@bifwynne not everybody are so happy about Andy's work, read JP Jones comment in this thread https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/fabulous-technics-epc-100-series-re-tip?highlight=technics%2B...
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.
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.
Showing 3 responses by chakster
It was the best explanation what is a third party re-tip and what's going on then you put a different cantilever instead of the original: 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. |
Zu Audio replaced plastic cartridge body with their own better quality (they made several different variations over the years, first was aluminum). Their best grade Denon
(with upgraded body)
is just a perfectly matched output (L/R channels) sample selected from a bunch of original Denon 103. The cost for latest and best mk II is $799 on their site. Basically, Zu DL-103 is just calibrated sample with heavy cartridge body, the rest if just original Denon 103. What is new on their site is this option. |