Refurbished / Re-tipped Cartridges - Are they worth Buying?
My thoughts around rebuilt carts, do they convey the same characteristics as the original designer envisioned and intended . Even with full restoration like new cantilever, stylus and suspension repair etc; much of the original design attributes are gone and you are now listening to the works of an individual who have pride themselves as rebuilt wizard.
No disrespect intended for the folks in rebuilding business as I honestly believe they are incredibly talented to rebuild such a fine instrument.
What are your thoughts, would you buy a completely rebuilt cart vs a slightly used cartridge….after all you’re mostly paying for brand pedigree, its signature sound and exotic materials to make such a fine product.
I guess you are talking about MC carts, as replacement stylus in MM carts are a non-issue, IMHO. I had my SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC* rebuilt by SoundSmith after a mishap, and I have zero issues with that. With antique carts, I would rather consider them display items. Re slightly used, Audible Elegance just posted a video on used carts and strongly advises against them. Particularly the degrading suspension is an issue, and not perfectly aligned, partially worn stylus can damage records. |
to lewm Thanks for the questions... YES, in this instance I do have the capacity to just the proper amount of glue that should be used. I have working in science for over 40 years, including microscopy. Under magnification, 3 of the 4 styluses were attached to their carts with ~ same small amount of glue (only a slight amount was visible), while the 4th cart had a GLOB OF HARD GLUE protruding and obscuring the stylus. It was clear that the glue was interfering with tracking. Zenith angle was irrelevant due to this issue. No disrespect to Johnathan Carr, but my direct-experience upgrading lower-priced cartridges (not Lyra's forte), is VERY beneficial. If anyone wants to try my 'upgrades', the styluses were upgraded from spherical to micro-line stylus, and the cantilever was upgraded from aluminum to boron. The work was done by SoundSmith. I am 75% happy with the results (3 of 4). Was it worth the cost? I was willing to send four used carts, so Yes. |
I agree entirely with @lewm. It is impossible to know what you are getting with anyone but the original manufacturer. Soundsmith is a safe bet for retipping as they have the experience of a manufacturer although it is still impossible to know what you are getting unless you could compare the cartridges before and after. |
Inagroove, if you saw glue covering the stylus tip, then there’s no doubt you’re correct, and you were justified if you sent the cartridge back for a re-retip. My Grace Ruby was retipped with sapphire/OCL by SS, and it has a disconcertingly large gob of epoxy holding stylus to cantilever. However it sounds great. (MD here with 40 years as a virologist at NIH. I’ve got an Olympus scope to look at styli.) |
