Whats the most one would shelve out on a cartridge

[RobbieGong]

Out of interest how does a solid object like a tonearm get serviced? What do they actually do?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I'm no expert but play / wear of bearings is one thing addressed.
Also tonearm wire can be tight or hindering movement of the arm.
Mine was re-wired and upgraded with hybrid ceramic bearings. During that work it was discovered that the arm was bent so there you go.

[struth]

£200 and that was once. Far too much

[Haselsh1]

Back when I was into vinyl the most I would fork out for one would be £350-400 either brand new or secondhand.

[RobbieGong]

£200 and that was once. Far too much

[Barry]

Out of interest how does a solid object like a tonearm get serviced? What do they actually do?

Dismantle it, re-lubricate the bearings and re-assemble, checking for and reducing bearing play. There is no need to pay a fortune that the manufacturer will charge (especially SME, who now no longer service the older Series 3000 arms). There are other enthusiast outfits such as Audio Origami and Phonomac who can, and will, do just as good a job.

Though in the case of the SME V, since the service cost is about 20% of the cost of the arm, in this case I would get them to service the V, but not other SME designs.

[Vrajbasi]

I have a Mysonic Platinum and £8500 on loan does sound good but trying my best to resist

[Vrajbasi]

Dismantle it, re-lubricate the bearings and re-assemble, checking for and reducing bearing play. There is no need to pay a fortune that the manufacturer will charge (especially SME, who now no longer service the older Series 3000 arms). There are other enthusiast outfits such as Audio Origami and Phonomac who can, and will, do just as good a job.



Though in the case of the SME V, since the service cost is about 20% of the cost of the arm, in this case I would get them to service the V, but not other SME designs.

The only good thing with sme they will generally sort out cosmetic issues at no extra charge a friend had his 309 serviced with some lettering issues, Sme replaced the arm tube as part of the service and replaced the bearings, came back as new you pay the price but handy they have the parts available at there disposal. A bit like rolex with there watch services. A couple of years back my dealer who works closely with sme arranged for them to rebuild my 3012 arms they came back sounding great not sure that would be possible to do with the current owners.

Sme are great to deal with I have been on a couple of factory tours arranged by my dealer last one was when I took delivery of my 30/12 turntable in 2014 it was great seeing the Arms being built all very impressive. I hope it all continues under the new Management.

Jhonnie does do an excellent job and offer real value for money never used Phonomac.

[walpurgis]

The more exotic and expensive cartridges can be a good buy second hand, as the type of people who buy them often tend to always be looking for something even more exclusive, so don't keep them too long. Hence, they absorb the depreciation and you get a bargain (comparatively).

By the way, my most expensive cartridge cost me approaching a grand and I have two of them.

[RobbieGong]

Yep, Do your homework, communicate with the seller and ask those important questions ie: hours, why selling etc.
You'll have a real sense of whether to pounce or walkaway

[Jac Hawk]

The way i look at it is that once you go past an acceptable performance the cost or improvement literally spirals out of control so the more you spend the smaller the increase in the sound improvement is, that's the case with all hifi as well as many other things, i think what Geoff said about the exclusivity of something definitely comes in to play the more expensive and exotic the product is, for me i think about £600 would be the most i'd spend.