Fremer's review of the Anna cartridge

My Sumiko Pearl cost $125...so it's not that one.

Why is that no one questions the person who buys and loves a $500K Ferrari, yet the person who buys and loves an audio component costing more than [insert critic's preferred standard] is vilified?

There are no websites dedicated to the proposition that all cars are created equal, that a well tuned Fiat is as good as a Lamborghini, that the Mercedes E-class owner is misguided and foolish. Yet we find reasonably popular audio websites (e.g., Audioholics) which fervently promote cheap as not just a viable way, which it is, but as the only right and justifiable way. Something about audio (more than other hobbies) attracts or generates "my way or the highway" defensiveness that approaches religious fervor. I've been guilty of that attitude myself - it's a peculiar institution.

***
As for Romy, a cautionary tale...

I once visited a new vinylphile who lived near him. The newbie was having trouble with his TT, which Romy had set it up for him just a few days before. I agreed to stop by and take a look.

The rig could barely track anything and sounded terrible. Worse, it was only by cautious practices that I avoided destroying the newbie's $5K LOMC, since the end stub literally fell off in my hand the instant I touched it. Yikes!! I nearly jumped through the ceiling. If I hadn't locked the arm down before touching it the cartridge would have smashed down onto the platter.

Romy's setup had included installing the end stub so that it was just hanging by a thread, with the VTF counterweights adjusted to suit. No one could set up a tonearm this way by chance. The end stub was so wobbly that adjusting the counterweights would have been impossible. The only way to achieve such a setup would be to pre-set the counterweights, then carefully screw the assembly into the arm by less than a turn. This was no mis-adjustment, it was a mal-adjustment.

The newbie was quite wealthy and freely admitted knowing very little about his fancy gear. He'd dumped a large pile of money into a system and expected it to work with little hands-on input. Naive? Certainly. Laughable? If you're that way inclined. Deserving of being booby-trapped to prove him undeserving? Only if you're without conscience, bordering on psychopathic.

There's a reason Romy was kicked off of this and other forums. I hope he's happy talking to the shadow puppets in his little cave.

Boy what a dufus, that Romy.

Dougdeacon
Why is that no one questions the person who buys and loves a $500K Ferrari, yet the person who buys and loves an audio component costing more than [insert critic's preferred standard] is vilified?

There are no websites dedicated to the proposition that all cars are created equal, that a well tuned Fiat is as good as a Lamborghini, that the Mercedes E-class owner is misguided and foolish. Yet we find reasonably popular audio websites (e.g., Audioholics) which fervently promote cheap as not just a viable way, which it is, but as the only right and justifiable way. Something about audio (more than other hobbies) attracts or generates "my way or the highway" defensiveness that approaches religious fervor. I've been guilty of that attitude myself - it's a peculiar institution.

Doug,
If I may respond just to offer my observations, I don't think anyone is "vilifying" Mike or anyone else who can afford an ultra expensive cartridge. Perhaps Ortofon got some flack in this thread, but I certainly welcomed Mike's and Onhwy61's comments about their Annas. Perhaps what you're referring to is personal animosity and attacks in general that seem to, way too often, accompany discussions on audiophile boards. That is very unfortunate, but is certainly not reserved for those with all-out-assault systems from my personal experience.

Regarding the topic of this thread, I was simply astounded by Fremer's experience with a close to $9,000 cartridge, and Ortofon's complete ignorance of the issue in their response. As an audiophile/vinylphile, I have a keen general interest in everything that is related to high-end analog playback, whether I can afford it or not. The proposition that I should not be allowed to comment on a Stereophile article because I don't own an Anna, or am not about to order one, as expressed by Onhwy61, is absurd in my opinion.

I also think your analogy to uber-expensive cars with respect to high-end music reproduction equipment, albeit tempting, is not exactly apples to apples. I think we'd all agree that high-end audio is unique in high-end consumer product industries as it often preys on the naivety, ignorance, or cluelessness, or combination of all three, of many audiophiles and sells overpriced products where more attention went to the packaging than quality of the parts and actual sound. Hence you have the value vs. price criticism that is a common theme in audiophile discussions. I don't have a clue whether a Ferrari is worth its price on paper, but I do know that when you get one, you expect nothing short of a flawless driving machine, and nobody would accept anything less, which is often not the case in the high-end audio market. So any comparison of a $500,000 Ferrari to car in a different, lesser class would be preposterous to anyone who knows anything about cars, let alone experts. That said, I'm sure you could find a few people who would find a Buick more comfortable than a Lamborghini, and better suited to what they think is the whole purpose of a car: to get you from place A to place B at a much lower price...

Hi Actusreus,

Thanks for reading and responding to my little story and sorry if I took your thread OT.

The person who pointed to RtC was indeed vilifying. His comments have been vile for as long as he's been around. I stand by that characterization.

My car example might not have been the most apropos, sorry, but there are other examples that resemble high end audio in their price extremes. Take other luxury consumer items like jewelry, designer perfumes, cosmetics and clothes, etc. Is a Tumi shoulder bag from Nordstroms or a 1 oz. bottle of perfume really worth $800 when I can buy a similar looking and functionally equivalent item for 1/10 the price at Macy's, or 1/100 the price at Target? Is a diamond earring really worth what it costs? We all know the markups on such products can match the most extreme ones found in audio, yet nobody spends time posting about how outrageous they are. They just buy whatever they're comfortable with and have done with it. I still believe there's something special about audio that brings out emotional responses like few other subjects.

That said, products should indeed work as designed and advertised, particularly premium-priced products. No quarrel there and you've every right to bring it up for discussion. Fremer may in fact have buried the Anna by divulging the problems he had. Perhaps that was his intent, to damn with faint praise. If so, it was artfully done. Ortofon may pay a price in lost sales for their apparent clumsiness. One needn't always call a spade a spade to help people recognize what's being shovelled. ;-)