Andy Kim - Needle Clinic


I wanted to put this post out there about Andy Kim of Needle Clinic, located in Bellevue, Washington. As many may know, Andy is a cartridge re-tipper. I tried to find some older posts to add my comments but couldn't find them. So I'll start another OP. I just got my Lyra Kleos back from Andy today. Here's my comments.

My Kleos sounded a little off lately, so I thought it should be checked out. I sent it to Andy Kim. It turns out all that was needed was the stylus required a cleaning and polishing. Andy reported back that the stylus only has about 10 percent wear; IOW plenty of life left.

So I remounted the Kleos today and have been playing all types of music: rock and roll, classical, and so forth. The Kleos sounds wonderful; just great. Kudos to Andy Kim.

Fyi -- some may ask why I didn't send it to Peter Ledermann at Sound-Smith. I seem to recall reading somewhere that he's been unusually busy lately -- and with good reason -- and turn around might be a bit delayed. Also, I'm not sure Peter uses replacement cantilever/stylus assemblies that match (or at least come close to) the original. Andy does.
Anyway, that is a bridge I don't have to cross today.

Bottom line: Andy turned my cartridge within a week of receipt and I am pleased.
bifwynne
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I've had my Grado Opus3 wood body cartridge for about 2.5 years now--a bit of a splurge at the time at $275, but money well spent!  Since then, I've put over 1000 hours on the stylus.  It still sounded as good as the day I released it from its expertly crafted wooden box, but thought it was time for a new stylus just to be safe to not damage my vinyl and to possibly improve the sound.

 

After searching for options, I went with Andy Kim.  I live just a few hours north of his location.  That and his reported quick turnaround time made it an easy decision.  After some emails with Andy, I went with the top-of-the-line, boron/microridge option.  Andy's fast service is no joke--the cartridge arrived at his place in a couple days, and he emailed me that night that it was done.  Shipping plus the repair took about a week.

 

My system is very modest right now, running the Grado on a Fluance RT81 (soon to possibly be a Dual 1229 once it's repaired and there is no hum) into a Schiit Mani 2 preamp, to a Monoprice hybrid tube amp and ending with a pair of Original Advent Loudspeakers.  

 

The upgrade has opened up the top end of the music spectrum.  The original Opus3 was no slouch, but I hear a much more airy and open sound, along with incredible mids and bass.  The noise floor is much lower, and tracking is phenomenal.  Tracks on the inner groove that got a bit rough are smooth and clear.  I'm using the Löfgren B arc protractor and have an LP Gear head shell that lets me adjust azimuth.  I'm sure I'll need to tweak it a bit as I listen more, but it is sounding amazing right now with just a few hours of listening time.  I'm sure some more break in time will continue to open up the sound.

 

All in all, a very successful upgrade, both for the sonic results and the experience Andy Kim offered.  If you have an Opus3 and the means to do so, I fully recommend getting this upgrade.  So far, I do not regret it!