You can't have that mess in your system. You need to give it to someone with a lath to turn then dip it in clear acrylic.
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 You don't understand. It's a proof of concept. In any case, it's a triangular prism, not a cylinder. |
@terry9 Love the images, you are a pioneer, there is a Tonearm Thread on Lenco Heaven where concept Arm Wands are appearing, It would be great to see the Pampas Grass Version used on the DIY TA Design in that thread. I have been interested in producing my own version of a Resin Impregnated Densified Wood. The idea of more orientations of the cross grain has been the stimulus. I do believe with the correct viscosity resin, the Pampas Grass placed into a Vacuum Chamber at a first stage of applying the resin could produce a resin impregnated wand. Especially with the correct viscosity for a resin selected. Resin Impregnation is a big subject today, it is a Science and there is plenty of White Papers to be found on the subject, it is all good reading when the correct content is discovered. As there is no need to compress, this as a concept does seem doable, and the post Heat Treatment should also be easily achieved. An individual I know was putting their Oilites in a Vacuum Chamber with a Lubricant of their choice and was relubricating both New and 30+ Year old Oilites. The process was kept going until the micro bubbles developing and separating from the Oilite was almost ceased.
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@pindac Thank you for the kind words. And far more, thank you for your thoughtful suggestions. I am running a linear tracker, so the horizontal effective mass is the mass of the whole assembly. This is about 200 g - the mass of the air bushing alone is 50 g, and then there's the counterweight and cartridge. You can see how important it is for me to keep the rigidity high and the mass low. This precludes densification for my application. So I opted for a different approach. At first I thought of a foam core surrounded by fibre and epoxy, but then I weighed some pampas grass stalks and found them to be little heavier than foam, and just as non-resonant. Further, when laminated, they are quite rigid on their own, and form a constraining layer to constrict the epoxy. Orient the fibre as a winding, and throw in some elastomeric glue, and the result sings. Vacuum chamber is a very good idea to increase rigidity and consistency. I'll try that on the next iteration. Thanks! |
@terry9 , Being a pioneer is fine and dandy, but there is an aesthetic element that you have to pay attention to. |
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