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Andy Kim - Needle Clinic

I wanted to put this post out there about Andy Kim of Needle Clinic, located in Bellevue, Washington. As many may know, Andy is a cartridge re-tipper. I tried to find some older posts to add my comments but couldn't find them. So I'll start another OP. I just got my Lyra Kleos back from Andy today. Here's my comments.

My Kleos sounded a little off lately, so I thought it should be checked out. I sent it to Andy Kim. It turns out all that was needed was the stylus required a cleaning and polishing. Andy reported back that the stylus only has about 10 percent wear; IOW plenty of life left.

So I remounted the Kleos today and have been playing all types of music: rock and roll, classical, and so forth. The Kleos sounds wonderful; just great. Kudos to Andy Kim.

Fyi -- some may ask why I didn't send it to Peter Ledermann at Sound-Smith. I seem to recall reading somewhere that he's been unusually busy lately -- and with good reason -- and turn around might be a bit delayed. Also, I'm not sure Peter uses replacement cantilever/stylus assemblies that match (or at least come close to) the original. Andy does.
Anyway, that is a bridge I don't have to cross today.

Bottom line: Andy turned my cartridge within a week of receipt and I am pleased.
bifwynne
jhkear
8 posts
 
I just had my Rega Ania stylus/cantilever repaired by Andy Kim - http://www.phonocartridgeretipping.com/ - and it sounds like a different cartridge in all the right ways. I opted for his microridge stylus and sapphire/boron cantilever upgrade, and the difference is very noticeable. The sound is even warmer than before and there is definitely more detail than the stock Ania stylus.
I would not hesitate to have him repair or upgrade my cartridges ... and he turned it around in 2 days and was super responsive to deal with. Who does that these days???
Thanks so much, Andy ... you are awesome.
dave12345
1 posts
 
I recently bought a Rega Planar 8 w/ the Apheta 2 cartridge and somehow bent the stylus so it didn't track properly (don't let your friends use your expensive turntables!).  Through this forum, I contacted Andy.  We had a three minute conversation and he said he would upgrade the cartridge w/ a micro ridge stylus and recondition suspension for $450.  After viewing the badly bent style Andy increased the price to $500.  It was worth the increase in price since the upgrade is equal to the higher model Rega Aphelion mc cartridge (retails for 5k).  Andy repaired everything and returned within a few days of receipt.  Seems to be working as advertised.  Learned my lesson and happy with Andy's superior service.  Hope to have many years of enjoyment playing vinyl w/ Andy's help!
tablejockey
3,923 posts
 
Just look at it as not getting the discount on the cart, if you purchased it as a package.
tzh21y
1,654 posts
 
He is very good.  Had him do a Benz Glider for me a few years ago.  sounded better than the original Benz.
big_greg
6,658 posts
 
I've managed to break the stylus off my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood, not once, but twice.  The first time I sent it to Soundsmith and the second I sent it to Andy Kim.  Both were competent and the cartridge sounded great after the retip.  Andy was a lot faster and it was a bonus that he was "local" (here in WA state).  I've learned to be super careful with the Virtuoso and hopefully the next retip will be due to wear, not operator error.
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