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Fremer's review of the Anna cartridge

Fremer reviews the $8499 cartridge very positively, but it takes three different samples of the cartridge for him to get there. The first sample exhibited "an incompatibility between the adhesives used and the elastomer of which the cartridge's damper is made." Fremer notes "[e]vidently, however, this problem didn't affect every Anna that left the factory." Wow, what a relief. In the second sample, apparently "some the glue that secures the stylus in the cantilever had dripped." The third sample, after 100 hrs of break-in finally delivered. Fremer suggests buying and using an USB microscope as part of the cartridge buying process.

Does anyone else think this is absolutely nuts? It seems to me, at this price level, every single cartridge should be absolutely perfect. Haven't Ortofon heard of quality control? This also applies to Lyra whose $9500 Atlas cartridge had the stylus affixed to the cantilever at an angle that made it virtually impossible to get the SRA of 92 degrees.
actusreus
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,472 posts
 
Diggory/Lewm.....that is MY history with Ortofon....as a matter of fact when I complained to them, they were very accomodating to send me a new cartridge, but it too had a bent stylus.....Even under the new plastic packaging anyone could see that the stylus was severely bent. Yuk...
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rauliruegas
13,100 posts
 
Dear Mikelavigne: Thank's for your post. I did not have any doubt on the Anna top quality performance but on its QC that for me was something weird due to first hand several experiences with Ortofon cartridges.

I posted here:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1365811842&openflup&25&4#25

and I said " don't fixed at all today " because I did not know what you posted, now is more clear the whole QC subject.

Thank's again.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
mallen123
110 posts
 
It would be interesting to hear from other Anna owners in this thread.

So far no actual Anna owner has said they had the same problem Fremer had.
If my count is correct, three Anna owners ( including me ) have responded with praise and no issues in this thread.

Weird that Fremer had two bad samples but would be really helpful to know if this was a case of lightning striking twice, or if there was/is a quality issue with the Anna.

I'm sure there are more than three Anna owners on Audiogon, so would be very interested to get their feedback.
wolf_garcia
6,711 posts
 
The performance of the cartridge, however great or not so great, has little to do with the humor and irony of the Fremer review of it and the aforementioned D'Agostino silliness...the fact that it's all taken to be very unfunny is also pretty funny. A strong strain of geekdom insecurity winds its way through this entire subject, and I for one am grateful.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Thanks for you post Mike. This is the first I have read that that initial run of 8-10 cartridges were "pre-release" samples. Fremer makes no mention of this in the review.
Apparently, Fremer (and Mike) were acting as unofficial beta-testers. No one's surprised if a beta test reveals a problem, that's the point of beta-testing.
I don't understand why Ortofon didn't explain in their Manufacturer's Comments in Stereophile that the first preproduction batch had some problems and that production was stopped and the problems had been corrected before any were shipped for sale to the public. This thread wouldn't have been necessary.

Did they think that if they didn't say anything that no one would notice that Fremer had to return the first two samples?

A little more honest explanation and less hype and obfuscation would do the high-end a world of good.
Indeed. If Ortofon had addressed this there would have been nothing to discuss. In fact, their diligence in halting production until the problem was solved would have enhanced their image as a quality-concious company. By ignoring the obvious they turned an opportunity into an embarassment.

One of the biggest problems I run into every day in business is dealing with people who're reluctant to face difficult issues head-on. Sales and marketing types are frequent offenders. Their innate optimism causes them to sweep problems under the carpet and attempt to wish them away. That may be what happened here.
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