Kontrapunkt da,da,da dum

[andrew ivimey]

one of these sublime cartridges has come through my letter box.

bliss and joy is expected in high measure.

how is it that several german traders (on ebay too) can be friendly, helpful, polite, very efficient and sell kontrapunkt Bs for something over £400.

Hooray for Uwe Hoffman and Herr Thakker!

why do we, in this sceptered isle, face forking out £750 for exactly the same thing????

[david counter]

I'm afraid that the pricing must be down to Henley Designs
like you I can't understand their rationale for it,
don't they realise people use the internet
or is it that they are just greedy

Yes, it must be down to the U.K. distributors and there is no excuse for it. I guess that they would rather try to make excessive profit on selling a few cartridges than make a good profit and sell lots. The AudiophileCandy free classifieds section used to have 'adverts' that said that any expensive Ortofon in the U.K. not bought through the official channels was probably a fake. Hah!

Saying that though, the Emporium here in the U.K. manage to sell the 'A' for £350 and the 'B' for £500 which is better than the full U.K. RRP normally seen. So there are some trying to lessen the effects of rip-off Britain.

Anyway, do let us know how you enjoy your new Ortofon Andrew.

[andrew ivimey]

What a handsome cartridge! Is the cantilever really a ruby?

Tracking at 2.2 grams all sounds very well; balanced with good everything. I have only played one LP so far so presumably it has to wear in / warm up (and then of course wear out).

I found the VTA makes a huge difference to the tone of the cartridge. It is right and proper with only the specc'd turntable mat on the GL78 (instead of using three). Kontrapunkt is a tall cartridge or Denon 103 is stubby.

I have put away all that transistor nonsense so it is back to WAD pre, WAD phono and ongaku.

Ongaku goes plenty loud but it hasn't got the appalling welly or prescence of the 303. The amps are just not similar at all. I like both though.

[NealG]

Nice one Andrew, the KB is an excellent cart.

Takes about 30hrs to fully bed in IME. Don't over tighten the mounting screws as it will squash the front plastic land on the cart top. This will alter the VTA, you'll have to drastically lower the arm to counter it!

The lines on the side of the cart are there to help set VTA, I've found in my system it sounds best with the back of the cart down ever so slightly.

Loading is also critical, I found 100R is about right but you can get a warmer balance by dropping down to 47R.

The new Rondo Bronze I have is really starting to impress. It has the same cantilever and diamond of the Kontra C, really good. I suspect it will be very close if not better in some areas than the KB when I get it onto the Gyro!

Edit: to add I've increased VTF on both carts. to 2.4gm, they seem to track a little better, sounding more secure.

[Clive]

I think you'll find that Henley buy the KB's in at £375 - don't ask how I know as I can't tell you!

[david counter]

so it would appear that the German dealers get a better deal than Henley, persumably down to higher turnover,
it really upsets me that things that can be bought on the internet are priced so highly in the UK, it's almost like they're looking for one Kb to pay for their business for a week,
seems to me that every thing is priced for as much as possible even if it only sells in small amounts rather than go for turnover,
a very rich man once told me, you can't go broke taking a profit
I'm begining to rant...............

[Clive]

Maybe there's a slight currency conversion anomaly, maybe the German KB's are being sold for just a few Euros profit, what's the VAT rate difference?

Could they be sourced from the US are some silly price?

[andrew ivimey]

VAT in Germany is either 16 or 19%. theone US seller I have found is still more expensive than Germany, though cheaper than GB (except for Nick at Emporium)

There must be less profit margin in Germany.

[david counter]

OK, the nurse has given me a quick rub down with the Sporting Life, I've had a lay down in a darkened room and I'm feeling better now,
why should I worry what the price is in the UK, I know that when I want a new Ortofon I can get one worth the money in Germany