LP Gear

Even though I do have a longstanding issue regarding a returned item that in my opinion was handled incorrectly, I fully trust LP gear and I have truly enjoyed their knowledge regarding cartridges and stylus' and tips on upgrading carts with a better stylus. I am not afraid of spending my money at LPG as my record will confirm. I have not had a decent opportunity to listen to my FUNK FIRM platter mat but I am sure that it will live up to it's reputation. Thanks to all at LPG for continued good service and products.

I just received installed and aligned my 95SE upgrade stylus (running on a Technics SL-1300.) I've always liked the 95, I think it has a nice vibrant, upfront quality, and this inexpensive upgrade utterly changes the sound of a great (inexpensive) cart. At 1.8 grams it tracks great and brings a lot of extra detail, clarity, as well as super enhanced soundstage to every record I can throw at it, even older, slightly rougher vinyl (which is odd, considering the needle is finer? Though: I am not a doctor of sound, so grain of salt...) I can't recommend it enough, LPGear and AT rule, I'm going to be ordering the other 95 series styli for sure, and the student discount is very welcome. Also, I never write reviews, ever, but felt compelled to drop a line about this awesome improvement to my musical situation. Get it!

I placed the order on Feb. 2, 2010 and received the above reference number. I haven't gotten any shipment or tracking information at all. I requested tracking info on Feb. 6, 2010, and again on Feb. 8, 2010, through email and did not get any responses. There is a phone number I've tried calling at least a dozen times, and always get a message to call back later. Thank God I didn't order a turntable from them! I'll order the turntable from another store. Looks like I'll be contacting the BBB. Will post follow up.

I ordered Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 noise cancelling headphones on 06/26/09. A few hours later I got email with tracking number. I got headphones on 07/03/09. I can not be any happier with the purchase and a store. Thank you for the excellent service.

TL;DR version: Bought an over-priced replacement stylus from LP Gear, received a cheap Chinese stylus is poor and unusable condition, LP Gear would only offer 50% refund "out of goodwill." My suggestion: Buy from Amazon or a local retailer instead.

The owner of LP Gear is not as unresponsive as many have claimed, but I found their return policy and, most importantly, the quality of their styli to be unacceptable.

I ordered a replacement stylus for my turntable because my old one was skipping over finer grooves on 180g vinyl. The description of the item stated that it would fit my turntable, which it did once it arrived, but the sound was very distorted. It was a cheap Chinese replacement on top of that, and DEFINITELY not worth the $38 they were asking for it. No matter how much fiddling it took, there was no fixing this issue because the stylus they shipped me was bent (perhaps in transit, or perhaps it's a returned item they resold for profit).

In any case, I asked for an RMA (returned merchandise authorization number) and shipped it back to them via Priority Mail (~1-3 days). About ten or more days later, I e-mail them asking about it. The next morning I received an e-mail saying that the item was returned bent and that they could only offer a 50% discount on [another purchase.] Totally ludicrous.

I already bought a new Audio Technica needle from Amazon for $9 and it worked great compared to the one LP Gear sent me, so I stuck to my guns and e-mailed back saying that the item was sent to me in unusable condition in the first place and that I deserve a return. In the end, they were only offering me a 50% refund "out of goodwill."

Do yourself a favor and read these reviews of LP Gear carefully. I suggest avoiding this business if you're looking for quality stylus replacements, but I can't speak for their other items.

I had never ordered from LP Gear before and as I do most of my online ordering on Amazon and eBay, I am cautious when I go to new online stores. I looked for reviews and this site came up first on Google. The stylus I wanted was priced the best on LP Gear by A LOT, and it was not available very many other places at all as it is discontinued. The reviews for on ResellerRatings looked so bad that they made me almost give up on LP Gear. So many reviews claim bad communication, incorrect items, not genuine products and difficult returns.

I also checked the forums on vinylengine.com where the experienced vinylengine users stood up for the store and a few first-time-and-only-posters seemed to troll the store.

I emailed LP Gear to voice my concerns and to see how well they communicate. They responded the first thing in the morning! (I emailed them late after hours the night before.)

I liked what they had to say. They assured me that I would get what I ordered and a genuine product. I decided to give it a try and hope PayPal or something could protect me if things went wrong.



My order came fast with the cheapest shipping option (3-days)! I got the correct product. It was the genuine stylus, and it was the best price I could find!

Make sure to do your research about what you need, and really read the product page before you buy to make sure you are looking at the correct item.



LP Gear had good, quick communication, great pricing, fast shipping and the correct, genuine product. I would recommend them and buy from them again!

I had no issue with the item I purchased--but I did take issue that after paying $9 shipping, the expensive cartridge arrived in a box that was crushed and nearly fallen open. I sent an email to the company with photos of the damaged box and received no response. I sent a follow-up email several weeks later asking if anyone was going to respond to my complaint, and was told that the lack of packaging was deliberate, and I quote, "If you find admirable the packaging that you so heartily endorse then we gladly accept your preference to take your future business elsewhere." So I plan to, and I suggest you do, too.

I recently purchased a replacement stylus for a cartridge recently from LP Gear. I also purchased a number of other items. I own six turntables and I thought that I would give this outfit a try. Big mistake. I put the new stylus in the cartridge and played a record. It sounded very distorted. I tried another record and same thing. I tried both records on a different turntable with its own stylus and they were fine. I replaced the stylus with the old original stylus and the records played without problem. I then cleaned the stylus (going back to forward with a stylus cleaner) and the cantilever snapped off. I returned the stylus and was sent an unbelievably condescending letter(from this "rome" individual) stating that this must have been my fault as all of their products are "inspected" prior to shipment. I will never, ever use this company again and would advise others to be very wary. I should have read these reviews prior to sending my order.

Worst Company ever, do not buy from this company, they do everything possible not return anything you buy from them or 30% restocking fee to discourage the return, they blame you for not ordering correctly and say" you should have asked that question before you purchased" when they never answer their phone and take over a week to respond to emails. In a world where service and customer loyalty are valued people will figure it out!! Talk about disingenuous!!

Purchased a SAS Stylus, wanted to return but found that there is 25 to 30% restocking fee. Expressed my displeasure which was a mistake. LP Gear will not answer any of my requests through their contact page. Guess that's their reason for having the only way to contact then through their web page. Be aware !!!

6/17/2018 update - reading through all the reviews the major issue is with returns. LP Gear sells and doesn't want to have returns.

A few weeks ago I needed a 78 rpm stylus for my new Pioneer DJ turntable. I emailed 3 possible suppliers with my question, and LP Gear answered right away (have still not heard from the others yet). Based on their information, I ordered a stylus, Unfortunately, when I tried it out on several different 78s, they did not play clearly. (The music sounded like a bad cellphone connection.) I emailed them right away and described the problem. As they directed, I returned the stylus so they could check it out. As soon as they got it, the tested it and the next day told me they were going to replace it. The replacement stylus arrived today and it plays perfectly. Their fast responses, no questions asked testing and replacement of the defective stylus were very impressive. They will be my go to supplier for any other needs that may arise.

We browsed the web and found that this business has an active Facebook page. We have discovered that this business has SSL (secure sockets layer), which means that this business handles your data, such as personal information or credit card details, with secure connection. We found that the domain for this business is older than two years which could be an indication that this is a trustworthy business with an established customer base and experience in their field. We found that this business has an Instagram page, where they communicate with their customers using images and videos. This is usually an indication that the business has some visual aspects that it wants to showcase.