Horrible Squee-gy Noise from Stylus

F.W. The name of the game you are in is "Getting the Dealer to Perform" and the best way to do that is to get the manufacturer on his back ;-) The dealer (whether local or online) is definitely the responsible party if your unit is in warranty and it's an authorized MH dealer. Was the dealer's referral back to Music Hall in writing (email, etc?) I'll assume not (otherwise all you'd have to do is forward a copy of their refusal to help you to MH) So the next thing is to get the name of the store manager so you can email it along with the store name and phone number to MH, with a note indicating that THEIR dealer is refusing to help you (you should send/email the dealer a copy.) That should get something going (probably a 'Return Merchandise Authorization' so the dealer can send it back to Music Hall.) DO NOT attempt to fix it yourself or allow the dealer to "see if he can fix it" ;-) It needs to go back to the factory in order to maintain your warranty rights.

As for the problem, I'm similarly perplexed as Swamp. My (only) guess after the details you provided, is that the stylus may have a chip in it. It DOES happen, and would be hard to see except under high magnification. I'm not saying for sure that's the problem, but if it is, you don't want to play any records with it until it's fixed.
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Right on guys. I'll work with the dealer today. So, far all my contact has been via email so I have some trial of who I was referred to etc. I would think MH would be really willing to help, right along with the dealer -- we arent talking about used cars here, right?

I'm not playing any more records at this point, that seems like throwing away money. I'm as confused as anyone else is -- the only difference is that I can hear it and you cannot. Depending on what happens, I'm guessing I'll need to learn the process of remounting a cartridge, luckly this place has volumes of material on that.

I really appreciate everyones help, I'll post details as I get them if anyone is interested.

--Jay

Jay, you shouldn't have to remount the cartridge if the unit came with the cartridge mounted. And since no one knows what the preoblem actually is, the whole TT is going to have to go back to MH anyway, so let them remount a new cartridge (if that's even the problem.)

This kind of thing sucks, however, when something is in warranty, you just have to take the attitude that you have 'all the time in the world' for it to be made right, even if it means them replacing the entire unit after figuring out they can't fix it!

Another very important tip: keep all records showing (1) the date you returned it to the dealer for repair (NOT the date he sent it to MH, but the date you returned it to HIM -- get a receipt!) and (2) the date you received a working unit back. Attach these to your original purchase invoice. The time elapsed between the two dates can be (legally) added to extend your warranty ;--)

Thanks for the insight into warranty claims, Nsgarch. I will certainly keep good records. Sounds like this is getting into a whole other topic.

Obviously I'll do what I have to, and I'm waiting to hear back from both, Leland at MH and the Dealer. I'm wondering who is responsible for shipping on this thing though, it could easily amount to hundreds of dollars I think. possibly close to what I would be willing to just spend on a new cartridge.

I dont want to rush to any conclusions, and certainly am not going to act on any replacment items till I hear the final word -- this is the kind of situation where I would really liked to have been able to purchase from local dealer.

Shipping costs both ways for an item under warranty are the responsibility of the dealer and/or manufacturing (unless specifically excluded in the terms of the warranty, which you should have a copy of in your owner's manual.)

If your dealer is not local, and he arranges for MH to send you an RMA so you can send it to back to MH, then MH should also include a pre-paid shipping label for you to stick on the box when you ship it back. (Make sure to ask your dealer to ask MH to include one with the RMA.)

I hope you still have the original packing.
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