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In the Forum: Analog Playback
In the Thread: The Shelter 90X: mystery or mastery
Post Subject: High-End Industry and cartridges.Posted by Romy the Cat on: 5/18/2005
 starboy wrote: |
| I decided recently to add the Shelter 901 to my collection of 'Groove Riderz' and wondered what was the justification of the price hike for the 90X. Read the same review as yourself and thought that I learn't nothing other than someone's opinion with no stats and just the usual cost more gotta be better scenario. |
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The price hike is very easy to understand. Before, the Shelter 901 was sold by Japanese for internal market only and the list price was ~$1200 and slightly fluctuated with the exchange rate. The street price for Shelter 901 was around $850. When I walked in the Tokyo store and asked a first salesperson I faced about Shelter 901 he wrote for me on a peace of paper $810 (not English spoke). Being a Jew I can’t buy anything without negotiation and I show him with my hands an international sight that I would like to pay less He instantaneously wrote for me $710. So, I paid $710 and pay attaining that I was just pedestrian from street and did not have any “connections” or special accommodations. I am sure that the local guys “who knows how to get it” probably pays around $550. At the very same time the American cunning dealer form NH was selling the Shelter 501 (list price in Japan $500) for $2700, marketing the cartridge under some flashy name like “Moses’ Circumcision” or something like this…. At that time Shelter 901 was not publicized by audio propaganda and had no hype in US. Since the Shelter gained the US publicity the “crafty” American importers were plugged into the game and consequentially the blood-sucking industry begin to suck money off the of the Shelter price. Somebody should pay for those bribes to the reviewers, advertising in those publications, sq footage of those demo rooms, gifts and accommodations, the extortionist fees that the Hi-Fi shows organizes impose to the expositioners... and many other “rules of the engagements”. However, the top Shelter’s price of ~$1200 was not able to pay mortgages at the 7 exit of Connecticut’s Route 95 – there was juts no overhead in the Shelter’s price for the US’s appetite. Also, the price of the 901 was compromised by many Japanese guys (Mr. Hashimoto for instance and few others) why use to sell the Shelters direct to US bypassing the typical industry extortions. So, when Shelter introduce thier new 90x cartridge then the price included the necessity accommodations to feed all that leechlike industry distribution chains….
| starboy wrote: |
Give me spec's I thought... The internet highway brought up nada.
The spec's you dropped Romy was what I was waiting for (thanks), but they didn't relate to the difference between $1500 and $2700 buckeroo's.
So the difference spec' wise is Anodized aluminium... The cost of an anodized exhaust against standard titanium for my sports bike is probably the difference of 100 bucks so it ain't there.
The coils ain't 24kt gold like the upper end Clearaudio's so it ain't there either methinks.
Samarium Cobalt v Neodymium. (see link) http://amasci.com/neodemo.html
The cost of Neodymium can't be it either . (see link) http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm
I can only conclude that the latter is harder to work with hence the extra $1200?
Maybe some metallurgist can spread some light.
And as for all the 'Usual Suspect' Audiongon types waiting for a low mileage for a $1000 and thinking they gots a bargain. There are stores in Nippon throwing 'em out at under $900 dollars new.
$900 v $2700
This isn't just about money but I aint gonna get shafted. Maybe one day I'll hear a 90X and think the outlay is justified. Really. |
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Well, I do not think that it is the issue about money or about the investigating the characteristics of the magnets. The 90x sounds different and this is all that counts. Dose it sound better or worse, this is the question. The only problem that I have with the “Saga about the Shelters” it is my selfishness. You see, I usually, as anybody else, tip the waters in restaurants. However, the difficulties I have to give away those 20% for a good service when a couple people order 2 sandwiches with the total of $20 vs. the situation when the same couple people order a dinned with expansive wine with the total of $850. The point is that a water when she serves an bottle of $1.25 “Sprite” or the $750 bottle of “Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac” form 1986 does accentually the very same job: go to kitchen and bring the damn liquid to the table. So, in case of puling form his storage the Shelter 901 the dealer put in his pocket $900x40%=$360, but if it was the Shelter 90x then it would be $2700x40%=$1080. Did the dealer provide any extra serviced for you for those $1080-$360=$720 of YOUR money? Did you see any dealer who actual knows ANYTHING objective about analog or can intelligently event to talk about analog? Did you see any dealer with well-performing analog installation? They will make up the “big eyes” and tell you the idiotic stories loading you with pure BS. (The record in here is belong the US’s Sumiko distributor who assured me that he set up for his 22 year of his business the…. 33.000 turntables!!! This means: 4 turntables per day, any day of his live… What an idiot!) But, did you try to demand from the industry a SERVICE. Get from a distributor a loan-cartridge and perhaps a loan optimized tonearm. Get from him 4-5 alternative cartridges… Ask him the objective recommendations about loading and optimization that would actualy MEAN something. How about this: if they turn to be wrong then… call your lower. Why not! If you pay $600 to your dentist and he removes a wrong tooth then we believe that it is OK to hold the dentist responsible. However, if a dealer made you to purchase Clearaudio cartridge for $10.000 that performs worst then a rusty Home Depot nail and that does not match your TT/tonearm then he juts was "an audio professional”? I do not get this logic! Perhaps if we hold the audio professionals to the same level liability as we do with any other professionals then we would not have among audio industry so many ignorant fools or so many escaped cons….
I know, I know all this rant sounds like a paranoiac foolishness on my part but… it is 21 century and do we have any other way to approach cartridges then just to buy them first and then to agree or to disagree with the rumors out there about their performance? If it’s so, then why do we pay 60%-40% of “industry mark up” - It does not look that we have chance to USE the industry when we select our cartridges? Do you tips the employee in a self-serving Chinese “all-you-can-eat” buffet if no one serves you and you should even to wash your own plates after you eat?
Rgs,
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