Andy Kim - Needle Clinic

He is excellent.

I just wanted to chime in really quick about a retip of a Shelter 901 I just got back from Andy. I inspected it under a high powered USB microscope and work is really superb, perfect alignment and very clean replacement with a micro ridge nude stylus, sapphire/boron cantilever that appears to be much lower in mass than the original. As expected, detail retrieval has increased while retaining the core signature sound of the cartridge. I'm extremely happy with the work and recommend him highly.

He also turned this around in astonishing time (about a day); he apparently works on every cartridge himself and doesn't farm anything out. His queue at the moment appears to be low so if you have any work that needs done now is a great time to get it done.

@lewm If you're saying that the total cost of the DL-103 and the re-tip is a better value than many other new cartridges, we are in total agreement.

I won't post what he said here, but Andy has a strong opinion about the Zu "upgrade".  

But you also got a big upgrade on the original cantilever and stylus offered on a new DL103R, which was a great idea.  I am not meaning to disagree or cause discord. I have dealt with Andy in the past, and the experience was a good one with a short waiting time.

I was only pointing out the total cost to someone starting out from scratch.

I was commenting on the quality, timeliness, and affordability of Andy's service, not recommending that someone send a new perfectly good cartridge to have it re-tipped.  

If someone has a cartridge that isn't working properly, Andy's (and other retippers) services offer great value in comparison to purchasing a new cart.

Indubitably. (I think that’s correct spelling.)

@lewm,

👍. 
Spot on statement. In fact, this statement can be applicable to other audio equipment besides cartridges.

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. 


  

 

I have no doubt what you say is true. I was only pointing out the total cost to someone starting out from scratch. As compared to the higher cost of your other cartridge. Although the audiophile  press would have us think otherwise, the relationship between cost of a cartridge and sound quality is often askew.

@lewm I'm not sure I understand your question or the logic behind it.  Any re-tip is the cost of the cartridge plus the re-tip. 

The cost of the re-tip however is a fraction of the cost of a new cartridge of similar quality.  In this case, the cartridge was included with a turntable that I paid $500 for, so it didn't cost me much, if anything. 

Again, I have no idea what it sounded like before, but I have to believe it's an improvement.  I wasn't expecting much and was more than pleasantly surprised.  I do have a couple of Denon DL-301 MK2 cartridges, which is a higher model than the DL-103 and the re-tipped Zu Denon is in a completely different league.

 But isn’t the total cost of the Zu plus re-tip more like $1000? And it’s now nothing like the original Zu as regards cantilever and stylus. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s probably way better than the original ever was.

I know this thread is a little old, but wanted to share a recent experience with Andy Kim.  Some time back I bought a Technics SL 1200 MK2 that came with a Zu Denon DL-103.  To put it bluntly, it sounded like crap, lots of distortion in the left channel.  I tried another cartridge and the table sounded great.  The Zu Denon went in a box in the closet and sat there for a few months.  I ran across it one day and decided to send it to Andy to see if he could bring it back to life.

He received it on a Saturday.  I received an email Sunday saying it was almost done, and an explanation that there was a bunch of junk inside the body that he had to spend hours carefully digging out.  He outfitted it with a new micro ridge nude stylus and sapphire cantilever.  He shipped it out the next day.

Fast turnaround, check!

I didn't mount it right away, even though I was anxious to hear how it sounded.  I recently purchased a new (to me) Acoustic Signature Wow XL turntable and initially mounted my Kiseki Blue NS ($2100 retail) cartridge on that.  It sounded wonderful, but at this point I was really anxious to try out the Zu.  I fell in love with the Zu immediately, it's very dyanmic and a little more "punchy" than the Kiseki.  I couldn't believe that this $400 (original retail price) could sound this good.  The Kiseki and some of my other more expensive cartridges are a little more "refined" around the edges of the music, but none are as fun or as involving as the Zu.

Great sound, check!

He charged a little extra for all the time spent cleaning up the guts of the cartridge, but it was very reasonable.  I have a basically new high-end cartridge for less than 25% of the cost of the Kiseki Blue NS.  

Great value, check!

I don't have a frame of reference as to what the Zu Denon sounded like before the re-tip, but I can compare it favorably to other more expensive cartridges I own including the Kiseki Blue NS, Soundsmith Aida 2, Van Den Hul MC Special Two, and Hana SL.  I haven't had any desire to take it off the Wow XL, which is my main table.

This isn't the first cartridge I've had done by Andy, he also repaired my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood and did a really nice job with that also.

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.

This includes suspension readjustments, trackabiity adjustments, low-rider adjustments, replacement of the washi paper, stylus / cantilever / magnet cleaning, etc.

