They're holding my cartridge hostage!!

[DancingPriest]

Right Ho, So my Grado has been repaired by Soundsmith but in its return has fallen into the clutches of UPS, God help me!
I got a call this morning to tell me that unless I can provide proof of posting it out I'll be liable for 21% vat.
If I can find my proof of postage I'll be liable for 13.5% vat on the repair,
But if I can show that the repair has been carried out under warranty I will be able to get away scott free....
All I need is my proof of postage (which I think I have) and a warranty repair slip (which is more tricky)

Can any old hands offer some sage advice to assist me at my hour of need?

[JAW]

Ok, first off I'm no expert on VAT, but I think that if it can be classified as a sample and of no commercial value it would be tax free. Maybe it's an avenue worth exploring.

[Fran]

Can you not get an email from soundsmith saying that they carried out the repair under warranty?


for anyone watching..... never, ever use UPS/DHL/TNT etc etc. They are even more diligent than the taxman himself.

Fran

[DancingPriest]

for anyone watching..... never, ever use UPS/DHL/TNT etc etc. They are even more diligent than the taxman himself.

Fran

I'll second this, naturally!
I specfically asked that the cart be sent via the USPS, alas cost being an inconsequence they sent it via UPS.

I've faxed my proof of postage (which I've found, miraculously) and proof of 'a warranty' ;-) ). We shall see how it pans out......

So Kids, make sure any of your US purchases are sent via the posts, not via gurrier!

[DancingPriest]

After a little bit of work I've been reunited with my cart. (Ransom Waived)
I still have to wait for my new arm kit to arrive before I can give it a spin.
Ah well!

[DancingPriest]

Here are some (Not very good) pictures of the re-tipped Grado Reference Platinum.
Rather than have it replaced with the usual (original) elliptical diamond on an aluminium cantilever, I went for a retip with a ruby cantilever and contact line diamond.
Here's what Soundsmith say;
"This quality level of rebuild will realize an upgrade for almost all cartridges and styli assemblies. With exacting care to angular positioning, we install a RUBY "Single Crystal" cantilever which holds a Nude "Contact Line" diamond, one of the most sophisticated stylus/cantilever assemblies ever made and often superior to those found in cartridges costing many thousands of dollars. This combination creates an ultra low mass system, capable of the finest reproduction from your cherished vinyl. The Contact Line Diamond has three times the contact area in the vertical direction of the groove wall compared to an elliptical shaped diamond. This lowers the "force per unit area" on both the diamond as well as the record groove, resulting in lower record and diamond wear. This upgrade can be done to almost any cartridge and stylus assembly. Once done, tracking force can usually be reduced to 1.3 - 1.7 grams.
If you desire this "contact line diamond" level of rebuild, we will automatically proceed with the superior Ruby cantilever assembly unless we find a technical reason that the Ruby cantilever cannot be installed. If that is the case, we will install an aluminum alloy cantilever (as was likely originally installed in your cartridge) with the Nude Contact Line Diamond."
And Here are some pictures;
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/6544/dscf4673.jpg
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4519/dscf4672c.jpg
http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/5663/dscf4671w.jpg

It's nigh on impossible to see anything with the naked eye and the light is not helping the camera either, I'll try a few different setting this evening to see if any more detail can be got, especially where the ruby cantilever had been attached.

[Fran]

Nice stuff DP - I hope it sounds really nice for you after all the hassle you had. At least it worked out!!


Fran

[cybot]

Congrats on getting one half sorted DP! Enjoy :-)))

[Fran]

Ah don't you love vinyl. Just when I get an arm sorted out, my attention is turned to my benz cart. Its now time I sent the Benz L2 off for a retip - I had become convinced after hearing a few other systems that the benz was sounding dull. I managed to get a look at the stylus today under a special microscope and yes, it is indeed quite worn. This is all in comparison to pictures available online, and in particular a Shure manual from the 70s. It shows good images of what good, slightly worn and badly worn looks like.

My choices for a retip seem to be either send it back to Benz and wait at least a year if not more, or send it to ESCO in the UK. I've yet to talk to ESCO, but they have an almost perfect reputation online, despite the fact that they are not online themselves - completely analogue!!! I expected to see a telex number!!!

Anyway, right now they seem to be the most likely prospect.


Fran

[Dowser]

There's also Dominic Harper at Northwest Analogue who recently started doing retips and has some good feedback if you search PFM.

He has a thread at http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/show ... p?t=101018 with examples.

Do Benz themselves really take that long? They respond to email quickly, I contacted them to see if they did retips of non-BM cartridges earlier this week, got a response in 12 hours (although it was to say they have more than enough work with their own stuff!).

Or...just keep the DL-110 and give me the Benz...I'll then get it done when I am local to them :)

Richard