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
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.
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 ....
Oh yes Bifwynne...I should have mentioned longest, most painful 8 weeks of my audio life but well worth the wait in the end.
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?
@Mofimadness - I was the second owner of this Delos and the warranty was never brought up. I'm not sure if they went by serial number or what to determine. I coordinated everything through Alasdair at AudioQuest - Apatrick@audioquest.com.

I simply stated my concern and from there an RMA form was forwarded which I completed. I was then returned a PDF with RMA Number which I printed and returned to AudioQuest who then sent on to Lyra in Japan. It was right at 8 weeks from me shipping to AudioQuest to having it back.