Such work is a routine occurance, and I believe that this would have covered Bruce's Kleos, had he returned it to us.

OTOH, Lyra does not retip its phono cartridges - we only do rebuilds (and adjustments as mentioned in the first paragraph). If a Lyra cartridge is worn to an extensive degree and/or damaged, it will be fully rebuilt to the latest (most advanced) production specification for that particular model, or replaced with a brand-new cartridge.

Regarding Sound-Smith, the styli that they use are several times larger (heavier) than what Lyra uses, and Sound-Smith's preferred ruby/sapphire cantilevers also have nearly two times the mass of the boron that Lyra uses, also Sound-Smith uses a different, simpler bonding method to secure the stylus to the cantilever (that requires the cantilever to be prepared differently).

To provide some numbers that you can compare to, the Kleos uses a diamond stylus that measures 0.08w x 0.12l x 0.5h (mm), with the playing surface comprised of a minor radius of 3um and a major radius of 70um. The Delos stylus is smaller (shorter), but has similarly-dimensioned playing surfaces (2.5um x 75um).

hth, jonathan carr

After speaking with Soundsmith, it doesnt matter what CA put on my GF, as CA won't make it available to any other third parties for repair.  

Soundsmith designed their own Boron cantilever to match as closely as possible to CA and other top end Boron Cantilever cartridges.

As most probably know, CA won't repair themselves, but simply give you  $6k credit towards a $15k retail price.   

  Th $9k cost for trade in is out of my budget, so I'm going with the $450 Soundsmith Boron option.

You will have to ask CA. Gyger S is not newer per se, so unless I am mis-remembering the bit about Micro HD, it would just be a supplier change for whatever reasons...

thanks solypsa.   Wasnt aware there were different Stylus versions on the GFS.

My GFS was bought new in 2016.  Was the Gyger S in production then?

I will ask CA if you don't know. 

Current spec for gfs on Clearaudio site states stylus as Gyger S. Previous spec was micro HD iirc. You just need to know which you have and ask them directly!

Does anyone know if the Boron Stylus used by Needle Clinic and the Soundsmith are the same as the OEM Boron  /Stylus of a ClearAudio Goldfinger Statement?

I've managed to break the stylus off my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood, not once, but twice.  The first time I sent it to Soundsmith and the second I sent it to Andy Kim.  Both were competent and the cartridge sounded great after the retip.  Andy was a lot faster and it was a bonus that he was "local" (here in WA state).  I've learned to be super careful with the Virtuoso and hopefully the next retip will be due to wear, not operator error.

He is very good.  Had him do a Benz Glider for me a few years ago.  sounded better than the original Benz.

Just look at it as not getting the discount on the cart, if you purchased it as a package.

I recently bought a Rega Planar 8 w/ the Apheta 2 cartridge and somehow bent the stylus so it didn't track properly (don't let your friends use your expensive turntables!).  Through this forum, I contacted Andy.  We had a three minute conversation and he said he would upgrade the cartridge w/ a micro ridge stylus and recondition suspension for $450.  After viewing the badly bent style Andy increased the price to $500.  It was worth the increase in price since the upgrade is equal to the higher model Rega Aphelion mc cartridge (retails for 5k).  Andy repaired everything and returned within a few days of receipt.  Seems to be working as advertised.  Learned my lesson and happy with Andy's superior service.  Hope to have many years of enjoyment playing vinyl w/ Andy's help!

I just had my Rega Ania stylus/cantilever repaired by Andy Kim - http://www.phonocartridgeretipping.com/ - and it sounds like a different cartridge in all the right ways. I opted for his microridge stylus and sapphire/boron cantilever upgrade, and the difference is very noticeable. The sound is even warmer than before and there is definitely more detail than the stock Ania stylus.
I would not hesitate to have him repair or upgrade my cartridges ... and he turned it around in 2 days and was super responsive to deal with. Who does that these days???
Thanks so much, Andy ... you are awesome.

I would honestly say that considering what I have is an original glider, I believe it actually sounds better than it ever did.

Don't have any experience with his cartridge repair but he did do a restoration of an old Omega watch for me.  I was very happy with his work, price and delivery time.
 Personally, I would send him a cartridge to fix without hesitation.

Andy appears to use a smaller better diamond than was used in the original glider.  Tracks incredible!

@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...

Yes the stylus is smaller on mine as well.  Seems to track fine

I recently had the cantilever replaced in my Fidelity Research FR1. I chose to go with the original materials, aluminum with line contact diamond. Turnaround was 4 weeks and it sounds excellent. I must say though that the diamond is a lot smaller than the original.   

