Phono Cartridge Purchase from Asia?

A fragile expensive phono cart from some one off  place oversea?  No thanks.   It’s risky. Is it really worth it? Can’t you find a good sounding cart from a known reputable source? That’s what I would do.

There is a downside. No warranty. I broke the stylus right off one of these cartridges. (The Benz). The manufacturer denied the warranty claim. I sent it to a third path repair facility and all is good.

It's unlikely that user damage / misuse would be covered under any warranty. 

It’s unlikely that user damage / misuse would be covered under any warranty.

@big_greg That’s exactly what I’m saying too. Nor would I WANT it covered by warranty; it would necessarily raise the prices even more, and I guess I have a more steady hand than most. Buy 2 for the price of 1 (discounted) and take your chances, or pay a > 100% markup for routing an 8 oz package from overseas (assuming you mount & setup cartridges yourself). I’ll take my chances but realize others have a different calculation :)

Whoops! Sorry. Poor choice of words. You folks are sticklers.

My cantilever just came off and I didn't recall ever misusing it. But, because I"m honest I contacted Benz and ask if they could inspect it to see if it was my fault or if it failed early.  The distributor told me no go as the cart was not purchased from its North American dealer. 

Hope that clears this up.

Oh and the other thing, I cannot comment on Kron's other offerings, but I do think that for awhile Benz didn't have a distribution network in North America so we had few options if you wanted to buy one. I think that's changed. 

Another thing, the recommendation on an AudioTechnica ART9 is a great one.  I've owned that cartridge.  I'm not an expert as I haven't heard tons of cartridges over $1k. Yet from the stuff I've owned or have solid first hand experience with I can say the ART9 can play well into the four-figure cartridge market. 

Perhaps the only thing missing from the ART9 is a bit more finesse. However, it's so neutral, resolving and even handed across the spectrum that it's just a winner.  The ART9 is a deal and I could live with just that one cart forever I don't because I occasionally catch the audiophile influenza and...well, you know!