Cartridge repair by Moscow based Roman??

Hmm. The specific comment from Peter at Soundsmith was that due to the type of construction inside the cartridge, there would be no guarantee that a difficult repair could be perfectly executed. They did not consider it useful even to look at pictures.

Regarding buying a new cartridge, that option is always there. I will go in for a DL 103R most likely, which is a step down from where I was, but after feeling tentative after the loss of a cartridge, I don't feel like replacing it like for like just immediately.

I will check out expertstylus first. Let me see if they are as negative as Soundsmith was.

@cool_jeeves

What is the cartridge you’re talking about ?

There is no guarantee from anyone in this world, so what Peter said is a standard, you ship it to him for inspection (no pictures), then he could work on it, if you’re lucky it will be repaired and inspection fee will be used towards the repair fee. Peter is one of the best in the world, if he can’t fix it then no one will fix it (imo).

I want to tell you for sure that you will have to ship your cartridge to Expert Stylus or SoundSmith or whatever company, no one will inspect it by pictures, except for some amateurs pretending to be a good re-tippers.

P.S. Denon 103 R ? I wouldn't recommend it, the stylus tip is conical and life span of such stylus is 300 hrs then you will have to re-tip it or buy another sample (which is better that re-tip). 

Great post by Chakster. I agree totally, for whatever that’s worth.

I have had communication with Roman and I doubt that he would be the best choice for a repair job. Probably very good for a simple retip involving change of cantilver/stylus but not necessarily a repair. 

I have had retips done by both Peter L at Soundsmith and Andy Kim at Needle Clinic, both with excellent results but Andy was also able to repair a cartridge (a dead channel) that Soundsmith made an attempt on and was unable to. 

For repair work I'd be inclined to contact Andy, or possibly Steve Leung at VAS Audio as I've read a number of positive comments on repair work that he has done as well. 

Andy also has very quick turnaround time and by all accounts, Steve Leung does as well. 

Personally, I would only ship to Expert Stylus if I was in the UK or Europe. 

Chakster makes some valid points but his comments on the Denon 103(R) conical are absurd. That cartridge\stylus can easily be run for 800-1000 hours with careful cueing and clean vinyl. The 300 hour statement is ridiculous. The Denon conical is one of the best conicals out there-it is far superior to cheap bonded conicals that you'll find on $50-$100 cartridges. 

It is not capable of the same kind of information retrieval as a high quality line contact or microridge (which will last much longer than the Denon conical) but it's not going to wear out in 300 hours unless grossly abused. 

Just to clarify... my cartridge was audio-technica ART9 and it was damaged when the cantilever got snapped. The body is not damaged. So it is a matter of inserting a new stylus. Let me check out expert stylus and come back.