When a Lyra cartridge that doesn't play or sound right is returned to us, and it can be brought back to appropriate performance levels without replacing components (other than the washi paper dust cover), we typically don't charge anything.
This includes suspension readjustments, trackabiity adjustments, low-rider adjustments, replacement of the washi paper, stylus / cantilever / magnet cleaning, etc.
Such work is a routine occurance, and I believe that this would have covered Bruce's Kleos, had he returned it to us.
OTOH, Lyra does not retip its phono cartridges - we only do rebuilds (and adjustments as mentioned in the first paragraph). If a Lyra cartridge is worn to an extensive degree and/or damaged, it will be fully rebuilt to the latest (most advanced) production specification for that particular model, or replaced with a brand-new cartridge.
Regarding Sound-Smith, the styli that they use are several times larger (heavier) than what Lyra uses, and Sound-Smith's preferred ruby/sapphire cantilevers also have nearly two times the mass of the boron that Lyra uses, also Sound-Smith uses a different, simpler bonding method to secure the stylus to the cantilever (that requires the cantilever to be prepared differently).
To provide some numbers that you can compare to, the Kleos uses a diamond stylus that measures 0.08w x 0.12l x 0.5h (mm), with the playing surface comprised of a minor radius of 3um and a major radius of 70um. The Delos stylus is smaller (shorter), but has similarly-dimensioned playing surfaces (2.5um x 75um).
hth, jonathan carr
