''Óriginal parts'', ''identity '' and ''retip'' conundrum

Even though I just bought a new Hegel V10 so that I could play my records, this conversation makes my head spin. It’s hard to be a vinyl aficionado! 

jallan, you should not blame your own shortcomings to other.

After the lecture of our Professor JCarr and the ''synthesis'' by dover:

''it comes down to economics and budget''  we may try to ''reduce

the complexity'' of  our questions  to some ''well- organized survay'',

Retips in their ''cheap budget domain'' as  contrapositioned to '''rebuild'' or

''refreshment by the manufacturer'' may form ''division line'' in the sense

of what is affordable to whom. My guess ''division'' is at $ 3000 . Obviously

arbitrary but those who can afford ''refreshment'' are ''other category'' of

income earners. Think of those ''astronomical prices '' of MC cartridges,

Those who can afford them will certainly not care about ''retips'' in their

''inferiour interpretation'' So ''retips'' are not their problem. The fact that

there are pretty many producers which aim at the rich among us imply

that those are not scarce, One need ro accommodate to new riches from

the not expected former socialistic countries  like China and Russia.

 We don't need to be envy, There are plenty excellent  carts from both 

kinds for ''modest prices''.

after that, my admiration for Lyra grows..ever fond

Merry Christmas all and to you @jcarr  !,,,

Jim

Four things.

First, which exact parts, as in part numbers, did the manufacturer use? I'm an ignorant man, I don't know if this is an issue; but it sure is an issue with every other mechanical device I own.  I'll bet that a Koetsu isn't going to sound the same after a generic stylus is fitted with a glob of glue in place of a precision fit.

Second, some manufacturers rebuild from the ground up. That means getting a completely new cartridge for less than new cost.

Third, some parts are no longer generally available, such as boron tubes and platinum magnets.

Fourth, one can reasonably expect a high end manufacturer to choose high end parts. For example, the legend is that HP used to buy ultra-premium tubes by the gross, test, keep 3, and send 141 to the dumpster. That's why HP tubes  cost more, and everybody paid up (after trying to make their 'scopes work with run-of-the-mill stuff). It was also said that the reason Mercedes bought Chrysler was so they could order materials in bulk and high-grade the best for their own use.

So I'll be sending my cartridge back to the manufacturer, thank you. Not for psychological reasons, but to maintain their quality.