Refurbished / Re-tipped Cartridges - Are they worth Buying?

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.)

@lewm 

Virologist and Audiophile….that’s a deadly combination :-) Jokes apart, nothing but respect for everything you do from diagnosis to prevention. 

Interesting topic -Rebuilt vs "mildly" used.  Rebuilt IF, you know the rebuilder is experienced and skilled in this delicate craft and has proven results such as customer reviews.  Industry recognition would also be a plus.  If rebuilder is local to you, it might be prudent to visit the shop and check out their work.  In a perfect word they may even have a TT or two set up to hear the quality of the rebuilds that you are considering.  If not local does rebuilder have an active website so customers can communicate with them.  As for used if there is a source that you trust, such as audiophile forums, Audio dealers, etc. that might be an option.  In either case Happy Hunting.  Ps;  there are some quality new cartridges available at affordable prices if you shop around