Installing an Mp-110 on my Planar 2

[Milo_Myage]

Found myself with a bit of spare cash so am set on treating my Planar 2 to a new cartridge and after a little look i'm pretty settled on the Nagaoka. I've had the table for a few years now so i'm feeling more confident about installing the cart myself than i was the last time.

So just a few questions

I know some of you have some experience of ordering Nagaoka carts from Japan, is this the best/cheapest option or does anyone have a recommendation for a UK seller?

What will i need to install it? Allignment protractor (think i have the original one that came with the TT), tracking force scales (any recommendation?) and needle nose pliers. Have i missed anything?

Oh and an idiots guide to cart fitting might be needed as well, as excited as i am about giving it a go i'll still need all the help i can get.

 

[Al ears]

Found myself with a bit of spare cash so am set on treating my Planar 2 to a new cartridge and after a little look i'm pretty settled on the Nagaoka. I've had the table for a few years now so i'm feeling more confident about installing the cart myself than i was the last time.

So just a few questions

I know some of you have some experience of ordering Nagaoka carts from Japan, is this the best/cheapest option or does anyone have a recommendation for a UK seller?

What will i need to install it? Allignment protractor (think i have the original one that came with the TT), tracking force scales (any recommendation?) and needle nose pliers. Have i missed anything?

Oh and an idiots guide to cart fitting might be needed as well, as excited as i am about giving it a go i'll still need all the help i can get.

The Shure SFG-2 scales are a good manual type but I see they have gone up in price quite lot and it is probably cheaper now to buy a set of digital scales. A quick Google will show you the price range. The cheap Ortofon Mechanical stylus gauge available from Amazon should suffice though.

The Japanese buying route can save you a fair bit of money but be aware you could get charged VAT on this import. I have never been caught out with this yet though. Not sure if there would be significant savings on something the price of an MP110 though., you would have to do your sums. Analogue Seduction do them for about £109, that against around £81 from Japan. Me, I'd be buying from the UK here. The warranty alone makes it worthwhile.

Oh, you missed out patience and a steady hand.....

 

[thescarletpronster]

The Japanese buying route can save you a fair bit of money but be aware you could get charged VAT on this import. I have never been caught out with this yet though. Not sure if there would be significant savings on something the price of an MP110 though., you would have to do your sums. Analogue Seduction do them for about £109, that against around £81 from Japan. Me, I'd be buying from the UK here. The warranty alone makes it worthwhile.

The cheapest UK dealer when I bought mine was Divine Audio. However it looks as though Analogue Seduction is currently beating them on price. I'm not sure you'll find any price saving by going the Japanese route on the lower end of the range. The cheapest reliable Japanese source I know (Audio Kazu) quotes £82, and then there's shipping (which I think was £14 when I was looking to buy) plus import duty and VAT on top of that. Even if you might save a couple of quid, I'd agree with Al that it's worth buying from a UK dealer to avoid any risk, plus easy returns in case there's any fault. It is definitely worth considering buying direct from Japan with the more expensive cartridges in the range, when savings can be £50 or more.

Oh, you missed out patience and a steady hand.....

Or in my case, a friend who's an engineer with a steady hand. (I still managed to drop the stylus on the floor.)

 

[Al ears]

The Japanese buying route can save you a fair bit of money but be aware you could get charged VAT on this import. I have never been caught out with this yet though. Not sure if there would be significant savings on something the price of an MP110 though., you would have to do your sums. Analogue Seduction do them for about £109, that against around £81 from Japan. Me, I'd be buying from the UK here. The warranty alone makes it worthwhile.

The cheapest UK dealer when I bought mine was Divine Audio. However it looks as though Analogue Seduction is currently beating them on price. I'm not sure you'll find any price saving by going the Japanese route on the lower end of the range. The cheapest reliable Japanese source I know (Audio Kazu) quotes £82, and then there's shipping (which I think was £14 when I was looking to buy) plus import duty and VAT on top of that. Even if you might save a couple of quid, I'd agree with Al that it's worth buying from a UK dealer to avoid any risk, plus easy returns in case there's any fault. It is definitely worth considering buying direct from Japan with the more expensive cartridges in the range, when savings can be £50 or more.

Oh, you missed out patience and a steady hand.....

Or in my case, a friend who's an engineer with a steady hand. (I still managed to drop the stylus on the floor.)

Thanks for agreeing. In my case I have saved almost half on a cartridge costing £750 in the UK. This sort of saving can be had if you have the nerve and are not concerned too much with warranty. I'd do it again because I think the mark up of UK retailers is horrendous. I wouldn't consider doing it for a cheapest cartridge though. Note: It can be had for Japan for £82 including shipping, but how reliable that dealer is I don't know.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

No import duty on cartridges, VAT only.

 

[Al ears]

No import duty on cartridges, VAT only.

That alone, should you be unfortunate enough to be clobbered, is enough to make this unviable for buying from Japan.

Just exactly where do you get the no import duty from?

 

[Deleted member 108165]

No import duty on cartridges, VAT only.

That alone, should you be unfortunate enough to be clobbered, is enough to make this unviable for buying from Japan.

Just exactly where do you get the no import duty from?

I went on one of those sites where you can get an estimate for duty/taxes levied on imports. Apparently phono cartridges are exempt from duty. This was backed-up when I purchased my MP300 from Japan and it was held by Parcel Force, all I got charged was VAT and their admin fee for tax collection, no duty levied.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

I know some of you have some experience of ordering Nagaoka carts from Japan, is this the best/cheapest option or does anyone have a recommendation for a UK seller?

