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Ortofon A90 broken stylus

So the long and short. I purchased one of the 1st A90 carts to come up for sale on Agon. This was about 10 months ago, was in great condition, all factory packing, box etc. Then in Feb. I put on a disk and let down the the arm - the cart just slid across the record - OS batman - as looked at the A 90 - no stylus, it had broken off at the body. Nothing was left. Called for help and got a hold of Louis - Ortofon in Ossining NY. He said to send it in and he would send this to Denmark for review and probably would have to pay 50% to rebuild. So I have been waiting for the past months and a box comes from Ortofon. I opened and here was my A 90 - all rebuilt and a packing slip - Warranty, fully rebuilt. Thank you Ortofon!!!!
brucedan
brucedan OP
16 posts
 
Raul - so true. So like everybody else, I have screwed up a stylus or two. But in this case - it seems as if the stylus was just sheered of. I had treated this like a baby due to the long stylus and also the cost - this is my 1st "real" MC cart. The rebuilt A90 is the same serial number. They must of actually taken apart the motor and installed the stylus - I was impressed. As a side bar - been following your "who needs a MM" thread - as I have been using The Maestro Wood for the past 3 yrs - really a great cart, but this A90 takes my system to a more refined level.

Regards
Bruce
brucedan OP
16 posts
 
Macdadtexas - as to the shielding - I really cannot answer, But from experience, I had a VPI TNT 3.5 for several years. I had an issues with hum and static when I was using the Maestro Wood cart ( Wood body like your Grado?) - called Mike at VIP and he said since this was a wood body, I had a grounding issue with the main bearing as the arm was metal, the bearing/shaft was metal, but the plinth is acrylic. So I bonded the shaft by just running a 24g wire, tyewrap the stripped wire to the bearing shaft and ran to my grounding post - all issues where gone. The A90 is composed of particles of stainless steel welded together, layer by layer so this is a totally different animal
Hope this helps. And yes to all - Ortofon is 1st rate!

Bruce
wrm57
1,054 posts
 
Brucedan, congrats on your restored A90. You will love it. Ortofon customer service is the best. When I first received my A90, it seemed to convey an usual amount of groove noise in the right channel. Louis, the USA distributor, immediately had me send it to him, and he sent it on to Denmark. The designer himself put it on the bench, tweaked it in mysterious ways, and then certified it as, in his words, "a perfect example of the A90." And perfect it is--the noise is gone and the sound is absolutely superlative. I love manufacturers like Ortofon who strand behind their products and go the extra mile. Cheers!
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
All cartridge manufacturers I know do the rebuild service. But they charge money for it. When Ortofon made it for free, great.
brucedan OP
16 posts
 
Wrm57, so you worked with Louis - very nice guy, he even emailed me when he received my A90 to tell me it was off to Denmark. Question - what loading are you using, I have the Manley Steelhead as my phono amp with a Phantom arm. My scale is 25 - 400 ohm and I am now running this at 25 as this seems to give a more delicate soundstage. I thought 100 was the normal setting for MC but at that level it is more muted.

Regards
Bruce
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