Haven’t listened to that cartridge since it was repaired and returned- stashed in one of those air tight canisters that are apparently popular for other purposes these days. Went to a Koetsu stone body which matches the needs of my system better--bass on the Koetsu (I actually bought two different ones) is more filled out and dimensional in my system, given its strengths and weaknesses.
But to come back to your cartridge, if your cantilever is trashed, Peter will replace that with an assembly which may mean turn around time is shorter. I think it requires more skill to replace just the diamond rather than plug a preassembled stylus cantilever assembly onto the stub of yours.
For what it’s worth, any third party retip will likely change the sound-- and as has been reported here many times, the resale value is reduced compared to a factory rebuild. One other thing-- since I know zip about Linn cartridges-- some brands really don't rebuild, but give you a break on a new unit. I know Koetsu rebuilds, Van den Hul did and may still do so. I think Lyra does not, but haven't gone through that process with them. (I did have an old Parnassus with the platinum magnets which basically got me a new top of the line Lyra at the time b/c Lyra needed those magnets for the Olympus).
I never planned on reselling the Airtight so that didn’t matter. As for the cost/value, while just replacing the diamond is pricier than plugging in a whole assembly-- it was still a fraction of the cost of the Supreme. So, it made sense to me. At some point, I may put it on my vintage system, but I’m still loving the Koetsu sound, so the Airtight will not be going back on my main system anytime soon.
Steve Leung is very good at these types of repairs too, is fast and reasonably priced. (Not that Peter isn’t, but if the wait time is long, Steve is a good alternative).
You’ll see a lot of negative comments about third party retips generally, but I’m not adverse to the idea, even if it isn’t the "same" when it comes back.
