Replicant 100 stylus

I own Benz LP with micro ridge stylus which is about 7 years old. Benz

which used Gyger styli for years obviously changed to Namiki. The same

is the case with my EMT which used Gyger for years but not anymore.

Van den Hul own explanation is that his ''stock'' is full of old Gyger

styli. As I explained already trademark is different than patent . The

patent duration is 20 years but the owner must produce and trade

the product to get patent protection. This is obvious in case of VDH

because he deed not produce any styli. So, obviously, he stipulated

by Gyger his right to sell Gyger styli which he designed under his

own trade name.  BTW he sold many more then Gyger. As I also

mentioned trade mark can be easy prolonged. Cost about 600 euro.

If you have read contribution of our ''Professor'' JCarr who is even 

at higher level of knowledge than Raul HIMSELF deed no mention

Gyger at all. He agreed with my general statement about Namiki

and Ogura but explained his (aka Lyra's) exception in the sense that

they provide Ogura with boron and order special styli for their

cartridges. This thread was started with intention to find ''third

party'' because Replicant and other styli can't be from Mars but

produced by someone. The candidate are Gyger and Expert stylus.

I have different retips by Expert stylus since my friend Axel Schurholz

passed away. BTW Experts stylus is one of few who does ''stylus

only'' retip for an modest price. I was in the same position as this

French trader who hired an teacher French in order to be ''allowed''

to the French high society. He said to his teacher: ''My Gosh I speak

prose my own life without knowing that. I am very thankful to you

Professor.'' . I had also no idea that ''Paratrace'' is ''Gyger x'' despite

the fact that I own 3 of those.  

 

 

 

Perhaps AJ uses both old Gyger and new Paratrace. One doesn’t necessarily mean exclusivity. Wyndham Hodgson told me himself over the phone that he makes van den Hul’s diamonds for him. I don’t have any reason to doubt. Perhaps van den Hul sources from both manufacturers. Anything is possible. Under the microscope, van den Hul diamonds that I have seen and Paratrace look identical, but Gyger still look different, even if the scanning edges and tracing edges are cut and polished to the same formula. Van den Hul (that I have viewed) and Paratrace share diamond block that has a distinct silhouette that Gyger does not. If this were a forum that easily allowed for uploading photos, I’d be happy to share.

Albert Lukaschek supposedly quit using Gyger diamonds according to an article that I read somewhere on the internet because Gyger could not keep up with his volume requirements/demands. I cannot comment on this because I am not an insider, but there is a lot to be suspicious of. At least, there are likely more details that would flesh out the entire picture. The article was mainly there to explain why we still have the “S” name on the LP but no Gyger “S” diamond on the cartridge anymore. I don’t have any idea what Benz’s cartridge output is, but given that Goldring, who delivers many more cartridges and also replacement styli featuring Gyger diamonds, doesn’t have a problem with Gyger’s production volume capacity, I am free to assume that other issues were at play behind Lukaschek’s decision to drop Gyger (if the decision was indeed Lukaschek’s).

 

I’m not sure what you are telling me about Jonathan Carr.  Are you saying he provides Ogura with the boron rods used to manufacture boron/Ogura 3/70 Vital line contact cantilever assemblies for Lyra?  That may be.  But I don’t see any difference in boron cantilevers on Lyra and boron cantilevers that Ogura sends me. There was some company that provided Lyra with the Ceralloy cantilever on its old cartridges.  I don’t know who that was, but Lyra doesn’t equip their cartridges with these anymore either.

I can’t imagine that there is any confusion over who produces the Replicant diamond.  The ones I have seen are Gyger all the way.  But I haven’t seen them all.  Perhaps Ortofon used a variety of sources.  I know that Ortofon also uses Namiki for their nude Shibata on the Quintet and 2M Black.  It’s very distinctive and unmistakeable.  But they use an Ogura “Fine Line” 8/40 Vital line contact on the 2M and Quintet Bronze and Vital elliptical on the 2M and Quintet Black.  
If Ortofon is not using Gyger for the Replicant, than the only other choice is Expert Stylus.  Why?  Because the Gyger S formula is the only one with such a long scanning edge.  The other formulas all top out at 80 microns.  
But, have you noticed that Here Lukaschek doesn’t always update his specs?  I have seen many of his cartridges that are equipped with Micro Ridge still offer the old Gyger S 5/120 spec.  The longest scanning edge offered by Namiki is 80 microns.  
I can’t say this about every player in the cartridge world, but unlike Benz and van den Hul, and even Ortofon, Gyger has never played “smoke and mirrors.”  They are very clear that they make two diamonds and two diamonds only.  The price is what it is.  They don’t hide facts and they deliver their product quickly.  If it weren’t for the shared patent, I would not be able to buy such nice diamonds, because I am sure van den Hul would not just sell diamonds to just anybody.  They are truly no nonsense.

I can’t speak to EMT.  Every EMT I have seen has had a Gyger diamond on it unless it was conical.  I don’t know who makes their conical but I suspect Ogura.  Could be Namiki too.  Could even be Nagaoka or some source local to Switzerland or Germany (or wherever EMT is these days) who can produce a simple pocket watch bearing, which is what a conical is.  I have a U.S. source for conical if I ever need them, which is not that often).

 

 

needlestein the expression is ''burying the hatchet'' but , curiously,

we actually fight for the same cause: the third styli source. I am still

not sure about Gyger but am very glad for Expert stylus. I also like

Mr.Hodgson very much. There can my beloved ''retip'' be done.

You should provide the address for ,uh, ''Geiger'' (grin).

 

www.fgyger.ch

I've been included in the contributions to the Thread, and J Carr and needlestein have both contributed information that is quite valuable to a Thread that evolved into covering certain Styli / Cantilevers.

needlestein has made the overall Thread Discussion clearer, and as he has a very hands on experience, is most likely quite familiar with the range of styli and their forms under discussion.

For myself, I have drawn this conclusion.

If I want a Styli, referred to as a Replicant 100, I go to Ortofon and purchase a Cart' Solely from their range .

If I want a Paratrace I discuss this with ESC do learn my options.

If I want a Gyger 'S' I purchase a Cart' with this attached, or I discuss my options with a service competent and skilled in carrying out the attaching of this styli.

Any other quest for trivia information beyond this seems to not bear the fruit of knowing how to acquire the parts in question.

Decca styli does not seem to catch the attention and is overlooked in nearly all contributions, so I will pass on learning how to acquire such a styli.