Am I asking too much?


I’ve  been looking to finally buy the cartridge my turntable - a restored Garrard 401 with Reed 3P tonearm - deserves.  So I sent a note to a local Koetsu dealer - wanting to support them over your typical big names (e.g., Music Direct, Upscale Audio, etc.) particularly during covid.  Though I’ve never bought from this local place,  I’ve visited them before a couple times, and live less than 10 miles away.   When I asked the dealer if they provide turntable set-up — remember, this is for a $7000 cartridge — he told me that they refer people to a local company for that (which means of course at an additional charge).

wtf?  So the only service provided by the local dealer is to order the cartridge that I can get cheaper on-line and then refer me to someone else to provide actual service.  Anybody else have a reaction to this?
128x128mdalton
This is peak A’gon forum. All we need now is the guy who tunes his toaster to his ears and the obligatory “are you still an audiophile if you can’t .....”
Mdalton - i misread it - looked like you already purchased the cart.
My bad.
Good luck.
@sancho22 
honest mistake.  sorry for being snippy.  looks like I’m gonna be ordering online.  what’s your cartridge btw?

Well I have a bunch of old carts from Grace, Pickering MM, to tricked out Denon-103 )mono and stereo), Fidelity Research, Supex (both retipped), Klipsch MCZ7, Phillips GP922. Some others I just got (on their way to me). Also, some new ones like the HANA SL and Ortofon Cadenza Black.
I think if you like lush sound the Koetsu could be the ticket.

Depending on your arm's specs in your price range, top end SoundSmith, Van de Hul, Miyajima, the recently announced TOTL HANA (around $4K), Ortofon, ZYX, Kiseki (Purple Heart?) and many more could possibly work.
If you can perhaps visit some local AG members or music lover friends and listen or get advice.
wow.  what about preferences on SUTs?  I will need one for first time; am corresponding with Andrew Rothwell (quite the contrast from the local deSker in terms of service, btw.  more like your experience with Schroeder)