Cartridge repair by Moscow based Roman??

@cool_jeeves 

try to contact cartridgelab in Italy, they are very good and known all over the world, heads impossible repair by other repairers have been repaired.
An mail costs nothing.

@hdm  thanks for the link, the statement was made in 2003, long time ago, but anyway ... 

Anyone can comment what is a PA profile ? Parabolic ? 

I remember PH stylus on my Galnz 61, but not a PA. And yes i do not clean records everyday, because i think they are already clean. I do clean dirty records if i can see that they are dirty. 

So the 2500 hrs is the estimate for Ogura PA stylus according to J.Carr from 2003, not for every advanced stylus. And there are a lof of "if" in his comments. Regarding the modern MR profile the estimate is 2000 hrs as stated by Nakatsuka-San (ZYX). 

Over the years, I've used mostly the Ogura PA, which in my opinion is one of the two best "standard" stylus designs in the world (the other being the Namiki MicroRidge, and perhaps the Gyger "S" also qualifies - perhaps). The PA is the same stylus shape that is used on the Koetsus, among other well-known cartridge builders. I would suggest that you should be able to get at least 2500 hours of playing time from an Ogura PA if you keep your LPs cleaned with a record cleaning machine, and are reasonably careful. If you are meticulous about cleanliness and how carefully you cue the stylus up and down (especially down), 3000 hours should be possible. More than this is rare.

The Namiki MicroRidge (MR, also called ML for MicroLine by other companies who use Namiki's design) has a more delicate side structure that contacts the groove walls (the "ridge"), which makes it theoretically a little more capable of retaining a good shape over time than the PA if the MR is well cared-for, but also makes it a little more fragile and prone to damage if treated with less TLC (it is somewhat easier to get tiny "nicks" in the ridge which can inscribe horizontal striations along the walls of the groove). I have used the MR in prototype designs, but I don't think I have used it in any production cartridge model. So I don't have that much long-term detailed data. I think that if the user is real careful, the MR may last a skosh longer than the PA, but if the user is less careful, the PA may stand up a little better.

But I am using the MR in our new entry-level cartridge model, the Dorian (I expect that we will either play it or have it on display at the Las Vegas CES), and so I will have a chance to get a lot more direct experience with the MR real soon. I'll be better able to answer your question in a few years.

Incidentally, I am gradually moving away from the PA. The PA is great as a "standard catalog" shape, but in the quest for more performance, we decided that we wanted something closer to our ideas of what the ideal stylus should be like, and so we designed our own stylus shape. And I have to say, I do like this new shape (it doesn't have a name yet) rather better than the PA. For one thing, it is somewhat quieter than the PA (especially on worn and damaged LPs), and the wear patterns so far suggest that it may last somewhat longer, too. But this stylus shape is still relatively new (it's on the Titan, Argo, Olympos, and Helikon Mono, but _not_ the standard Helikon, and not on any of our older cartridges like the Clavis, Clavis DC, Parnassus, Lydian et al). So again, ask me the same question again in a few years!

-jonathan carr

Great learning from the many comments so far. Thank you all. So just to be clear: I tried to slip the stylus guard onto the cartridge but in doing so ended up snapping the cantilever backwards and it broke off and got lost. Next, I will check out Expert Stylus, Andy Kim (anyone has his contacts), CartridgeLab and anyone else you recommend with a detailed chat before acting. I had started by checking with AT Japan. When I cleared the fog of confusion their English created I gathered that the replacement with a new piece could be done at $1000 which is way higher than the $876 I paid for it. Next, I am definitely interested if there were a lightly used cartridge from a known seller but will come back to this option after checking out the above re - tippers.

if you really want to fix your ART9 then don’t waste your time and go with Expert Stylus (UK) or SoundSmith (USA) if you want to insure yourself, this is where you can get the best possible quality, the rest of the re-tippers are not a company, but a private individuals, you never know what you will get from them. Some horrible stories about Andy Kim are on this forum, do not deal with him.

Actually every re-tipper will promise you everything, some will give you lower price, but you never know what you will get and how long you will be able to use refurbished cartridge. you can actually sell your broken AT to some re-tippers to get rid of this broken cartridge for some money.  

If your cantilever it broken then it is not just a re-tip, you need a new cantilever, if the cost is more than $600 it make no sense, you can find a better (used or even NOS) cartridge at $600 (MC or MM/MI) with decent cantilever and stylus tip. I think a new (fully original) cartridge is always better. If you choose between refurbisged ART9 for $600 or brand new ATR9 for $900 then it's much better to buy a new one for slightly higher price. 

AT service is much cheaper if your AT cartridge was purchased from official AT dealer, then you can just exchange old cartridge to a new one with discount. The situation you’re are in looks like your AT is grey market product, this is the reason you can’t send it back for exchange program.

Hi Chakster, thanks. The cartridge I bought was from the official dealer. Just the price they offered was the discounted price as JPY107k, compared to JPY140k for new. What is wrong here is that the retail discount at that time was very sharp from Needle Doctor, and the replacement price now is higher than the new price of 2 yrs ago. But valuable tips. Let me work on them.