Phono Cartridge Purchase from Asia?

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! 

I've used Kron when replacing Rega Aphelion cartridges, no problems with the products whatsoever and very fast shipping. I'll continue to shop his offerings in the future. 

@brimmer5000 great. Thanks for the reassurance. 

The seller in question has been selling Benz cartridges (and now a few others as well) for years. I have always wondered where he gets these cartridges, as they are all apparently new? Yet, the factory(s) consistently deny any connection to him, BUT he seems to have unlimited supplies??? IMO, something does NOT pass the smell test here!