re: Audiophile/Vinyl Thread - Post Pics, Advice, Questions, Setups, etc.

Rant mode on...

I decided a few years ago to get back into vinyl with the goal being to digitize some of the irreplaceable LPs I have plus check out some of the newer high quality reissues of various jazz records and so on. I had an old Denon DP-45F and a friend texted me the day before Christmas 2018 that he was looking desperately for a turntable for his teenage son, so it was the perfect opportunity to justify an upgrade.

Ended up with a great deal from my local audio shop on an open box VPI Classic, then decided to spurge on another upgrade for the cartridge to a SoundSmith Aida Mk II. The original Aida got rave reviews and especially in some areas I wanted, namely tracking and channel separation. I was still putting together some other stuff so didn't get around to installing the SS for a while. When I finally got to it, something looked off, and the VPI was having an issue so off to the shop I went. VPI motor issue was fixed, but they took one look at the Aida and said, do NOT install this, the cantilever is bent. Back to SS for a repair!

So I started that process in early Sept. "Expected" time for this is 8-14 weeks. It's now been nearly 8 months, and nothing. NADA. I have politely emailed a couple of times and get a reply that they are behind and can't say when they will get to it.

This is seriously shaking my belief that 1) service from dedicated audio brands is typically better than the mega brands; 2) analog is even worth it. From a rational perspective, it 100% is not. I am starting to mull dumping the whole thing due to this and selling off the lovely gear.