Jico shipping times.

[Dingdong]

Quick question for anybody who's bought a new stylus from Jico.
How long after ordering did it take to arrive?

Just managed to break the cantilever on my beloved Shure VST V. Bugger!!

[chris@panteg]

My SAS p22 arrived after 9 days , Jico are good to deal with.

[Gromit]

My SAS p22 arrived after 9 days , Jico are good to deal with.

About the same for me, 9-10 days. :)

[Dingdong]

Cheers for that guys.
Hopefully if I order it on payday it'll arrive and be run in nicely for Scalford.
In the meantime I'll get some longer bolts and put the M95ed into action for a short while.

[morris_minor]

Mine was well over 2 weeks. But this was over Christmas/New Year ....

[rusty bearing]

Are there any import charges at our end? VAT and such?

[morris_minor]

It depends on how Jico fill in the customs form. I had to pay VAT on my SAS, plus I think there was an additional fee*. :(

Edit: *£13 bloody clearance charge!

[rusty bearing]

Thought as much, thanks

[chris@panteg]

I didn't with mine , but the precept stylus from the US cost me ! Pot luck I guess.

[Dingdong]

I've just placed the order for a VN5MR for my Shure. Came to around £120 with shipping.
I asked them to mark it as 'Replacement Stylus'. We'll see how we go with customs n stuff.
I just hope it's at least as good as my old VN5SEMR.

[Dingdong]

I've just received an email to say my order is being processed to ship on the 24th.
Not exactly speedy, but at least I know when it's being shipped. Wondering whether it was worth it to have paid the extra few quid for express delivery.

[Gromit]

I've just received an email to say my order is being processed to ship on the 24th.
Not exactly speedy, but at least I know when it's being shipped. Wondering whether it was worth it to have paid the extra few quid for express delivery.

I'd say that's pretty good - the SAS tips are all made to order. I've waited longer for stuff to come from the UK than it took Jico to send my stylus from Japan.

[Marco]

Wondering whether it was worth it to have paid the extra few quid for express delivery.

I always do that, as a matter of course, as that way there's less chance of things getting lost and/or damaged. That, and also I'm an impatient f*cker :D

Anyway, why risk the safety of your precious new hi-fi toy, or significantly delay its arrival, for the sake of a measly few quid? Bonkers! :mental:

Some folk are just too bloody mean!!

Marco.

[Dingdong]

I guess I'm a bit impatient as I'm without vinyl playback at the mo'. Realised I don't have long enough bolts for my backup cartridge.:doh:

[morris_minor]

It'll be worth the wait, Mark! :D

[Dingdong]

I thought the microridge in the VN5SEMR stylus was pretty good. As long as the SAS is about as good I'll be happy. It should be nicely run in in time for Scalford. I'll just get the Hadcock mounted on the SP-10 while I'm waiting. And maybe clean some more vinyl.

[Dingdong]

Just got an email to say it has been shipped. Looking forward to getting the tt going again. The cdp hasn't been sounding too shabby for the last week, though.

[Dingdong]

The tracking website says it's been waiting for presentation to customs in Coventry since the 26th.
I guess the Jico service is pretty good. Hopefully customs pull their finger out and I'm spinning vinyl before the end of the week.

[chris@panteg]

The tracking website says it's been waiting for presentation to customs in Coventry since the 26th.
I guess the Jico service is pretty good. Hopefully customs pull their finger out and I'm spinning vinyl before the end of the week.

I was lucky with my Jico but customs got hold of my precept stylus and hit me for over £30 :steam: Same place Coventry hub .

[Dingdong]

I could live with £30. I just want me stylus.

[chris@panteg]

I could live with £30. I just want me stylus.

Hope its not too long Mark , i think the Jico SAS are well worth it ! You won't find a better stylus :)

[Dingdong]

Today's update is 'Departure from inward office of exchange'.

I have no idea what this means, but I think it's positive.

[chris@panteg]

Today's update is 'Departure from inward office of exchange'.

I have no idea what this means, but I think it's positive.

Could be very good ? i got a letter telling me to pay the vat+cost ,then they sent it me , fingers crossed :)

[Dingdong]

Today's update is:

Processing at delivery Post Office

Scheduled delivery date:

Mmmm.....There seems to be a bit of information missing. Still things are progressing
Expecting either a bill or a stylus in the post any day now. :( or :)

[chris@panteg]

Today's update is:

Processing at delivery Post Office

Scheduled delivery date:

Mmmm.....There seems to be a bit of information missing. Still things are progressing
Expecting either a bill or a stylus in the post any day now. :( or :)

I think you won't have anything to pay , sounds like it's gone straight through , like I said I got a letter from customs which I had to settle 1st.
:)

[Dingdong]

Latest update says 'Retention'. Looks like I'll be getting a bill then.:(

[Dingdong]

Just got the bill from Parcelforce. £23.77 for import VAT. £13.50 for clearance fee. Ouch.

