Funny how these conversations go to the extremes. A third party retipper will make a lowly cartridge into a top end performer, or they butcher it and no possible way it can be anywhere as good as it was. I suppose with many things the mode of probability is somewhere in between the two polar points.
So what wears or changes in a cartridge? Diamond, damping materials, and suspension tightness in the tie wire are the three major things that come to mind.
Regarding diamonds. Getting information on how cartridges are built and where parts and materials come from is pretty tough. But many cartridges manufacturers appear to source their diamond and cantilevers from a supplier, with Namiki and Ogura being recognizable ones. I would imagine that bigger companies may get their own variations on a cut, but how much of a difference is there going to be in final sound quality on line contact cut variations as long as the diamond is of comparable mass and quality?
In the 70’s and 80’s damping material had a finite shelf life. It was not uncommon to hear of cartridges that had its internals go rock hard and have tracking issues. It does seem that the change into more durable synthetic materials have made this issue less of a factor. Does damping material change enough to alter its sound over along period of time? Maybe, but I am not sure how you would verify that without waiting 20 years.
Suspension, this makes sense its able to stretch and wear over time, and that it can have an effect on the overall sound. Depending on how accessible the insides of a cartridge is, it can be adjusted. But how do you know how much tension can be applied? How much tension can the wire take at its age? Not sure how you answer those questions, I think it comes down to the skill of the technician. How closely they listen to the cartridge, how often they have done this work on this model, and so on and so forth.
So the question becomes how much effort is invested in refurbishing the cartridge? Is it just graft a cantilever on and send it out? Do they perform more of a refurbishment? Are they one of the places that can grind off the old diamond and replace it to the existing cantilever? Also how accessible is the internals of the cartridge being worked on? Some cartridges cannot be accessed.
The end conclusion is how close can the cartridge be brought to its OEM level? If a refurbishment costs $500 and it gets the cartridge back to 95 to 98% of its capability, Is that a worthwhile expense? Or some folks are more comfortable sending it back to the factory for exchange and the costs of $1000/$2000 or more is money well spent in their eyes. You got to make your choices, and decide what works best for your particular situation.
So what wears or changes in a cartridge? Diamond, damping materials, and suspension tightness in the tie wire are the three major things that come to mind.
Regarding diamonds. Getting information on how cartridges are built and where parts and materials come from is pretty tough. But many cartridges manufacturers appear to source their diamond and cantilevers from a supplier, with Namiki and Ogura being recognizable ones. I would imagine that bigger companies may get their own variations on a cut, but how much of a difference is there going to be in final sound quality on line contact cut variations as long as the diamond is of comparable mass and quality?
In the 70’s and 80’s damping material had a finite shelf life. It was not uncommon to hear of cartridges that had its internals go rock hard and have tracking issues. It does seem that the change into more durable synthetic materials have made this issue less of a factor. Does damping material change enough to alter its sound over along period of time? Maybe, but I am not sure how you would verify that without waiting 20 years.
Suspension, this makes sense its able to stretch and wear over time, and that it can have an effect on the overall sound. Depending on how accessible the insides of a cartridge is, it can be adjusted. But how do you know how much tension can be applied? How much tension can the wire take at its age? Not sure how you answer those questions, I think it comes down to the skill of the technician. How closely they listen to the cartridge, how often they have done this work on this model, and so on and so forth.
So the question becomes how much effort is invested in refurbishing the cartridge? Is it just graft a cantilever on and send it out? Do they perform more of a refurbishment? Are they one of the places that can grind off the old diamond and replace it to the existing cantilever? Also how accessible is the internals of the cartridge being worked on? Some cartridges cannot be accessed.
The end conclusion is how close can the cartridge be brought to its OEM level? If a refurbishment costs $500 and it gets the cartridge back to 95 to 98% of its capability, Is that a worthwhile expense? Or some folks are more comfortable sending it back to the factory for exchange and the costs of $1000/$2000 or more is money well spent in their eyes. You got to make your choices, and decide what works best for your particular situation.