Fremer's review of the Anna cartridge

"Swampwalker, Swampwalker, Swampwalker,..." 97 more to go...:)

Actusreus; Actusreus; Actusreus...I think I've got it... Acutusrex; Atcususreus; Acuteresus; !@#$%&. ;-)

never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Words to live by!!! And, what the heck does

The amplifier in question failed from a non related component failure in the power on circuit.

mean? What the heck is a non-related component??? I say again, how do you send an audio component that costs as much as a car out to a reviewer without at least running it in to make sure that the bloody thing works!! I agree w Wolf. It's entertaining. A little bit on the "watching a train wreck" side, but since no one is physically injured; what the hay. Nothing against Mr. D'Agostino, whose cred is impeccable, but the fact that other amps run hotter, while true, is totally irrelevant to the fact that the unit under review did not operate within its design envelope. For this kind of luxury product, that's inexcusable. IMO. YMMV.

Dear Downunder, I saw a mention of the problem with the Momentum amp in some other thread. No details were provided. But in your quote from D'Agostino, he says, "The amplifier in question failed from a non related component failure in the power on circuit". So, I gather he is saying that the amp did not fail (or shut down) because of overheating but for a different reason. I don't see how that gets the amplifier off the hook, as it were. It apparently did fail by some mechanism during a review process. I personally would not let that deter me from purchasing the product, if I were in the market, but it does possibly raise a concern about reliability, does it not? Perhaps I am misunderstanding D'Agostino's statement. Was the failure external to the amplifier itself?

Any manufacturer needs to have a very expensive nit (cartridge, Arm, Amp ...) for some simple reasons

1. He needs it when he wants to be taken serious

2. He needs it for his dealers (profit)
and in a way for his own to make some money with a few sold items instead of selling 50 of the cheap ones.

Anyone who saves the money for such an item WANTS it to be better than his pervious one. Maybe it is better, maybe it is worth the price difference, maybe.... maybe...in the end it is the decision of the buyer.
A review can be a review, it can be also a Product Placement, it can be a opinion from a reviewer who likes or dislikes something. It doesn't matter. Important is the product placement.
What is the definition of "good" or "great"?
Mainly it is also a personal impression, the majority does not really compare, (what they do it, do I like it better than the one before), only a minority compares a unit with a cheaper, but "good" one.
This is the main reason why a top cartridge for a low price (whatever this will be) will never get the respect it deserves, because everyone (or 95%) thinks, "hey, this is a top one for 2k but there is the next for 4.5K, and that's the game.
There are also a group of Audiophiles out there who WANT to spend minimum 8k for a cartridge/cable/Arm...and a Dealer wants to serve.
Maybe Ortofon had a problem with Quality control who knows. But what would happen when the Cartridge was ok, but not for the reviewer for whatever reasons. Some of them have a very big Ego. They have a very strong position and no Manufacturer will write that a reviewer is simply too handicapped to do it right...
Each his own but all of you read the reviews, all of you have an opinion and I think all of you had the experience that a Class A or B rating in whatever mag is simply wrong in Past or Presence.
No matter which Product, good or bad, cheap or expensive, you will find for everything someone who loves it and recommends it. Based on various reasons (Profit, saving, limited funds, endless funds, fun, color, Style, reputation and so on), sound quality or Performance is not always the priority. It is in discussions among us but there is always the golden rule of audio: Ask 4 Audiophiles and you get 5 opinions.
At the end of day it is a personal choice.

I agree with Syntax.

Regarding the Anna, it is very interesting that Ortofon did not address this in the Manufacturer's Comments in the same Stereophile issue. I wonder why.

I do wish more members owned it so we could hear from them about the quality and sonics. The $7-10K cartridge market is getting crowded so I think it would be interesting if we could read direct comparisons between say the Atlas, the Anna, the Dynavector, Koetsu, AirTight, MSL.

Downunder...I'm sorry if my enjoying expensive gear meltdowns apparently has upset you. Had I known there were those out there who's emotional investment in Beloved Audio Brands has rendered them so highly sensitive to my expressed enjoyment of review issues with elite gear, I might have been more gentle with my posts (although most likely not). D'Agostino and Ortophon should be proud to know they have little friends out there who will rise to defend brands that otherwise would suffer the cruel injustice of mirthful forum posting.