Massive price hike for AT carts

I had the opportunity to chat with Dave at SoundHifi and he informed me that audiotechnica have upped their wholesale prices by some 70%.

Yikes! I was considering an OC9-MLII at the old price but I took too much time to make up my mind.

On the other hand for those that don't mind going direct to a japanese source the AT33PTG and AT33EV can be had at US$369 and $549 respectively plus shipping. (look here ; http://www.audiocubes2.com/brand/Audio-Technica.html )

Do the sums and even if you have to pay import duty and VAT on top your going to get a great cartridge at an unbeatable price.

Can't wait to get my mitts on the the AT33PTG that I ordered.

cheers

The Dollar is now worth 40% more than it was last summer. I think the Yen has increased in value even more. Its inevitable that the prices of anything purchased in Dollars, Yen or indeed Euro's will have to rise significantly.

Does anyone know the AT-32E cartridge ? I was wondering if it is the grandfather of the AT-33. The body shape is very similar but shiny silver and the box talks of a gold covered beryllium cantilever which all sounds very impressive.
I have come across some other NOS models too - AT-25, AT-14Sa,AT-34eII, AT-15SS, AT-F3, AT-24 etc. etc. Some of them come as an integral part of a headshell arrangement (AT-34eII). I know cartridges are supposed to have perishable parts but these have been stored away in boxes and cartons and I was wondering if any might be worth a punt.