New or used cartridge
I’m on my 5th used cartridge and have sold the first 4 as used as well. I have had no issues whatsoever and have been able to buy cartridges I could not have otherwise afforded. There is a risk for sure. But that’s part of why you get them for such a discount. I value the Audiogon feedback and only buy cartridges from members with impeccable feedback. Obviously YMMV. |
@handymann, I want to separate the cartridge from the stylus if you don’t mind. My first cartridge was a used Shure M91ED. It cost $35 that I bought off of ebay. I came with the original box, packing material, and a used but otherwise in good condition original stylus. I also bought a new JICO SAS (Super Analog Stylus) for that cartridge which also was a first for me. I popped in that stylus, used my Technic alignment tool, rebalanced the tonearm and that $35 dollar cartridge produced a great sound for the price After having a positive experience with the Shure M91ED cartridge I stayed in the Shure family and bought a used Shure V15VxMR cartridge also. Now keep in mind this is just the cartridge. Normally they can go from $500 and up and I saw one for $220 Canadian on US AUDIO. Little did I know at the time that $220 Canadian was equal to $150 US. A steal of a deal if this is legit. Turns out it was, as the Shure and some other cartridges last for decades. I then did what I did before and bought a new stylus, the JICO SAS (Shure) VN5xMR stylus. The music sounded so sweet especially with my Pro-Ject Phono Box RS MM/MC preamp. The next used cartridge and used stylus I bought was a Soundsmith Zephyr MKIII High Output Moving Iron cartridge and stylus and I haven’t looked back from buying used. There is nothing wrong with buying used, especially when sites like ebay offer built in protections for the buyer and seller. And if I ever want to sell them I can, as we all and you will one day too, get the upgrade bug! |
If the cartridge was produced in the last two years then it probably has under 200 hours. Most cartridges are good for 1000 hours. I have had exceptionally good experiences buying used cartridges on Audiogon. Most of them were cartridges that people did not like because they failed to break them in. You will usually do much better buying from an individual than a dealer. Finally if you find you need to replace the stylus than Soundsmith can do it for a reasonable price and usually a better stylus. |
