can anyone recommend a person in LA area to pay to install a tricky Koetsu cartridge

Call Scott Walker audio in Anaheim. They can put you in contact with the best

Audio Element in Pasadena...owned by the son (Brian) of Brooks Berdan, who was THE analog turntable guy in the heyday of audio in the 70’s and beyond...Brooks has since passed but his wife continued the shop in Monrovia to this day...the Pasadena shop is adjacent to a wonderful old town Pasadena shopping stroll...

small world I did reach out to Audio Element but for the foreseeable future they will only do in store cartridge install.

I plan to be involved in the set up so I can understand it so that I can tweak it if necessary........

OP Who ever you get to set your cartridge up, use it as w school lesson. Note (mentally at least) everything he does. Write down the order of things he does. Good luck and happy listening. 😀 🇦🇺

@amg56, that’s exactly what I did, many times watching Brooks install, align, measure, adjust, then run-in the cartridge for hours on the customer's table/arm,. Then retest and realign the cartridge (all the alignment parameters change as the suspension relaxes). I’ve never seen any other retailer expend as much time and effort as did Brooks, nor with as much care and expertise, and Brian Berdan does the same. All that work is included in the sale price of the cartridge.