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Fremer's review of the Anna cartridge

Fremer reviews the $8499 cartridge very positively, but it takes three different samples of the cartridge for him to get there. The first sample exhibited "an incompatibility between the adhesives used and the elastomer of which the cartridge's damper is made." Fremer notes "[e]vidently, however, this problem didn't affect every Anna that left the factory." Wow, what a relief. In the second sample, apparently "some the glue that secures the stylus in the cantilever had dripped." The third sample, after 100 hrs of break-in finally delivered. Fremer suggests buying and using an USB microscope as part of the cartridge buying process.

Does anyone else think this is absolutely nuts? It seems to me, at this price level, every single cartridge should be absolutely perfect. Haven't Ortofon heard of quality control? This also applies to Lyra whose $9500 Atlas cartridge had the stylus affixed to the cantilever at an angle that made it virtually impossible to get the SRA of 92 degrees.
actusreus

Showing 2 responses by mallen123

mallen123
110 posts
 
I have owned my Anna for several mths and no problems.

I have a Benz LP s mr and while it is very good, the Anna is more open and tighter bass. Although I still like the Benz's lush sound, then Anna is very addictive.

I am running the Anna on a graham phantom, clearaudio innovation, Zesto Andros phono, CJ 16 ls, Cary v12 i, Avantgarde Duos, Synergistic ref cabling.

Now if I could just get a replacement stylus guard for the one i lost, I'd be perfectly happy.
mallen123
110 posts
 
It would be interesting to hear from other Anna owners in this thread.

So far no actual Anna owner has said they had the same problem Fremer had.
If my count is correct, three Anna owners ( including me ) have responded with praise and no issues in this thread.

Weird that Fremer had two bad samples but would be really helpful to know if this was a case of lightning striking twice, or if there was/is a quality issue with the Anna.

I'm sure there are more than three Anna owners on Audiogon, so would be very interested to get their feedback.
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