Let’s see: at $560 divided by 3 that’s $185 a piece for cartridges with a boron cantilever and microridge stylus.
I’ll have three of those too! We’ll call it the new math/new cartridge/audiophile combo.
You forgot to add another $300 for a cartridge itself prior to the cost of refurbishing service. Some people charge much more for 103 mod, the total with cart itself can be near $1k. Look at the prices for Zu DL103 or Anna Mighty Sound service etc.
Boron is not mandatory for a perfect sound, Beryllium is better. There are great MM cartridges available with Boron, Beryllium cantilevers, Audio-Technica line of MM cartridges (old and new) for example. Some of them available for something like $300-700. The AT20SLa is wonderful cartridge. There are so many great cartridges.
I have mentioned Grace (cartridge body) and NEW styli from SoundSmith for those who can insure themselves.
When I bought my JICO SAS (Boron/MicroRidge) for Technics 205 series it was $350 for the stylus, now they increased the prices. Another model for JICO Boron compatible with Garrott Brothers dynamic coil cartridges (and Shure cartridges too), but Garrott available new for AU$ 690 ( which is $500 USD). This is a legendary cartridge.
Sony XL-50 MM is an excellent cartridge with Boron Pipe cantilever, I bought a few and I was shocked. JICO styli available for this model too. The original is superb.
So many cheap discoveries are in Raul's MM thread, for some of them prices are not increased much over the years.