It is the opinion of a knowledgeable friend of mine that Koetsu just sends you a new cartridge.
Re-tipped stylus vs original manufacturer
How does a re-tipped stylus from, say Soundsmith or others compare to original manufacturer equipment. Assuming the stylus tip is identical and so is the material of the cantilever. I am looking at a Koetsu Black in the market with a stylus re-tipped by Soundsmith. I would think that if the re-tipped is identical, then the sound should be similar to OEM if the body and coil stays original but I could be wrong. Opinions please.
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As @ghdprentice relates, most moving coil cartridges are replaced by a "new" one. I believe the old bodies are rebuilt and sold as new but it is possible that some are just dumped. Soundsmith does an excellent job of re-tipping cartridges but nobody can tell you what the sonic differences are between a factory cartridge and a re tipped one. You would have to compare the two at the same time or at least view frequency response curves. It is highly likely that most of us could not tell the difference but there is no easy way to prove that. |
I agree with @mijostyn that it is hard to know the difference, also because by the time you’re sending your cart for a retip it is starting to sound ratty. I will tell you that I am listening to a Soundmith retip Transfiguration right now and it sounds wonderful. I don’t buy used carts, but if you do, I wouldn’t worry about anything done by Soundsmith. But I think the price should be adjusted accordingly for non-factory work |
Dear @sidvicious88 : There is no way that are-tipper fix any " today " LOMC model to its original status.
Cartridge manufacturers ask to the cantilever/stylus tip premium and sometimes special parts that only that manufacturer can has. In the other side when you send to the manufacturer say A koetsu you will receive not only a new cartridge but a new cartridge with manufaturer up-grades on it that any re-tipper can know about and we have to take in count that ith top of the line cartridges the designers make listening tests ( with the designer room/system that is different on each manufacturer and certainly no re-tipper mimic any of those room/systems. ) on it and fine tunning to what they have as their own tragets/priorities on quality performance level of those cartridges.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R.
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