Make me feel better

Add my name to the clumsy club historical rolls. This is actually a very good argument for not regretting having to play in the "merely" $250-ballpark...Just think how stupid you'd feel right about now if you had been running one of those multi-$K cart's (which so many audiophiles apparently seem to be able to purchase straight-faced without wondering what about their construction could possibly justify the orders-of-magnitude price increase over a base model...True, they might sound great, but any cartridge sounds the same with its cantilever under the sofa... :-)

Quincy, that's the cart I have now (M2 version, but I have to admit I was able to get away spending less with a trade-in [of my busted old AQ] and discount from The Elusive Disc, thank goodness...I also didn't have to wait like you did - what's up with that stuff?). Anyway, the thing that initially held me back the most was this cart's totally exposed 'nude' bodiless design, which won't even accept a stylus protector and doesn't come with one, a first for me. And that needle for sure does stick right out there, not to mention the generator assembly and those wires much thinner than a hair.

Now I'm used to handling this cart and don't feel so much like I'm living on the edge of disaster all the time, but suspect this level of comfort is illusory: Like you, I learned first-hand that when they say to watch out because the magnet is so strong, they aren't just whistling dixie. Fortunately, my stars must have been in alignment the day I unthinkingly brought this cart and a free piece of metal within several inches of one another - like an insaniac, I seem to have been seized by the momentary idea that I was going to use a steel jeweler's screwdriver to assist in dressing my headshell lead-out wires (Doh!!) - and I can confirm that unexpectedly experiencing an object ripped from your grasp and moving through space straight toward your cartridge at such a lightning rate of acceleration will definitely lose you a few heartbeats you won't be getting back anytime soon. I can still close my eyes and practically feel that sickening sensation at the moment of impact. Don't know how I ever escaped this one with zero damage done, but something tells me that in the end it'll only be a matter of time...

And the digital-only types wonder what makes us treasure so much our time wasted on vinyl-playing preparatories...Hey, as a thrill, it's safer than rock-climbing...

Exactly why I was so hesitant to purchase this cart - I don't regret it, but probably will one day...

Ron, this event sounds like it's basically a rite of passage in your family...If your household were more numerous, you'd have an Insider Gold by now... :-)

One begins to get a picture of why there are so many manufacturers vying for a piece of a business pie I had previously assumed to be a bit smaller than I now realize it must be...buy it, break it, buy it, break it...
:-)