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Anyone else having trouble getting cartridges back they sent for repair?

Cartridges Technics 100C and 205PMk3 sent over two years ago to Axel...nothing.
travbrow
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,363 posts
 

Cleeds,


Thanks for that info. I knew the stylus replacement train jumped the tracks at some point. But at least with the Denon DL103R performance is high and cost to replace is not horrible.

I guess being an older guy who remembers how things were back in the day does not help. I helped hundreds of customers replace their styli back then for very nominal cost. MC carts were still quite rare back then. Times change.

Are there any companies these days that feature great sounding carts with reasonable cost for user to replace the stylus easily themselves? That’s something that would appeal to me next time I am in the market for a phono cart.

nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

The list of the re-tippers provided by chakster can be extended

with Peter Ledermann and Andy. What our members need to know

is the following. The choice is not only between the re-tippers but

also about what kind of cantilever and stylus one prefers. The

supplier of styli and cantilevers are not willing to supply every

retipper with their products. Axel, for example, can't deliver Saphire

or Ruby cantilevers nor the micro ridge styli. The other can't deliver

Gyger (aka Van den Hul) styli, etc. Nobody is willing to provide

Axel with coils so he is not able to repair coils or he need to buy

the relevant cart to get the coils needed. The assumption is that

manufacturer try to prevent styli/cantilever producers to supply

re-tippers with parts. Considering the difference of prices involved

by the manufacturer and retippers not suprising. So if one wants

specific cantilever/stylus combo one need to know by which

retipper one can get those. So the question is not only ''which

retipper?'' but also what kind of stylus/cantilever one wants and

where one can get those.

travbrow OP
277 posts
 
A while back, a year or so I think, Axel said he tried repairing the suspension of the 205C a couple times but wasn't satisfied with the results. I thanked him for his efforts and said you can just send them back if you want and I'll try and find replacement stylus. 

 I tried contacting him a couple of times since and then just gave up as he seems to not check, have time or care about his emails from customers.

 The 100c was to get a new cantilever and stylus but maybe he can't do it. He should at least  let me know what's up and send them back if he can't repair, that's all I ask.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@travbrow i have owned several technics cartridges rebuilded by Axel with nagaoka boron cantilever, new suspension and nude elliptical tip for 205c mk4 and 100c mk3 cartridges. I can send you some pictures on macro lens if you want to check. In the summer time i sold my 100c mk3 on ebay to a’gon member, but last winter i have shipped this technics 100c mk3 to Axel for inspection to make sure everything is fine (before the sale). I have an invoice from him, he also repaired suspension on my Glanz 71, it was in december 2015. Recently i’ve recommended him to another ebay buyer, who purchaced from me the original 205c mk4 cartridge in perfect condition, Axel will take a look at the suspension for this buyer. Before the sale i have asked Axel by email about suspension repair for technics cartridges. He never said "no", but he must take a look at the cartridge. I got his last email in May 25th,2016

Right now i have one of the rebuilded Technics 205c mk4, Axel did the job more than 4 year ago and it’s still perfect! This rebuilded cartidge belong to my friend and he would like to sell it, because he has two of them and will keep only one. The difference between original and Axel’s rebuilded versions is the structure of the cantilever: new cantilever is shorter and it has a collar, Axel told me it was made by nagaoka and it’s solid rod (not a hollow pipe as the original), elliptical tip is glued (not pressure fitted with hi-end laser techlonogy as on the original). What i have noticed few month ago, when i compared rebuilded version vs. the original version, is much better bass response on the original technics 205c mk4. The highs on Axel’s rebuilded version of 205c mk4 are amazing and even better than on my rebuilded 100c mk3.

I’m pretty sure he can rebuild your Technics cartridge if you are up to replace the cantilever.

BTW I was so curious about those technics that i have asked Dominic (Northwest Analogue) if he could work on the suspension. In the past Dominic has not been able to resolve this, but he has developed and improved damping material for their own mc cartridges, it might work with the Technics! Dominic can try but there is no guarantee. That’s what they said. 
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

Dear chakster, We both try to inform our co-members the best we

can. However by contradicting each other our mentioned goal

can hardly be acheved. Causing the confusion is not the best

way to inform our ''comrades''. I posted 3 contributions which

point was that the suspension by the Technics 205 series can't

be fixed. I also try to eaxplain why. Namely the ''tension wire''

construction as well the fact that the ''rubber ring'' (aka suspension)

is bihind the magnet such that changing this rubber ring is only

possible by removing the tension wire because the cantilever

+ magnet need to removed at the front side first.

You have read all my contributions about this issue but still

suggest that this repair is not only possible but also actually

done by Axel. Well Axel is my friend whom I speak regular by

phone. Why then should he fix your suspension and not my?

As I wrote neither Axel nor Andy were able to fix my 205,

mk3 suspesion. But Axel deed not charge me for this ''repair''

knowing that he was not able to fix my (two) samples. Andy

 deed so I paid him via my brother Don who lives in Andy's

neighbourhood.


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