Funny! If she knew the extent of my Audio sickness she would be my X |
I don't think that soldering a lead back on constitutes anything note worthy. Just keep it between you and your X wife.
|
Yeah, I saw your other post on that. There is no doubt that when chasing the ever ellusive "absolute sound", the laws of diminshing returns hit early and hard in cartridges. I won't say more so in cartridges than in other areas, but I've been there, done that.
Think about that amp upgrade. Maybe you're "hearing" how good the Denon is because you want to spend that money on an amp. The merry-go-round never stops my friend, someone else just found a sweet amp that costs 5% of what his old amp did, because he wants to buy an expensive cartridge. ;)
Cheers,
John |
My original estimate was 300 hrs of play. Soundsmith determined the over all condition of the cart. to be very good, cantilever is in great shape with approx. 30% wear on the tip Now I need to make the decision to keep it or sacrifice it to my amp upgrade itch.
I have been playing a Denon 103r in it's place and while not nearly as refined, it has a very easy listening lush sound...but I can see myself getting bored and missing the details that a high $$$ cart brings to the table. But for under $400 the 103r is amazing! |
"The question I have now...does it de-value the cart. by not having Dynavector do the repair?
Will the Soundsmith repair cost me more than just the repair?"
To me, as a buyer, I would answer by asking how old is it and how many hours on it? If it is fairly new with low hours, and you were asking a premium for it, I would say yes that it might have lost substantial value. But if it had upwards of say 500- 800 hours and the price was right before this incident, then maybe not. |
04-19-12: Gandme
The question I have now...does it de-value the cart. by not having Dynavector do the repair?
Will the Soundsmith repair cost me more than just the repair? Sorry to say, but my guess would be yes, the repair will cost you more than just the repair cost. Hopefully I am wrong though. |
3 ways the damaged occured:
1. I did it removing and packaging...I'm 99% positive this did not happen.
2. Damaged in shipping.
3. Buyer damaged during unpacking/setup.
The question I have now...does it de-value the cart. by not having Dynavector do the repair?
Will the Soundsmith repair cost me more than just the repair? |
More and more I think it is important to document the condition of a piece of equipment prior to shipping. Not just photos but also a video with evidence of the date which shows that the equipment is working. And then pay for packing by FedEx etc so you aren't accused of improper packing. I am not sure how it could be more likely that the recipient damaged the coils... |
My guess would be the shipping part Greg. It's too bad you didn't have the repairs covered by the shipping insurance.
Oh well, problem solved. I held my breath for 5 days waiting for a reply from the gent I sold my ZYX 4D to and yes, there was brain damage, just ask my wife. Fortunately I did not have any issues, but you are right, it is very scary shipping these expensive, fragile items. |
The buyer sent back the XV-1s and yes 1 channel was gone. It was my cartridge with the serial # visible on the cart. that matched the certificate. I sent it to Soundsmith for evaluation and they determined one coil wire is detached. Could have happened in shipping or the buyer injured it during setup...I will never know. Soundsmith said the cantilever and tip were in fine shape. So I will just eat the repair cost and relist it. I think when buying/selling a used cartidge you must be able to hold his breath for just enough time to suffer brain damage!
Thank you all for your thoughts and advice.
Greg |
Yes, the serial# is on the cart for a XV1's. The OP may not know or remember the serial #. Just make sure that the cart is sent back along with the certificate that was with it. That way you can at least match the 2 numbers. If they don't match then there's a problem. Who knows, you may put it in your system and it will play just fine. Fingers crossed!!!!
I had bought a XV1's on here a few years ago from a seller in SF. There was an obvious sonic imbalance with it. I tried to counterbalance with azimuth adjustments in my Phantom but to no avail. Seller said i ain't taking it back!! Nothing's wrong with it when i had it in my system.
I ended up sending the cartridge to Soundsmith. Peter found that it was seriously flawed from the factory. The coils were rotated. He was able to fix it but it took months before i got it back. The wait was well rewarded. During that time period i ended up getting an Ortofon A90 so my XV1's is my "spare". Not that it's taken a back seat to my A90. I have it mounted on an other armwand and still listen to it on occasion when i crave for a different sound. Still fabulous sounding cartridge. Will not part with it. |
Well there doesn't have to be damage to the package to be internal damage to sensitive electronic equipment. I once had a power conditioner arrive at a buyer's damaged. The only visable sign of damage was a cracked glass meter cover. The power conditioner did not function either. The box looked perfect. Fed Ex, the shipper, investigated and paid off the claim saying the damage could have come from a "flat drop". You can drop a box X feet and have it land perfectly flat, thereby not damaging the box itself. That doesn't mean it is healthy for what is inside the box.
If you have any intention of filing a claim, DO NOT have the cartridge shipped back to you. Once the cartridge has been shipped again, the insurance you purchased for the initial shipment is voided. You need to contact the carrier and have them inspect the "damage" at the buyer's residence. Any decent buyer should assist you with a claim if you were kind enough to refund the money.
I don't know offhand if the XV-1s has a serial number. I guess I just assumed it, because many high end cartridges do have serail numbers, like the ZYX 4-D that I'll be shipping out this week. |
Collecting on a claim could be difficult unless the package shows clear evidence of damage, or the shipper lost the package.
I hope you figure out the serial number issue. Not saying they all do but I know all the cartridges I have/ had all have the serial numbers somewhere on the body.
Did he pay by Paypal or other? Paypal sucks for the seller. |
If you have any doubts, the importer could verify. He's a great guy.
BTW, dropping the cartridge could damage the internals without showing anything on the body. Not saying this is the case but it worked before you shipped. |
I will test and inspect it when it arrives. Is there a serial # stamped on the body? I did look at the cartridge very closely with magnification before shipping and do not recall seeing a serial# The certificate was with the cart. with the serial# on it.
I guess I can't rule out shipping damage...the buyer did not mention damage to the packing. |
I didn't think of that switcharoo scam, I'll have to write down the serial number of my cartridge BEFORE I ship it. What about filing a shipping damage claim? It's possible that the shipper drop kicked the XV-1s. |
>>My worry is he will subsitute a none working XV-1s for my nm cart.<<
Check the serial number is correct before issuing a refund. |
He is sending it back for a refund. I tried coaching him through some tests by email, I'm not sure of his efforts. He said he reinstalled his Grado cart and has no problems. I have had a hard time dealing with folks with 0 Audiogon feedback in the past and this is the last one for me.
I will issue a refund once I have the cart back in my hands. My worry is he will subsitute a none working XV-1s for my nm cart. Just another creative scam that we are all exposed too here on Audiogon.
Yes I had it Insured for the full value. |
Try reversing the cables attached to the phono cartridge itself to make sure that he doesn't have a broken wire in his tonearm.
This always scares me. I'm shipping out a expensive cartridge next week. Did you ship it insured? |
He should check the leads to the back of the cartridge to make sure he didn't break one doing installation.
These are sort of heart stopping moments aren't they? |
