Teach me about cartridge 'retipping'

Okay so we disagree on a lot of points, but your claim that you are only talking about really out there one-off cartridges is not supported by your posts.  You started by questioning why someone would retip a Grace F9 when NOS is available.  To many people a Grace F9, for no other reason than it’s moving magnet, is a cheap cartridge that no one should bother with.  One who shares these views would not bother with that cartridge at all whether NOS or not.

Also the number of original F9 styli in the world is very limited.  It just makes sense to keep them going if you can.  The exact replacement diamond is still available from Ogura, so what’s the difference?  An NOS stylus can be bad too.  A retipper will check performance of the completed stylus.  You can’t get that with a sealed NOS.

By the way, I press fit diamonds in and out of cantilevers.  The glue is insurance.  Other designs don’t allow for press fit, like boron or gemstone.  Glue is used in the trade by the manufacturers.  End of story

Anyway, I’ve said all I need to say.  Those who think retipping is a good idea will agree and those who think retipping is madness will not be persuaded.  Everyone enjoys their hobby in different ways.

The feedback I receive from happy customers is phenomenal and I feel great helping them to get the most out of what their idea of enjoying their hobby is.  I’ve never been someone to race cartridges against each other and determine a winner.  I think that’s an asset when I can find something to like about just about any cartridge.

I went from retipping the diamond cantilever on a Koetsu Coralstone Platinum Diamond with a Namiki Micro Ridge to retipping a Decca Deram with a .6 mil bonded conical set into a self-made enlarging sleeve as the very next assignment.  Original Decca Deram styli are highly valued and the aftermarket ones are made out of the wrong kind of material to work well.  No one else bothers with these cartridges or styli to my knowledge.  The Deccas cantilever is just as odd and different and unique as the Koetsu’s.  I enjoyed repairing both immensely.  That’s what’s in it for me.

joe, i also add my thanks to you for chiming in

always good to hear highly informed/involved parties sharing their experiences and perspectives, divergent as they may be

this forum is at its best when these views are shared and debated, then readers interested in the debate can decide and vote with their feet and wallets

Couple more points: there are no gold-plated boron pipe cantilevers available to anyone unless they find NOS somewhere. Not sure there ever was a gold-plated boron pipe cantilever in production to begin with If there was, it’s the first I’ve heard of it.

To criticize a Koetsu owner who doesn’t have the money, or maybe who does have the money but who doesn’t believe their cartridge needs to be completely stripped out and replaced as demonstrating “strange behavior,” is just snobbery. What if a Koetsu owner knocked their diamond out during initial set up? In fact, most damage happens at this critical phase. Sending the cartridge to Koetsu for their outrageous pricing to do work that is totally unnecessary: please explain to me how that is not strange and wasteful human behavior.

And a Koetsu is hardly an exotic cartridge anymore. The cantilevers and diamond they use are purchased directly off the shelf from Ogura. I can buy them and so can you. These are not third party parts. There are no third party manufacturers of nude line contact diamonds, period. The only finished diamond manufacturer that even comes close to the definition of “third party” is Expert Stylus Co. since they manufacture the “Paratrace” knock offs of the van den Hul 1 and van den Hul 2. But even those aren’t knock offs because they also manufacture the actual van den Hul 1 and van den Hul 2 for van den Hul. They get to make the Paratrace for themselves under the licensing agreement which is highly unusual, but shows the kind of power the manufacturer of such a scarce item can wield.

So, ignoring the very recent emergence of the Swiss black nude diamonds, to suggest that inferior nude diamonds could even exist shows a lack of basic knowledge of the state of the industry. I can buy the OEM diamonds from Ogura, Namiki and Gyger and so can you. Same even for other cartridges like the top of the line Dynavectors and others. So why not use a retipper who can help you, get you excellent service and fast turnaround? And why criticize and put people down as strange who make choices that you disagree with, particularly when you don’t have the imagination to conjure up a situation where spending thousands of dollars on unnecessary work doesn’t make sense, and conclude that the truth comes down solely to a lack of money. That’s ridiculous.

Incidentally, I would not be at all surprised if the black nude diamonds continue to be refined to the point that they start competing in the high end OEM marketplace as well. There’s is no reason why Synton can’t continue to develop that item into having the same level of quality as Ogura, Gyger and Namiki. The elliptical they produce already has a contact patch more like a fine line than an elliptical as it is, and the shaping and polishing is definitely more true ellipsoid.  The block is pretty large though.  If they could reduce the mass, which they probably will, it could be as good as anything else on the market in time.  

You also said it makes no sense to retip any moving magnet cartridge when original styli are available. If they are not, buy a new cartridge.
Why? Here’s something you are missing. Since the M97xE went out of production, there are people who want a new stylus but spending $150 or $200 which is the price they go for now is too much. Also, lots of people don’t have the ability or notion to remove their cartridge or set it up again and align it. They maybe don’t have the vision, the dexterity, the knowledge, the time or the inclination. They can send me their stylus and for a good price they can have their original N97xE retipped to a nude Ogura PE on an upgrade aluminum cantilever and install their stylus again without having to realign the whole set up. The customer feedback has been outstanding and appreciative.

@needlestein

To criticize a Koetsu owner who doesn’t have the money, or maybe who does have the money but who doesn’t believe their cartridge needs to be completely stripped out and replaced as demonstrating “strange behavior,” is just snobbery.

there has been an ongoing pandemic of snobbery on this forum for the last 20-30 years... :)

many longtime posters are infected... i myself not immune... see threads of cables, amplifiers, speakers, not to mention things analog

to quote the orange man, it is what it is

I’ve never understood the reasons for objecting so strongly to a cartridge re-tip.

My experience is limited. I had an old Monster Cable Sigma Genesis 2000 LOMC that was my favorite cartridge of all time. It is also the only cartridge in all my years as an audiophile that I damaged - my fuzzy sweater sleeve caught the stylus and ripped it clear off. That was before I realized that a cartridge could be retipped, but long after MC got out of the cartridge biz. (I think the MC cartridges were made for them by Zyx.)

For some reason, I put the cartridge away in a drawer and by the time I found it again years later I’d learned about Soundsmith’s retipping service. Figuring I had little to lose, I shipped it off to Peter & Co.

Memory being what it is, it’s difficult to say whether it’s identical to the original. No matter - it sounds fantastic and is easily worth the few hundred it cost me to have it refurbished.

When it wears out, Ill send it to be retipped again.