I can go and pay and pick it up today. Or pay online and wait for it to be hopefully delivered tomorrow. That'll be me driving up to Coventry in a minute then.

[Dingdong]

I did have it in my sticky paws. Now it's installed and I'm listening to a bit of vinyl.
After 10 minutes of play it sounds good so far. Will use it for a week or so before I comment further on it.
So far very happy, but a little poorer.

[Alex_UK]

Hurrah! Let's just hope you like how it sounds... ;)

[Dingdong]

It does sound rather good:)

[morris_minor]

+1 :)

[Dingdong]

So after listening for a few hours last night and this morning I'm most impressed by the SAS tip.
There is the tiniest bit of attack missing, but it's only been used for 6 hours max. Will see how this goes over the coming weeks. I quite like playing Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges to see how a needle copes with that sort of thing. One of my fav lp's at the moment.
Bass is most excellent. Slightly lower than the old needle and still quite tight. No hint of flabbiness here.
I'd say it's slightly different than the old tip, but as good as. Hopefully it improves with a few more hours under it's belt. Probably just in time for Scalford.

For £120 plus £37 in Vat and fees I'd happily recommend it. If you've got a Shure with an elliptical tip I would imagine that the improvement would be huge. I've got an M95ED that was soundly beaten by my VST V with the now sadly demised VN5SEMR tip.

[chris@panteg]

So after listening for a few hours last night and this morning I'm most impressed by the SAS tip.
There is the tiniest bit of attack missing, but it's only been used for 6 hours max. Will see how this goes over the coming weeks. I quite like playing Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges to see how a needle copes with that sort of thing. One of my fav lp's at the moment.
Bass is most excellent. Slightly lower than the old needle and still quite tight. No hint of flabbiness here.
I'd say it's slightly different than the old tip, but as good as. Hopefully it improves with a few more hours under it's belt. Probably just in time for Scalford.

For £120 plus £37 in Vat and fees I'd happily recommend it. If you've got a Shure with an elliptical tip I would imagine that the improvement would be huge. I've got an M95ED that was soundly beaten by my VST V with the now sadly demised VN5SEMR tip.


:) I think the Jico SAS are the best possible replacements and it is worth the hassle , glad you like it , give it a few more hours and it should improve further to your liking :cool:

[Dingdong]

I'm expecting further improvements when I pull my finger out and get the Hadcock on the tt. And also when I get a decent plinth. Just a light tap on the board the tt is mounting on doesn't half make a thump through the speakers.

I think the SAS tips are available through Thakker in Germany, but are about £200. SAves a few quid going direct. Enough for a shiny new bit of vinyl. In this case a replacement copy of Clapton unplugged. There was a bit of droppage on the last one, and one side is buggered:doh:.

The nice postman has just turned up with a couple of valves and a copy of Yello Touch. Just time for a quick play and it's off to the golf course. Laters.

[DSJR]

I'm possibly wrong on this, but a VST-V was similar to the V15XMR and possibly M97 series????????? if so, you'll ideally need a 68k loading to flatten the treble over 10kHz. Messing around with capacitance doesn't do it properly I understand and the regular 48k acts as a filter over 10kHz, the response dropping 5db to 20k and plummeting thereafter.

If there's any way the impedance loading of the phono stage can be changed (come back Quad 33, all is forgiven :)), you'll get your "attack" back...

[Dingdong]

M97!! Wash your mouth out.

It was placed somewhere between the V15 and the Ultra range. There is an old Hifi News review of it knocking about ont internet.

I'll give it a week or so before experimenting.
My phono stage is made from an old LK1 and Dirak. I just bypassed all of the rather nasty line stage and volume control. Sounds better than a few stages I've tried. Might have a play with resistors at some point in the future. But for the moment I'm just going to listen to some music.

[DSJR]

I sold both the M97HE when it was current and also the VST-V, which was underneath the V15 VMR at the time (half the price). I never got to try the Ultra 500 sadly. The bodies of the 97, VST and XMR weren't so different inside I understand, but obviously the mounting arrangements were in terms of materials. At the time, for £50, the M97HE was a darned good cartridge and far more refined than the then similarly priced Goldring 1006.

Apologies fellas, do you really want to know all this stuff? I'm getting to feel that all this experience is worthless here, especially when it appears to moderate recent discoveries from "on high."

[Macca]

Apologies fellas, do you really want to know all this stuff? "

Yes :)

[chris@panteg]

I sold both the M97HE when it was current and also the VST-V, which was underneath the V15 VMR at the time (half the price). I never got to try the Ultra 500 sadly. The bodies of the 97, VST and XMR weren't so different inside I understand, but obviously the mounting arrangements were in terms of materials. At the time, for £50, the M97HE was a darned good cartridge and far more refined than the then similarly priced Goldring 1006.

