition this week into different kit.
Found a suitor for my Cambridge stack and came across an opportunity to buy into the Stellar series of PSA I couldn't refuse.
Thankfully, I was able to receive (mostly) enough support from my wife to do so... but I'm officially pressing my luck.
So, I won't be making any significant purchases out of pocket for at least 6 months, as that was the agreement we struck.
I can still trade and sell, just no outright transactions equal to or greater than $500. All told, that's more than fair.
After all, Lisa's my first love... not HiFi.
I'll be incorporating these two Stellar components (pun intended) into my setup this coming week.
- Gain Cell DAC/Pre
- S300 Amp
Cheers!
I'm still dealing with trying to figure out the "hum" feedback from the addition of my Classic 3.
Have a couple messages into VPI and Darlington Labs, respectively, and imagine I'll hear from them soon.
In fairness, I've been more or less unavailable dusk to dawn these past three days.
In different news, I made a significant transition this week into different kit.
Found a suitor for my Cambridge stack and came across an opportunity to buy into the Stellar series of PSA I couldn't refuse.
Thankfully, I was able to receive (mostly) enough support from my wife to do so... but I'm officially pressing my luck.
So, I won't be making any significant purchases out of pocket for at least 6 months, as that was the agreement we struck.
I can still trade and sell, just no outright transactions equal to or greater than $500. All told, that's more than fair.
After all, Lisa's my first love... not HiFi.
I'll be incorporating these two Stellar components (pun intended) into my setup this coming week.
- Gain Cell DAC/Pre
- S300 Amp
Cheers!
spydrwebb44
Member
Ok, I've isolated it to what appears to be a bonafide ground loop. Haven't been able to investigate resolve yet because I just got back into town.
Anyone ever subscribe to one of those noise eliminator gizmos? HumZero, HumX, or another worthy equivalent... preferably made in USA?
Anyone ever subscribe to one of those noise eliminator gizmos? HumZero, HumX, or another worthy equivalent... preferably made in USA?
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
The gain cell is a really nice sounding pre. I really like mine and the inbuilt DAC sounds great. The usb input is a bit kooky, works fine with computers and phones or tablets but for whatever reason it isn’t so keen on Linux based streaming boxes.
The matching phono stage is something I’d perhaps like in my system down the line.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Do you know what component is causing the ground loop?
I use these to great effect in my system. UK designed and manufactured (based in Southport, on the coast just outside Liverpool) and they made a huge difference for me.
GND Defender by iFi audio - Eliminates ground loops that often cause audible speaker hum.
GND Control The GND Defender (Ground) eliminates ground loops in your audio set-up that often cause audible speaker hum.
ifi-audio.com
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spydrwebb44
Member
Not yet, just made it home and a lot of work was waiting for me.Do you know what component is causing the ground loop?
I use these to great effect in my system. UK designed and manufactured (based in Southport, on the coast just outside Liverpool) and they made a huge difference for me.
GND Defender by iFi audio - Eliminates ground loops that often cause audible speaker hum.
GND Control The GND Defender (Ground) eliminates ground loops in your audio set-up that often cause audible speaker hum.
Duly noted on magical UK device.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
After a couple of weeks with the MP-300 in place of the Hana ML, I went back to the Hana. It turns out, when I used the MP-300 last, I was using the Insight phono instead of the Bryston.
With the laid-back nature of the Insight, it was a great match with the forwardness of the MP-300. The forwardness of the Nagaoka and the Bryston together made things sound too edgy for my tastes. Also, there seemed to be more accumulation of static with the MP-300 than with the ML. The Bryston appears to be more sensitive to this than the Insight and the noise floor of the system was raised with the MP-300 in place.
I had spent little time considering how well a phono would match with specific cartridges before this, so the switch was instructive.