Tried calling with no answer and full voicemail. Drove to the store In Minneapolis area and windows are papered shut. See other posts claiming they are closed. I post this because these guys were really good at making anybody including new folks interested in the hobbie feel at home. A guy buying a $40 cartridge got treated with the same respect as one getting a $400 cartridge. I heard that 70% to 80% of their sales were online. Sorry to see another good dealer apparently going down. Good dudes that loved music.
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I had heard similar reports. I looked and there were no ads in the new issue of Stereophile. I am really going to miss those guys!
Doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere to me, unless it’s a totally different company that you’re speaking of…
Probably transitioned to 100% online, ditching the high overhead brick and mortar retail space for a much more affordable warehouse space suitable for online order fulfillment.
Until the local guys can verify that fact I don’t think I would place an online order.
Yeah, sound advice. One could also give them a quick call tomorrow or send them an email to inquire.
I think Minnesota Fats tried that and then actually went to the store. It’s a shame as I have done business with Jerry off and on since the 90’s when he had a small classified ad in the Audio mags and you had to call them on the phone and give them your CC number.
Oh right… Well, email perhaps but the non-response on the phone attempt does not bode well for my online-only theory.
The test results were not good, no answer on the phone, voice mailbox full, windows papered over. Need more clues? Order something from the still functional website. Use Paypal.
Same company. Wishing they are going to an online only model and staying in business. If that truly is the case then it would be the craziest way to transition to an online model. Not answering your phone and having a full voicemail? No explanation of closing the bricks? No new posting on their Facebook page since September? There is a Minnesota Audiophile Society meeting tonight so there could be more information about their status.
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It’s a shame about Needle Doctor. Should it be true that Jerry Raskin’s Needle Doctor is no more I can recommend LP Gear as an alternative.
Wow, this would be a loss. There is not enough competition in this part of the business, and I found LP Gear to be a little janky in past dealings with them, and is missing some brands that others had.
Needle Doc was at AXPONA last year, and reintroduced me to a great record I hadn’t heard in decades…over the new Hana cartridge model that is on my short list of replacements. Good people. I hope it’s just a temporary reshuffling of things and they remain. I would think they might shut their web site down if they were not in business any longer.
This might be wishful thinking: It could be something as simple as an issue with a lost lease–greedy landlords or changes in building ownership often leave business owners scrambling at the last minute. (I have been through this too many times with clients and friends of mine.) If that is the case, they may no longer have a working landline, and could be sitting on a pile of moving boxes relocated to a different location (a new building, or a warehouse, or storage facility).
Fingers crossed that it’s a temporary setback.
I still miss Lyle Cartridges. Anyone remember them? They used to be my go-to back in the '80s.
I hope your wishful thinking above is true and they will still be around
Nice detective work there sir! One more nail in the coffee in support of Needle Doctor’s demise. We’ve got ourselves another clue here @aangen
I LOVED NEEDLE DOCTOR
I ordered from them for years before I moved to MLPS…I remember driving passed the store one day and was like…
“What?!..THATS THE NEEDLE DOCTOR!”
They lent me my first two dacs to test…without them I would still be in to vinyl, which is pretty ironic.
GREAT GUYS
Nobody here knows…It was mentioned tonight at the MN Audio Society…no one knew what happenned
I heard Jerry was not doing well health-wise.
A couple of Google reviews also indicate that nobody is answering the phone and emails are not being replied to. And, that the storefront looks to be closed. 
I’ve put out a feeler to someone in the industry to see if they have heard anything.
Web site now appears to be down 