Soundsmith Straingauge SG-200 cartridge system

Dave, FWIW, Vic 'Mr. Trans Fi' has just moved from his long term reference, the Decca London Ref to a MM Garrott P77i which he runs thru a Ray Samuels Nighthawk F117 phono stage at a setting of 47kOhms. This is certainly getting me looking at the lower end of the price range. Vic believes the P77i beats the London Ref in all aspects esp. bass reproduction at 20% of the cost.
Similarly I've moved from the Transfiguration Orpheus to the Zu 103 at 25% the cost.
Where is the online information for these NOS carts? I'd love to discover more.

Tobes, I'm more and more going to give consideration to the Soundsmith OCL ruby cantilever upgrade to my existing Zu 103. The only thing that is concerning me is that there is a VERY large caveat on their website that a fair number of carts don't survive the transformation. This doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, and at present don't have a spare.

Spiritofmusic, my success rate is 100% - I've sent two 103R cartridges to Soundsmith for the ruby/OCL retip - the second is on its way back to me at the moment (so I have a spare).

I think Peter would have the 103 rebuild down to a fine art, since this would likely be his most requested retip(?).
I guess there is always some risk with 'surgery' on such a delicate piece of equipment. I can't recall reading of any failures in the forums, but I suppose it happens.

Worth the small risk IMO, but only you can make that call.

Don't let me talk you out of the SG either - everything I've read indicates its an amazing product. But if you like the stock 103, I think you'll be astonished at what the SS retip achieves.

Tobes, just a few qs. Do you choose the ultra damped compliance option? I believe this reduces the VTF needed from 2.5g to 1.7g. How would this affect performance? Have you considered going for the Silver or Gold 103 ultimate upgrades (I believe these may be the ones prone to poss damage). My Zu 103 is potted in their aluminium case, does this still make a good candidate for the retipping/ocl operation?
This certainly is an interesting way to go, if only for the $ value point of view.
Thanks so much for your continued help, Marc.

Spirit,

Here are alternatives that will work well on the Trans-Fi and set a high bar for comparison to some of the top new-production cartridges. It is catch-as-catch-can with vintage.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-NICE-CLASSIC-PICKERING-XSV3000-CARTRIDGE-AND-GENUINE-PICKERING-D3000-STYLUS-/160814019413?pt=US_Record_Player_Turntable_Parts&hash=item2571433355

http://www.ebay.com/itm/World-Famous-Astatic-Moving-Flux-Phonograph-Cartridge-MF-Series-Model-MF-300-/320928474738?pt=US_Record_Player_Turntable_Parts&hash=item4ab8d3e672

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Astatic-MF-Stylus-for-Model-MF-300-N1727ed-Will-fit-any-MF-Cartridge-Body-/221050713183?pt=US_Record_Player_Turntable_Parts&hash=item3377a6345f

See Stanton 981LZS at:

http://www.pick-upnaalden.nl/

The low.3mV output of 981LZS requires a high-gain phono stage, preferably without step-up transformers. IME this is near the top of the heap.

Recommendation: buy the Astatic MF-300 off eBay and send it to Alex at pick-upaalden for a re-tip. This will take it to the performance level of the top MF-100 model.