Apologies fellas, do you really want to know all this stuff? I'm getting to feel that all this experience is worthless here, especially when it appears to moderate recent discoveries from "on high."

Keep at it Dave :) Any ideas as to why my Precept cart sounds a bit rolled off in the extreme treble , otherwise its a lovely sounding thing with the most unforced delivery i have ever heard in a cartridge at this sort of price , could it need a lower than 47k loading ?

[DSJR]

I'm cheating, but have a look here -

http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6674

and follow the links..

It's usually been the thing to alter the capacitance as seen by the cartridge, 'cos it's easy to do. However, despite the standard load being 47K, some cartridges do seem to need either higher (68K approx) or lower if they're peaky like some old Deccas (30 - 40K), to fine tune the hf response.

I have no knowledge of the Precept at all I'm afraid. Some of the older AT VM based models had a falling treble and increasing the impedance and/or capacitive loading if possible may well lift the treble a tad. Other modern AT's are trebly in comparison (120/440 models) to make them more "CD like" in balance, especially with japanese vinyl pressings, which seemingly balance them out nicely.

Can't be more specific I'm afraid. I love the AT120E I have, used in a low mass and not too rigid arm (oh alright, a Garrard AP76 :eyebrows:) and I'm sure I'd also love the AT440MLa as long as azimuth and VTA is adjustable to fine tune the line contact tip.

Any help?


P.S. I for one, found the Grado prestige range to be a bit dull, the dullness getting worse as the models went from black to gold the resonance "sparkle" being refined out as one goes up the range. Grado have recently? announced a "1" replacement range, with slightly reduced tip mass and less turns on the internal coils. I have no real idea, but I wonder if the reduced moving mass might be a slightly shorter cantilever to increase generator movement to counteract the reduced coil efficiency, but the reduced coil turns may actually aid HF response and loading requirements. Purely amateurish guesswork, but good for them if there's a genuine improvement here :)

[chris@panteg]

I'm cheating, but have a look here -

http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6674

and follow the links..

It's usually been the thing to alter the capacitance as seen by the cartridge, 'cos it's easy to do. However, despite the standard load being 47K, some cartridges do seem to need either higher (68K approx) or lower if they're peaky like some old Deccas (30 - 40K), to fine tune the hf response.

I have no knowledge of the Precept at all I'm afraid. Some of the older AT VM based models had a falling treble and increasing the impedance and/or capacitive loading if possible may well lift the treble a tad. Other modern AT's are trebly in comparison (120/440 models) to make them more "CD like" in balance, especially with japanese vinyl pressings, which seemingly balance them out nicely.

Can't be more specific I'm afraid. I love the AT120E I have, used in a low mass and not too rigid arm (oh alright, a Garrard AP76 :eyebrows:) and I'm sure I'd also love the AT440MLa as long as azimuth and VTA is adjustable to fine tune the line contact tip.

Any help?


P.S. I for one, found the Grado prestige range to be a bit dull, the dullness getting worse as the models went from black to gold the resonance "sparkle" being refined out as one goes up the range. Grado have recently? announced a "1" replacement range, with slightly reduced tip mass and less turns on the internal coils. I have no real idea, but I wonder if the reduced moving mass might be a slightly shorter cantilever to increase generator movement to counteract the reduced coil efficiency, but the reduced coil turns may actually aid HF response and loading requirements. Purely amateurish guesswork, but good for them if there's a genuine improvement here :)

Thanks Dave , very helpful , i don't think it needs any special loading , I'm going to try a different tonearm lead this weekend courtesy of David Brook as i need to find out if the SME leads are Van Den Dull as many claim , need to do a little surgery on my 1210 base 1st though .

[Dingdong]

I've played around 30 lp's with it so far. Sounding very good. There was a quick valve swap in the amp in the middle of this, but everything is sounding really rather nice.
Stylus cleaning is now done using a little pot of some sort of putty that you lower the needle into for a few seconds. Not too long or it will sink too far. Works a treat and will stop any of my little mishaps in the future.
Big thumbs up for the SAS tip. Without it I'd be having to spend quite a few quid on a replacement cartridge.
A shiny new copy of Clapton Unplugged (2lp 180g) arrived in the post this morning. I'm rather happily spinning that with a slightly cheesy grin. :)

[DSJR]

I'd like to say that I'd play the CD with an even cheesier grin, but things CD wise aren't running to plan and good as the Digit's audio output is, I'm thinking coupling cap change (or removal) instead of enjoying the music which flowed so freely from the Micro-Seiki, which is still sulking :(

[Dingdong]

What you want is one of them vrds 7's. Might be the cheaper mech, but lasers are still cheap and mine does sound rather loverly for less than a ton.