I forgot to mention. Steve bends over backwards to make sure his client is happy. He showed me pictures of the completed repair and an ohm meter plugged into the individual inputs showing 1.80 ohms in each channel. I had the cartridge back in less than 2 weeks. Thank you for the recommendation!
A Story about a Defective Signature Platinum
Last week I was listening to music at a healthy volume while sitting at my computer. I have an auto lifter (Little Fwend) and after the arm lifted I noticed a static noise with occasional popping coming out of the left channel about 40 dB down. At first I thought it was a bad tube but it disappeared when I turned the volume down. It is in front of the Preamp. None of the other sources had the noise. Swapping tonearm cables did not seem to change the sound but then I noticed that the sound was also in the right channel just farther down. Disconnecting the tonearm stopped the noise. I change over to an MC Diamond, no noise. Same with the Atlas, no noise. Swapped back to the MSL, noise is back.
The cartridge is exactly one year old but it rotates with two other cartridges and might have 75 hours on it. I called the dealer who told me to contact MoFi distribution, the US agent for MSL. Turns out the cartridge only has a 90 day warranty and I was told I would have to send it in for a rebuild for $6000! Can't they just fix the problem for maybe $500, No. Can't I just send it in for evaluation? The stylus and cantilever are brand new. No, a rebuild is the only option and you have to do that through the dealer, click! Most very expensive cartridges have a 2 year warranty on them not to mention that most companies would cover such a defect even off warranty as in the absence of physical damage it is obviously a manufacturing defect, a bad solder joint or maybe just two wires rubbing together. This is very disappointing and as far as customer service goes Home Depot is better than MoFi, Sears is better than MoFi! MoFI is right up there with Anthem Blue Cross! The service rep could have offered to look into it. Maybe communicate with MSL and get their opinion. I am sure if MSL knew about it they would gladly fix it and actually be embarrassed. The Japanese are like that. There is no way I can find to get directly in touch with MSL.
$6000 is not an option. I am not going to throw good money after bad. I am also not going to off a defective cartridge on someone else. I am going to take the cartridge apart and reflow the solder joints and make sure the wires are separated. If that doesn't fix it, it goes in the trash.
Mistakes and defects happen, it is what you do about them that counts. MoFi failed dismally in this regard. MSL makes a fine cartridge but I would only get another one if they changed agents and increased their warranty. Obviously, I will avoid buying any other MoFi products myself and warn others about their customer service. I have no further use for the dealer who did nothing to help. I have had superb service from Musical Surroundings, Soundsmith, B+H Photo and the Cable Company. All handled issues with ease. Has anyone else had trouble with MoFi? What companies have provided you with excellent service when the sh-t hit the fan?
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@mijostyn Here I have to disagree with you, I think the law suit was entirely appropriate and warranted. Why, because these bad actors ( Davis and MoFi) had essentially created a bait and switch scheme. All the while stating their AAA source as a benefit to the a’phile consumer ( to justify their price), while knowingly reproducing a digital product. To that, their ’limited edition’ due to AAA master tape source fragility, was complete hogwash, given the digital source of the release. I recently acquired the MoFi One Step Mingus Ah Um, and while it is a good sounding release, it is absolutely nowhere near what I believe it could have been IF it was a pure AAA release. Knowing what we now know of these LP’s, it is pretty obvious of the source IF you compare to a release from Opus 3 or their ilk in SQ. The Mingus AhUm sounds good, but it does not compete with many AAA masterings /LP’s that i have from a pure SQ factor...not even close. |
The original "Mingus-Ah-Um" is already sooo good, it would be hard to beat or to mess up in reissue. LIkewise, "Tijuana Moods". I would not have been in favor of that lawsuit, if anyone was taking a poll, because in the end we need to keep companies like MoFi alive for our own benefit. They got the message without a lawsuit, and I don't hate the digital step in the modern era where hi-rez is so good. |
You are welcome, @mijostyn! Steve and Ray at VAS are a real asset to the high-end community. He has worked on a number if items for me and always does a terrific job. Truly first class service. MoFi, take note. |
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