Purchasing a used phono cartridge is a lot like buying a used Tooth Brush.
New or used cartridge
I have have good experiences buying a previously owned cart in the past, but have heard several telling me to buy new.. I wish there was a way, to tell how many hours was on a used cart. Other than putting the cantilever under a microscope, I see no way concerning the hours/use/condition of a used cart.. I kinda look at it as buying a used car. Let someone else take the initial "hit". then buy from them, as they're moving over or up. I have an excellent Koetsu Urushi Black I'm going to put up for sale. I love it's sound, but am wanting to move up the ladder so to speak.
Please give me opinions concerning this.
Please give me opinions concerning this.
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- 39 posts total
@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. |
- 39 posts total