I've bought many used carties from A'gon members who had solid member feedback. Never had a problem. My favorite is the Sound Smith VPI Zephyr which I bought used from a member. Ran it out twice and Peter Ledermann re-tipped it -- twice. Each time it came back good as new.
Because I'm bored, I'll probably be looking for a new carty in the next couple of months. I have no intention of paying a full retail small fortune on a new carty for all the reasons expressed above by my fellow adventure takers.
Also, I have two other reasons for not paying a lot for a carty. One - carties wear out. Period! One member said he ran his carty out for 3000+ hours. The neighborhood dogs must have been howling.
Peter Ledermann told me that a carty should be checked on a periodic basis. I forget how frequently. IMO and E, not much longer than 1500 hours. Peter told me the last time he re-tipped my Zephyr that I had an AS problem because the stylus was excessively worn on one side.
But the real issue with this point is that if you divide the cost of a carty by the number of hours you can reasonably expect to use it, you'll see how much your vinyl habit costs on an hourly basis. It adds up.
Two -- carties break. A couple of years ago I bought a used Clearaudio Maestro for about $500, which was 50% of the then retail price. The carty was fine. One day I came down to play some vinyl and the carty slid across the record. The whole cantilever went AWOL. Never found it. The Maestro now retails for $1200. I almost passed out when I lost $500. If my loss was $1200, I'd have a conniption. Fortunately, I sold it AS IS to a member on spec. He paid me what he thought it was worth.
BTW, one member who I respect a lot owns a Benz LPS. That sucka costs $5000!! Take that number and divide it by 2000 hours. And what if one day, his Benz LPS cantilever elopes with my Maestro cantilever. Uuuhhmm.
So I vote, buy used to tap down the cost of the carty. And buy used only from members with excellant feedback. And just be prepared for the possibility that your cantilever may go AWOL and then have a chuckle that at least you didn't pay retail.
Because I'm bored, I'll probably be looking for a new carty in the next couple of months. I have no intention of paying a full retail small fortune on a new carty for all the reasons expressed above by my fellow adventure takers.
Also, I have two other reasons for not paying a lot for a carty. One - carties wear out. Period! One member said he ran his carty out for 3000+ hours. The neighborhood dogs must have been howling.
Peter Ledermann told me that a carty should be checked on a periodic basis. I forget how frequently. IMO and E, not much longer than 1500 hours. Peter told me the last time he re-tipped my Zephyr that I had an AS problem because the stylus was excessively worn on one side.
But the real issue with this point is that if you divide the cost of a carty by the number of hours you can reasonably expect to use it, you'll see how much your vinyl habit costs on an hourly basis. It adds up.
Two -- carties break. A couple of years ago I bought a used Clearaudio Maestro for about $500, which was 50% of the then retail price. The carty was fine. One day I came down to play some vinyl and the carty slid across the record. The whole cantilever went AWOL. Never found it. The Maestro now retails for $1200. I almost passed out when I lost $500. If my loss was $1200, I'd have a conniption. Fortunately, I sold it AS IS to a member on spec. He paid me what he thought it was worth.
BTW, one member who I respect a lot owns a Benz LPS. That sucka costs $5000!! Take that number and divide it by 2000 hours. And what if one day, his Benz LPS cantilever elopes with my Maestro cantilever. Uuuhhmm.
So I vote, buy used to tap down the cost of the carty. And buy used only from members with excellant feedback. And just be prepared for the possibility that your cantilever may go AWOL and then have a chuckle that at least you didn't pay retail.