Phono Cartridge Purchase from Asia?

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!

I actually moved from a Hana SL to a Benz Micro Wood that I bought from Kron.

Cartridge arrived quickly and was in perfect condition. I found it to be a significant upgrade to the Hana which I thought pretty decent but not up to the hype. I have owned several Benz cartridge over the years. About 6 months and 200-300 hours into my playing the Benz, the suspension began to collapse and the cartridge body was riding about 0.5mm above a record. I contacted Kron, told him of the problem and included a photo to show how low it was riding. After a few back and forth emails he agreed that things did not look right and he sent me a new cartridge at no charge. Pretty good service, I'd say.

That being said, I have shied away from Benz because of that. It may have been a rare thing but it was the last straw for me as I had been improving my digital sources to the point that I was ready to abandon Vinyl. I didn't have a lot of albums anyways. 

@alvinnir2 that is good to hear. Makes me feel a bit better about forfeiting the Benz warranty with buying at at discount from Kron. He sounds like he’s a good seller too. Also good to hear you thought the Benz was an upgrade from the Hana SL. I’ve really enjoyed the Hana for the four years I’ve had it. Thanks for the info!