[Ingo]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Needle Doctor. I'm going to buy a Pro-Ject Debut III and I want to have the cartridge swapped out before they ship it to me. Is there any reason not to have them do it there (would you trust them to set it up properly?).

I'm planning on going with a Grado Green cart, but I've heard of the hum issue that some have with various TTs. Has anyone here experienced this? I like the sound of the Grado Black that I have on my current TT and would like to stick with that kind of signature. Is the Grado a good compliance match for the Pro-Ject arm? Since there is no VTA adjustment, will the Grado cart work in that regard?

I pretty much exclusively listen to country and classic rock on vinyl so if you want to suggest an alternative cartridge in the same price range, keep that in mind.

Thanks in advance guys.

-Ingo

 

[ethebull]

I own a Music Hall, a higher end one from them. MH and Project TT's use many shared parts and may well be made in the same factory. Good products, absolutely. As far as NeedleDoctor is concerned, I don't have any direct experience with them, but they've been around forever. They charge full retail though, so you might want to check with your local retailers. See if they could offer the same thing with local support.

2 cents,

E

 

[jsaliga]

If you order turntables, tonearms, and carts directly from the website then you are going to pay list price.

But if you call them and let them know what you want, they will give you a competitive quote.

--Jerome

 

[Ingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsaliga /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you order turntables, tonearms, and carts directly from the website then you are going to pay list price. But if you call them and let them know what you want, they will give you a competitive quote. --Jerome

Thanks for the advice. I actually am going to call them to order and I already contacted them to ask if they could swap out the stock cartridge for me.

My question was not whether or not they were a good retailer, rather, if someone here at head-fi has any experience with something they have setup.

 

[Ingo]

Well, I went ahead and ordered my TT today from Needle Doctor. When I called back to order I talked to the same person that I talked to the first time I called (which is a good thing, the guy was ultra-nice and helpful). I ended up upgrading the cartridge to an Ortofon Super OM10 instead of a Grado Green at the recommendation of multiple people. If I don't like that cartridge I'll probably look into getting an Ortofon 2M Red or an AT-440ML.

I spent the morning calling around to local Phoenix-area Hi-Fi shops trying to see if I could get a better deal locally. I found two shops that carried Pro-Ject decks and both of them had to order the Debut III. One shop really put me off by saying, "We don't recommend Pro-Ject decks at any price point...". I think they were Rega snobs, but I'm not sure.