Andy Kim - Needle Clinic

All

I would like to provide my feedback about a fantastic experience with Andy Kim as well! I recently pulled out my old Accutrac 4000! for the past 30 years it was on display as a conversation piece.  Feeling a bit nostalgic, I connected it and found it worked perfectly except the stylus was in bad shape, but the original LMA 1 seemed to be ok.  after an exhaustive search I determined I could not find a replacement stylus or an original ADC cartridge.  Most suggested, replacing the cartridge completely and forgoing the functionality that made the Accutrac appealing 40 years ago.  This wasn't an option for me.  This led me to explore   retipping as an option. The initial contacts I made informed me I the process could take weeks to as much as a month to send in and expect a return.  Then I contacted Andy.  Andy responded promptly and was also local!  He retipped my original LMA 1 in 2 hours while I waited!  I suspect that others I contacted ship out the work as opposed to performing the work in house.  The new stylus (Micro Ridge Boron) now rivals my main Turntable (Music Hall IKura with a Orthron  2m Black cartridge)

Many tanks to Andy for his great work and prompt service!!

These are great reports, keep them coming.

These services need recognition, especially as there is a very cost-effective route into owning a high quality and design Cartridge, if the right donor model can be discovered for fair monies parted with.

Another best guy doing same-- Steven From  VAS audio NJ . 

I've yet to see any mention of using Andy's own NC-1? He had a batch made and was offering them couple years ago?

I passed when he offered one when I got the news a cart wasn't repairable.

Limited Production: The Needle Clinic NC-1 is limited to 20 pieces. Specifications: Type: Low impedance moving coil (MC) cartridge Frequency response: 10 Hz to 50 kHz Output Voltage: 0.23mV Channel Separation: 30dB or more (1kHz) Channel Balance: 1dB or less (1kHz) Cantilever: Beryllium Stylus Tip: Van Den Hul Load Impedance: 20-100 Ohms Impedance: 6 Ohms Tracking weight: 1.8 to 2.2 grams Weight: 5 grams Cartridge Price: $1300 

Couldn't figure out how to paste the pic downloaded from the email. Generic looking, plasticky body but for the price and possible performance might have been a sleeper?

Greetings from Mexico City.

I just got my cartridges back from Andy, a very nice and helpful guy, with the fastest turnaround time: 1 day, can't beat that.

I sent him two cartridges: a Shelter 901 (previously Soundsmithed to a ruby cantilever) and an Ortofon OM40 Gold. I didn't know MMs could be retipped, go figure!!!

I'm impressed with the results, they sound so good now, way above their league. Andy states that a proper retipping (a proper stylus-cantilever setup) is very very important, even more critical than the cartridge itself. I believe him now.

Both were upgraded to boron/microridge and I clearly noticed the following from the very start: less congestion in loud passages, truer timbre, no distortion at the beginning and end of the record sides, little to no stress in loud vocals, far more detail, less friction noise, a better sense of each element's surroundings.

The Shelter is now more like a brand new 4-5 KUSD cartridge (think Koetsus, Lyras, Clearaudios). Piano and strings' long notes are more stable, with clear decays. The microridge adds a syrup coat between the stylus and the record that makes voices transparent, sweeter, more present and nothing spitty. I have a couple of very demanding japanese pressings that have caused trouble in the past, but not now, the boron handles them in spades. There is also more life in the sound. Some defects I associated with vinyl as a media, are now gone. Records I've been spinning endlessly for 40 years come alive like never before.

The Ortofon is close to the Shelter, which is saying a lot, considering it's way below the Shelter's price. The Shelter is a bit more refined, nothing more.

I am glad I found Andy, thanks for the good work, keep it up.