[Audio Empire]

On Tue, 4 Oct 2011 16:11:19 -0700, bob wrote
(in article ):

On Oct 3, 7:07=A0am, Scott wrote:

Or if they have a dealer who actually understands the basics of vinyl
playback. They are easy to find.

Seriously? Trust in the knowledge of the same dealers who think cable
at $100/ft. makes a difference? The last dealer I talked to about
turntables tried to sell me a green pen for my CDs.

If consumers are dependent on those clowns, they haven't a chance.

bob


You certainly have a point there. While there are retailers who know vinyl
and are qualified to recommend arm/cartridge combinations (and can even
properly install them), my take is that they are few and far between. 'Jerry
Raksin's Needle Doctor' has the reputation of doing a good job at this and
will professionally install a cartridge in a turntable package as can 'The
Audio Advisor', 'Music Direct', and 'The Elusive Disc', et al (at least with
the packages they sell), but these people are mail-order. From talking to the
folks at most local shops, I'm not sure I'd trust most of them to properly
install a cartridge (or even suggest proper matchings), as I've seen no
evidence that they posses any special competence with record playing
equipment, if they sell it at all. In the SF Bay Area, where I live, there is
a dealer called the "Analog Room' who know their stuff, but they are about
the only dealer I know that exhibits any real vinyl expertise.

I think the average vinyl owner would do a lot better to either buy a compete
manufacturer's ensemble, with cartridge preinstalled, or to learn the basics
and select and install the cartridge one's self.

Of course, it would be nice if the manufacturers could make this selection
process easier with some kind of standardized matching nomenclature. 8^)

As usual, I have no connection with any of these aforementioned dealers, etc.