vpi classic

That’s why they switched distributors I am sure. VPI (even though I have a Rega table) was a pleasure to deal with. They’re the new one and have a close relationship with AJ. I guess all VPI dealers are now Van den Hul Dealers. I’m lucky to live an hour from them and they set up the new cartridge on my P8. One of their guys thought my table was cool.they gave me a tour of the place and their unbelievable demo house. If I ever get the itch to consider one of their tables, they offered to compare it side by side with mine using the same cartridge. 
I’m just not a fan of their arms. Their tables are fine as they actually started out as a company making bases for Denon tables, so their tables are very solid.

Hey @big_greg, I never heard of the van de Hul MC Two Special, I don't see it listed anywhere. I have an MC One Special, and I like it a lot, although I haven't done any side by side comparisons. It has a very long lasting stylus and they just made VPI their US distributor, so I would expect to see them promoted much more now and packaged with VPI tables.You can get them maintained for a very reasonable fee and even replaced completely for a nice discount. My stylus lasted almost 9 years and I play records a lot more than @oleschool. 

Also, you may want to check out Sutherland phono stages - that's all they do. Solid state and great sounding with minimal noise, especially with their linear power supply options. Only thing you might not like is you have to take off the cover to change load or gain, but they are exchanged by moving gold plated shunts, not flimsy dip switches.

Hey @tablejockey - I don't think most people on Audiogon are ever "done". Prices for any component go up to astronomical levels, and I've heard of systems that exceed a million dollars. People who want "the best" playing with monopoly money will spend whatever it takes to impress their friends. The law of diminishing returns should keep the sane among us to get to points of satisfaction with our systems (whatever that dollar value is - from $2K to $1M) until the upgrade bug can't be controlled.

@big_greg According to my new MC One special factory signed box, the output is .75. The MC Two must be a really old model-I don’t remember it ever being mentioned or offered in the past 9 years. I am sure it’s excellent. In the US, they are trying to keep the number of models offered lower than in the Netherlands. If you check VDH’s web site you’ll see all kinds of models not shown on US web sites. With the replacement or maintenance costs being so low, I don’t see switching From the MC One Special (unless they give me an insane deal on the Frog) which I doubt. That offer this time only took the $$ discount from my cart off the $3500 Frog price tag-so it was well north of $2K. Frog is the next step up from my cart.

since I am not a multi table/arm/cart guy. I beleive in KISS. When I was younger in college,I changed gear constantly and was never happy. Fuses blew, amps clipped, stereo salesmen lied, (they are gone). When I found components that were excellent, I stuck with them. Every move had to be a noticeable improvement to my ears, not a spec on a web site.

since I’m listening more, my stylus may only last 4-5 years, another reason not to go crazy with cartridges-they’re disposable.

Nice deal @big_greg. Sounds like you are a tweaker. Who did the maintenance? The reason I got a replacement was the cost/shipping delays to the Netherlands from the US, the deal I got, and the fact that AJ wouldn’t do the maintenance himself.