[Scott[_6_]]

On Oct 5, 11:08=A0am, bob wrote:
On Oct 4, 11:11=A0pm, Audio Empire wrote:

You certainly have a point there. While there are retailers who know vi=
nyl
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 =A0local shops, I'm not sure I'd trust most of them to pr=
operly
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, th=
ere is
a dealer called the "Analog Room' who know their stuff, but they are ab=
out
the only dealer I know that exhibits any real vinyl expertise.

I'm sure there are dealers who know this stuff. I'm sure there are
others who don't. The question is, how is the consumer to tell,
without developing the very expertise in question?

That is a fair question. But it really doesn't take a great deal of
research to figure this stuff out. I had no trouble with my dealer's
set abilities in the art of turntable/arm/cartridge set up. He went to
the trouble of explaining things to me and showing me how he did it.
IF there is a concern about arm/cartridge resonances all it takes is
the old Hifi News test record to give you the answer. The instructions
on the record jacket tell you how to use it and it is really simple.
But I really doubt there are mnay if ANY high end dealers sending
people out the door with mismatched arms and cartridges.

At which point, of
course, you know longer need the dealer's advice.

That is true.



And given what else they sell and promote--magic cables, magic pens,
magic stones--I'm mystified as to why we should trust any such dealer
to be right about anything related to audio.

This is just poor logic IMO. One can say the same thing about any
number of other beliefs. I won't go into that becaue religion is a
touchy subject but we do trust the judgement of many people in this
world who do believe in things that are outside the boundaries of
science.





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

Probably good advice, although I'm not sure the issue is as critical
as you've made it out to be.

The problem is that it is very limiting in options. You can get
something like this from Rega. Beyond that I'm not sure what
manufacturer would offer a complete package ready to play out of the
box.


My understanding (open to correction, of
course) is that neither high-compliance carts nor ultra-low-mass arms
are very common these days, market trends having moved in the higher-
mass-lower-compliance direction. So even someone picking components at
random has a decent chance of getting something that'll work.

Still, there is no substitute for actually learning the material and
doing the work. It has always struck me as odd that people would adopt
a technical hobby like audio, then go out and spend substantial sums
of money without learning the technical stuff. But my occasional scans
of audio discussions suggest that an awful lot of people who at least
think of themselves as audiophiles have no real understanding of this
issue.

IMO audio is first and formost about listening to music. that anyone
would have to become technically adroit to enjoy the hobby seems a bit
unfair and really it's not entirely true. But you are at the mercy of
a dealer or a knowledgable friend. people by sports cars and pay
others to get under the hood. Audio is no different in that regard.
And sure you can find a lousy technitian just as easily as you can
find a lousy mechanic. But this arm/cartridge resonance crisis is IMO
a non-event.



I blame Atkinson, because there's no point blaming Fremer.

Blame him for what? Of course it would be really funny to blame
Fremer, the guy who put out a do it yourself DVD on TT set up. That
would have been really funny.

Oh yeah, anyone can buy Michael Fremer's DVD on TT set up and learn
all about these things and more. "The horror, the horror" ;-)