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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
rpeluso
1,063 posts
 
He told her to hold the chicken salad, not the toast; it was the toast he wanted. Just fyi.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
OK, a bit of research discloses that none of us are remembering it correctly. What Rpeluso said is correct, except that "her" was not Karen Black, it was a waitress played by Lorna Thayer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtfNE4z6a8

Best,
-- Al
oakiris
206 posts
 
lol - I saw Five Easy Pieces when it came out too, but didn't remember anything about toast in reference to Karen Black.....had to look it up - it was actually a chicken salad sandwich (??) that Nicholson said she should put between her knees, according to Wikipedia. :-D

Thank you for the information about Andy Kim and the cartridge repair/retipping services he offers, Bifwynne. I couldn't find the Needle Clinic on line ( google search=drugs, anyone? lol) but did find a post about Andy Chong Kim on the Vinyl Asylum. For those that were "Needle Clinic" challenged like I apparently was, his website is:http://www.phonocartridgeretipping.com/index.html

Holly
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
we are old farts... Guilty as charged.

Hold the chicken salad... I knew that...

Lorna Thayer not Karen Black...I didn't remember that...

Guess I'm an old fart w C.R.A.F.T disease (Can't Remember A F'ing Thing).

On topic- 2000 hrs seems very low for a well-maintained, high end stylus. That could easily equate to $1-$5/hr cost for the stylus alone. Yikes!!!
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
@ Oakiris -- that's looks like the correct site.

@ Swampwalker -- yup, that's my recollection too. Sometimes I just can't believe so many years have gone by. I'm still so young at heart. I still love looking at pretty young ladies. Was just spinning some Manhattan Transfer doo whop music and started jitter-bugging with my lovely wife. :) :)

Well, like Nanutac, I'm looking forward to buying a 50 foot sailboat yacht and doing the West Coast in the next few years, G-d willing. The real concern is how to fit my stereo rig onto the boat. :(

Btw, "Yikes" is right. Stylus life on a $3000 cartridge gives me pause. I checked the Lyra website about rebuilding cost. The US Distributor lists the cost as $2100 -- that's a big Yikes!!
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