My Turntable - Part 1

It was a sub-zero freeze-your-ass-off windy snowy day in Frankenmuth, Michigan.  We had just come from skiing for the first time at a bunny slope in Apple Mountain and were checking out ice sculptures from a competition earlier in the day.  As we walked past the old town hall, we saw a sign announcing cheap vinyls for sale inside.  

Frankenmuth is a Bavarian town.  Its history is in settlers from that part of Germany and its economy now is in tourism on that theme with Zehnders Chicken and Bavarian Inn anchoring one end of the town and a field that hosts all kinds of events.  The old town hall, looked really old and smelled so.

A friend's sister wanted to check out the vinyls and we joined her out of curiosity.  In that musty space, we saw vinyls going for between 50cents and a dollar.  Many were familiar and from musicians we liked.  

This was the single event that sparked my interest and desire to get a phonograph and start a new hobby.

But Linda today is very different from Linda just a year or two ago.  I was impatient, wanted everything now now now, and didn't bother doing too much research (except for major big ticket items) or maybe just didn't take the time to.

I thought hard about how the turntable would fit into our life, where it would sit, what enjoyment do I want to get out of it, whether I really wanted another 'thing' to complicate my life.  I read reviews - Stereophile, Audio Advisors, WhatHifi - a bunch of other forum sites and several YouTube videos later, figured out what I needed and came to the conclusion that the Rega RP1, a British engineered brand and their entry level offering, plus their pre-amp and speakers, would make a great set-up.

Still I wasn't convinced yet until I found a 40-year high-end audiophile equipment seller online who kindly answered all my questions on Yahoo Q&A and assured me that what I've planned is a pretty solid starter kit.  

The best way to do this is to test, or 'audition' as audiophiles call it, these systems in a shop first before deciding on the combinations of components that you want. That is if you live in a city with a sprinkling of audio shops who carry good selections and lets you try them out.  Midland is not exactly Detroit.

So I emailed the sole US distributor for the brand to locate our nearest retailer, which happens to be about a 2 hour drive away in Royal Oaks, near Troy, where we visit every now and then for asian grocery supplies.

Several emails later, I put down a 50% deposit for an RP1, Brio-R and RS1 speakers, excitedly arranging to collect my loot on March 16, a day before my birthday, and stay in all of March 17 to listen to all the vinyls I'll be receiving for my birthday.

A day or so later, the shop told me the RP1 in white was sold out.  BUT, the distributor has an RP3 in white and was happy to sell that to me at a 10% discount.  I grabbed it.  I understand now, from the retailer, that the RP3 will last me for decades before I would feel the need to upgrade, and that the next step up is a few thousand dollars difference versus the $300+ I would be paying for the RP3.  

Photo Source: www.audiotrends.com.au 

The distributor screwed up the shipping and my order couldn't arrive on time for March 16.  As we were more excited about the sound system than a ski trip the weekend after, we cancelled our planned ski trip, took some penalties, and visited yesterday, March 23 to collect the stuff because on Thursday, I received a message that my "goodies have arrived."

-----Fast forward to the shop-----

When we unboxed the turntable together with the shop, David the owner, spotted the broken dust cover.  First sign of trouble. The exterior of the box looked fine except for some crease lines that didn't look out of place so no one had suspected anything.  I was totally uncomfortable because the styrofoam packaging was cracked and I was worried about that mechanisms might have misaligned. "Bloody irritating" was the phrase I kept repeating because it was so!

I didn't want the turntable and didn't want to drive another 4 hours return just to collect another set.  Jeff, probably a partner at the shop, offered to meet me halfway in Flint to pass me a replacement set if that helps and together they tried to come up with a solution.  Then David said he would forgo his profit on this just to make me a happy customer so I would pay RP1 price for the RP3.

I still wasn't convinced - it's not about the money right? So we decided maybe the best thing to do is to test it out.  We plugged it into their demonstration system and it sounded AWESOME.  Spotting no other visible faults, we decided to take it home with the assurance that if anything went wrong, they'll make things right.

David also threw in a couple of speaker stands - too short but good for use until I get mine - a Venom 3 amp cables, and a collection of portraits of musicians taken by Andrew Zuckerman, a pretty well-known American filmmaker and photographer.  You'll recognize his work when you see it.

-----Skip to back home-----

As we were setting up the system, Leon flipped the turntable over and saw that the motor casing was warped.  The screw tightening the casing to the base also had cracks.

I called David immediately and told him I wanted a replacement, sent him the picture, and texted that I would prefer that he met me in Midland for the exchange.  I was royally pissed off by now.

I got an email from him this morning saying he'll order me a new set on Monday.  I've mentally prepared myself that it might not be white.  It could be titanium grey or black, or a longer wait for new stock to arrive from UK.

Either way, I'm going to ensure they make this right.  Right now, I am still comfortable that David will deliver.  Let's see...