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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
quincy
322 posts
 

Very valuable post!

Thank you for creating it!

bringgeld's avatar
bringgeld
5 posts
 

i recently sent Andy pics of my cartridge which was a Benz LP. I asked him if it was worth re-tipping and he said he could upgrade the cartridge to a Benz LPS for $750.  I was planning on spending about 2,500 for a different cartridge from Hana and Andy said the cartridge I have, once upgraded will be a substantial improvement above anything in the 2500 price range.  I decided to deliver the cartridge to Andy since he lived 30 mins from me In Sacramento, CA, and the following day the work was complete with the new stylus.  I can only say WOW! what a huge improvement in fidelity and sound stage from my LP Benz.  He said this is now a LPS Benz and I could not be happier!   Thanks again for the quick turnaround time and huge upgrade to my system Andy!

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,373 posts
 

For $750 as the Cost, you are now punching above the weight of Contenders coming in at 400%+ of this cost.

I know how that feels 🤩

Long Live the Very Good Reports on such ventures.

trich1
1 posts
 

I sent Andy Kim a Koetsu Pro IV for a retip, boron/microridge. The retipped cartridge sounds fantastic.  The Koetsu magic with more detail — the bass impact is striking. Now the Pro IV is one of my favorite cartridges. Andy is great to work with. Good communication.  I have also had good experiences with Soundmith — but it takes a lot longer. 

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,373 posts
 

Interesting that the different Styli used is solely thought about as being the cause of the additional detail Retrieval. 

The Weight and Length of Boron and Adhesive used for connecting both Cantilever to the Armature and Styli to the Cantilever, are as per the chosen method quite capable of influencing the perception of extra truth being discovered and noticeably presented from the recording. 

 

 

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