Andy is great!
I bent my apheta 3, he repaired & shipped it back the same day he received it.
Sounds fantastic.
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.
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.
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Another alternative: Steve Leung of VAS (New York) regularly posts pics of rebuild / re-tip / adjustment work on his Facebook page. A lot of very high-end cartridges. The work looks quite good, and seems like he has very good turnaround. He also play tests to ensure no bad "surprises". If I ever want 3rd party work done he's the first one I'll contact. |
@nicks25 some other options for you |
I have not used this service as of yet, or any other service based within the US. I have discussed a particular rebuild design for a Cartridge I have, but have not got the offer to meet all of my requests. From all the correspondences shared, I have no doubt, if the Cartridge was to be forwarded as a repair task only, the returned cartridge will have surpassed my expectations. As a side, The Services are not limited to rebuilds, and a lot can be gained by having a service only on a Cartridge. I have heard Cartridges prior to and post an Inspection and Cleaning Treatment, there is a very noticeable difference. For those with a Cartridge left out in an exposed to room atmosphere set up, with not too many hours of usage and owned for a few years, I will heartily recommend sending it in for a Cleaning Treatment. As a pre inspection before making a decision, have a look at the Stylus > Bobbin Interface where the Stylus enters the Cart's body, whatever is seen will invade further, and airborne metal particles will attach to the coils and magnets. A friend had a channel imbalance due to metal on a coil.
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- 124 posts total