What will i need to install it? Allignment protractor (think i have the original one that came with the TT), tracking force scales (any recommendation?) and needle nose pliers. Have i missed anything?

Oh and an idiots guide to cart fitting might be needed as well, as excited as i am about giving it a go i'll still need all the help i can get.

As for purchasing from Japan - wot Al said, not worth it. If it were higher up the Nag range then maybe.. Alignment protractor - wot Al said.

Don't necessarily need pliers, tweezers work just as well, if not better. Those little jewellers screwdrivers are handy too. For digital scales see ebay - digital cartridge tracking force scale - don't pay silly prices for a branded version, generic model is fine.

Fitting: Pay attention to the leads, they're fragile, and make sure the correct colours go to the correct teminals on the cart. Keep the stylus guard ON whilst doing the fiddly fitting bit; only remove it for setting level, alignment and VTF.

As it's a Nag cart wet your finger to pick up the mounting nuts and maybe use tweezers to offer them up to the screw threads. Fit one side with the mounting nut+screw loosely installed in the headshell, offer up the cart and slot the shank of the screw into the slot on the cart body and slightly tighten, then fit the other side screw+nut, it's fiddly but do-able. Ive always found it easier to have the nuts on the bottom and screw head at the top + mount the cartridge first before connecting the leads.

Come back if you have any further Q's.

(Been trying to post this for the last 3 hrs but they thought it was spam so blocked me! This attempt worked!)

 

[Al ears]

No import duty on cartridges, VAT only.

That alone, should you be unfortunate enough to be clobbered, is enough to make this unviable for buying from Japan.

Just exactly where do you get the no import duty from?

I went on one of those sites where you can get an estimate for duty/taxes levied on imports. Apparently phono cartridges are exempt from duty. This was backed-up when I purchased my MP300 from Japan and it was held by Parcel Force, all I got charged was VAT and their admin fee for tax collection, no duty levied.

Right. I just found it a bit strange that they are exempt when things like tonearms don't appear to be so. You were unlucky to get charged VAT on something as small as a cartridge. Having said that even if I got charged that on my cartridge it still would have been about £100 cheaper

I guess it all depends on which figure HMRC decide to work with when applying VAT

 

[thescarletpronster]

This sort of saving can be had if you have the nerve and are not concerned too much with warranty.

The saving on Nags to be had buying from Japan was, oddly, greater before Nag doubled their prices at the beginning of last year. The price differential between Japan and UK is now less, but still probably worth it for the more expensive ones. Actually, the styli alone seem to be better value from Japan, so I'll be looking to get my replacement tip from Kazu in a year or two.

 

[thescarletpronster]

I've just noticed that you have something in your set-up called a Dr. Feickert Analogue Woodpecker. Now, irrationally and on the basis of the name alone, I want one. Badly.

 

[Al ears]

I've just noticed that you have something in your set-up called a Dr. Feickert Analogue Woodpecker. Now, irrationally and on the basis of the name alone, I want one. Badly.

No you don't. You want the Blackbird. That way you can mount two tonearms of your choice.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Right. I just found it a bit strange that they are exempt when things like tonearms don't appear to be so. You were unlucky to get charged VAT on something as small as a cartridge. Having said that even if I got charged that on my cartridge it still would have been about £100 cheaper

I guess it all depends on which figure HMRC decide to work with when applying VAT

Unlucky/lucky I guess as I still saved about £100 and got a cracking cartridge out of it. I see that Nagaoka have put their prices up again, the MP300 is now circa a hefty £600 *shok* Thank god I've got the catridge and will only need a stylus next time....

 

[thescarletpronster]

I've just noticed that you have something in your set-up called a Dr. Feickert Analogue Woodpecker. Now, irrationally and on the basis of the name alone, I want one. Badly.

No you don't. You want the Blackbird. That way you can mount two tonearms of your choice.

Well I get a woodpecker and a blackbird coming to my feeders, so I'll let them fight it out for the decider.

 

[GeoffreyW]

THe MP110 comes with its own screwdriver, and I suggest that you keep the stylus guard in place, but remove the stylus plus the guard from the cartridge body until you've fitted the wiring and the cartridge into the headshell, to avoid any damage. It slides in and out quite easily.

Use the alignment gauge which came with the deck, unless you've got a better one, it should get you up and running. More info on arms, cartridges, alignment, etc., can, if I'm not annoying the Mods, can be found at Vinyl Engine forum.

Enjoy your MP110, start saving, 'cos it'll make you ask for more.

 

[Milo_Myage]

I've got all my bits now and come Monday I've have the time to install it.

While I was ordering the Nag I slipped an Edwards Audio Little Belter into my basket as well. I wasn't sure how much difference a belt could really make but its definitely had an impact on the bass, giving a really satisfying listen.

Really looking forward to getting the cart installed.

 

[Milo_Myage]

Managed to accidently pull one of the wires off when removing it from the old cart.

Anyone want to buy an unused Nag and a broken Planar 2?

 

[stevebrock]

oh dear !

Your Planar 2 wiring is probably quite old so the outer may of gone brittle

Looks like you need the tag soldering back on - take it to your local hifi shop they should fix it for you

Its a pain I know but nothing that cant be fixed - wait until start messing with Silver Litz !

Regsards to fitting the Nag, Ive fitted a few Nags now and use a piece of blu tac with the bolt on - screw through the top then offer the blu tak up to the screw thread