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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
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Dreadhead ... your report is very troubling. I think it's the first negative report I've read about Andy's work.

I'm not sure what to say. It gives me some pause. Maybe I should take Jonathan Carr up on his offer to clean, inspect and adjust my Kleos to make sure it really is ok.

If I decide to send my Kleos into Jonathan (or the US distributor), I'll report back on the results.

I feel badly if I steered anyone the wrong way. I can't explain what happened to Dreadhead. It's hard for me to even visualize how the "length of the needle was so short the body now rested on the surface of the record." Of course ... I am not discounting what Dreadhead is saying.

Sorry to read news like this.
jcoehler's avatar
jcoehler
228 posts
 
When I had a suspension issue with my Delos I worked with AudioQuest USA who in turn sent the cartridge to Lyra in Japan. Overall it took 8 weeks but it was well worth having Lyra investigate and resolve the suspension issue. My Delos arrived back good as new with new mounting hardware to boot, all at no cost. I would strongly recommend anyone who has invested in a Lyra to deal with them as much as feasible.
bifwynne OP
2,206 posts
 
Thanks Jcoehler. I'll keep that in mind. Problem is that once hooked on my Kleos, it's hard to go back to the Zephyr (my back-up). And to be without my Kleos for 8 weeks ....
jcoehler's avatar
jcoehler
228 posts
 
Oh yes Bifwynne...I should have mentioned longest, most painful 8 weeks of my audio life but well worth the wait in the end.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,936 posts
 
Jcoehler...was your Delos still under warranty? I have the same suspension problem with mine, but mine is about 3 years old, but only has around 250 hours on it.

I have talked to Jonathan several times about mine and he told me, (unless I didn't understand him correctly) that it would take 6-9 months to get it back and that Lyra probably wouldn't cover the cost of it. That's why I was looking at an alternative, but to read Jonathan's comments above, maybe they have changed the way they do things?
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