I recently sent an original Benz glider to Andy.  Turnaround was about a month.  He replaced my cantilever and stylus.  Looks the same as old.  Stylus is a little different.  Sounds great.  So far only 10 or so hours.  Sounds like a Benz glider to me. 

Want to share more success with Andy. He fixed my Shelter 5000 superbly at less than half the quoted cost of another company. Great communication as well.

A+

Ive had nothing be outstanding success with Andy. More than not a stylus cleaning was all that was necessary for the 7 or 8 cartridges i have sent him. First class work and communication.

Well I just got a quote from Andy to retip a Vitruoso for half the price of Soundsmith back east. Is what he is offering comparable to the Soundsmith? The quote that soundsmith gave me which I believe is just a standard charge which was for a Ruby tipped stylus. It seems all of you are quite satisfied with his work which is a good thing for me since I am only 250 miles away from his location.

Nandric,

It has been done my comrade.
BTW: For those of you that are trying to contact Andy with no response, he will is out of town for a week.
Regards,

Thanks Don, However I would appreciate if you posted this good news in my thread 'Technics 205 suspension'. There is no single responce there while my question is as specific as your answer. The 'Andy thread' is more, uh, general.

Thanks Griffithds! That is great news.

I have just received word from Andy that he was successful in the repair of the suspension on the Technics U205C MK III.
This should be great news for anyone that owns this cartridge because there are no replacements other than Jico.
Total cost was $67 and I am all smiles!

Just got back my Benz LPS reconditioned by Andy. Sounds terrific. A very happy customer.

Jcoehler...thank you very much for the info! I'll follow
what you did. I really appreciate your help! I'll let
everyone know how it turns out.

UPDATE: I used the email address that Jcoehler provided and
within just a few hours my Delos is already on the way to
Audioquest, then onto Japan for inspection/repair.
Audioquest has been EXCELLENT to work with.

I'll keep everyone posted as to it's progress.

Jcoehler, thanks again for the info!!!

@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.

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?

Oh yes Bifwynne...I should have mentioned longest, most painful 8 weeks of my audio life but well worth the wait in the end.

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 ....

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.

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.

If you have the time and the funds use Soundsmith. I did not and used Andy to straighten my stylus on my Lyra. A fair price but a little longer turn around then promised. When I got it back the length of the needle was so short the body now rested on the surface of the record. I sent photos of what it should look like compared to what it does now and was told that is not the same cartridge. After much back and forth, Andy felt the problem was my tracking force settings, never an issue before. At his request and at my cost I returned it to Andy to take a second look. Andy offered to replace the stylus but was leery of changing the cartridge from its original state. I agreed. He suggested I remover the white film, paper? to make it a nude cartridge, not an option to me. You can still see a very slight angle on the stylus, as if the it shortened as far it could be. Andy denies this. I now have a maximum tracking force of 1.5 and a little brush handy to clean the underbody. Andy is no Peter L.

Want to thank you Bifwynne for posting this thread, I never knew the needle clinic existed. After reading the positive replies about Andy I gave him a call and will be sending my cartridge in shortly for a rebuild. He currently has a turn around time of two weeks give or take a little. He seems very knowledgeable and dedicated to his work and is a pleasure to talk to about audio. Best Regards

@ Oakiris -- that's looks like the correct site.

@ Swampwalker -- yup, that's my recollection too. Sometimes I just can't believe so many years have gone by. I'm still so young at heart. I still love looking at pretty young ladies. Was just spinning some Manhattan Transfer doo whop music and started jitter-bugging with my lovely wife. :) :)

Well, like Nanutac, I'm looking forward to buying a 50 foot sailboat yacht and doing the West Coast in the next few years, G-d willing. The real concern is how to fit my stereo rig onto the boat. :(

Btw, "Yikes" is right. Stylus life on a $3000 cartridge gives me pause. I checked the Lyra website about rebuilding cost. The US Distributor lists the cost as $2100 -- that's a big Yikes!!

we are old farts... Guilty as charged.

Hold the chicken salad... I knew that...

Lorna Thayer not Karen Black...I didn't remember that...

Guess I'm an old fart w C.R.A.F.T disease (Can't Remember A F'ing Thing).

On topic- 2000 hrs seems very low for a well-maintained, high end stylus. That could easily equate to $1-$5/hr cost for the stylus alone. Yikes!!!

OK, a bit of research discloses that none of us are remembering it correctly. What Rpeluso said is correct, except that "her" was not Karen Black, it was a waitress played by Lorna Thayer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtfNE4z6a8

Best,
-- Al