2. analog
  3. 1261547375

Sundsmith rebuild.

I just had a Monstercable Alpha1 rebuilt by Soundsmith. I opted for the $150 rebuild (their cheapest -- it's a very old cartridge, and my first rebuild experience).

Wow! I am blown away! It is really good sounding.

At first it was shrill. I was concerned. Then I adjusted the VTA, and let it break in more.

The cartridge has settled in beautifully. Highs are definitely not shrill. Detail is there, so is a nice tight bass. Voices are present and not veiled. There is really good air and depth. The highs and midrange are so much better than I expected; and the bass is very satisfying.

$150 incredibly well spent!!! I am pleased and will send more of my old cartridges to them.

I would love to hear about your cartridge rebuild experiences, as I like the dialogue forum.

Cheers!
bicycle_man
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Dgarretson,

FYI, I sent my Grace F9E Ruby to Soundsmith in early October, and the email in which they provided me with an ra number included this statement:
Mr. Ledermann is recovering from some serious health problems, but is doing his best to catch up on cartridge repairs, and keep our repair turnaround time at about 12-14 weeks. We greatly appreciate your patience during this time.
Best regards,
-- Al
dgarretson
2,609 posts
 
Thanks, Al. My blood pressure dropped a psi or two toward normal.
smoffatt
205 posts
 
Hi all, I have sent a Sumiko Tallisman Virtuoso and a Dynavector XV1's for Peter to look at about 4 weeks ago. The Sumiko, the cantilever is not absolutely straight and the XV1's the styli is not pointing straight down. It appears that the cantilever rotated on its axis very slightly counterclockwise.

Long story short, i received the same message as Al that Peter was recovering from very serious health problems and the turn around was approx. 12-14 weeks.

Merry Christmas everyone.....
td160
74 posts
 
Peter did a re-tip for me last summer. Turn-around was approximately 8-10 weeks. I don't exactly remember. What I do have in mind is that I now have the cartridge and that it is better than before. I didn't have to suffer without vinyl because I had a few spare cartridges for back-up. Actually, the cartridge I sent in was regarded as a back-up. But now it gets full time duty in my TD124. And yes, it is a DL-103R, sporting a ruby/cantilever fine-line stylus housed in one of Uwe's panzerholz bodies. It's better sounding than I would have expected.

Further. I'm grateful that there is someone like Peter doing this service for us and our hobby. If he wasn't here, we'd have no one in North America to do this kind of work.

-Steve
coffee2
88 posts
 
peter's work is first rate plus. the work he does is killer not good great. you could send your cart to england or vdhul an wait forever or get a rebuilt 103r w/wood body and relax
More to discover