Andy Kim - Needle Clinic

My housekeeper pulled the cantilevers out of two cartridges:  a Cardas Myrtle and a ZuAudio. Andy said they would they would sound better when I received them back from him.  I was skeptical; he was right. Very quick turnaround.  

Let me be the first 2025 contributor to this thread.  Many years ago I got a used AQ 7000 cartridge. I ran it sparingly for a few years but it was just not performing well so in 2018 I sent It to Andy for service.  Andy reported back that the cartridge had been serviced before as there was much extra epoxy which had gotten into the coil assembly and over one of the screws attaching the body cover.  He was able to remove the epoxy and rebuild the cartridge.  I was so impressed with the result.  The performance was on the mellow side vs. the highly resolving Clearaudio Accurate I was also using.  The frequency extremes had good coverage but the smoothness of the mids was something that kept me wanting to continue with the AQ, so much so that I ran this cartridge almost exclusively for 5+ years when it finally was showing signs of needing attention as by then it had 2000 or so hours of use.

In late 2023, I got a great deal on a Shelter Harmony in Japan.  This replaced the AQ on the Shroeder Ref SQ arm.  The Shelter was more bold, dynamic and detailed.  I liked this a lot but I missed the midrange smoothness of the AQ.  Andy had told me that the rebuilt AQ was much like a top Koetsu.  I kept this in mind as I acquired a used Koetsu Onyx long body during the time I was playing the AQ.  I knew the Koetsu was in need of service but the Shelter was sounding so good that I kept the Koetsu on the sidelines.

I then installed a second arm, a Shroeder LT, and moved the Shelter to that.  It takes about 10 minutes to move a cartridge between the two Shroeder arms as they both use the same cartridge mounting plate.  The LT arm showed me just what the Shelter was truly about, greater bass extension, much more energy on top, and greater body to instruments and vocals.  But still, the AQ’s mid smoothness was not quite there.  I realized what a killer bargain at $650 for Andy’s AQ service for all those years considering the amount of cleaning and repair to be done before applying the new cantilever and stylus.

The next logical step was to get the Koetsu serviced.  I had a Koetsu Rosewood Signature years ago when the Clearaudio Accurate was my primary cartridge.  I just could not get into the Koetsu RWS.  Where was the bottom octave?  Where were the top two octaves?  The mids sounded glorious but without all the rest that the Clearaudio was bringing to the table, the RWS did nothing for me so I passed it on.  Perhaps it was an incompatibility of the Graham 2.2 or Zeta arms at the time.  I had read much about the Koetsu stone bodies being a very different presentation so all these years later, it was time to try.

For many years, the consensus in these forums for Koetsu service was to only have Koetsu do this.  But this is no longer an option.  There has also been much praise for the retip service in France and VAS for Koetsu service.  But I decided to buck the system and work again with Andy.  I sent him the Koetsu, the Clearaudio and a long time favorite, a Shinon Red, which got much random play time over the years.  The Shinon’s structure was just barely above the LP during playback so I knew it needed attention as well.

I greatly appreciated Andy’s honesty when he told me that he could bring some life back to the Clearaudio, but he felt it was time to retire this.  He was able to fix the Shinon (stylus and tube) and the Koetsu (new stylus and recondition the suspension).  It was 8 days from time that I shipped to him and got everything back.

One last listen to the Shelter in the LT arm.  Then it got moved to the Ref arm.  Installed the Koetsu into the LT arm.  I expected mediocre performance as I read that new cartridges need some break-in time.  But the Shelter was outstanding right out of the box in late 2023.  Well, so was the Koetsu!  I expected compromised frequency extremes.  This was not the case.  This cartridge locked in with the LT arm.  The bass was incredible.  Outstanding detail and harmonics in the upper frequencies.  But, it was the mid smoothness that impressed me so much.  Once you hear all this harmonic structure compared to other very good cartridges, it’s tough to go back.  I remember having a similar experience with the first Shinon I got in the mid 1980s.  The Koetsu Onyx reminded me of the rebuilt AQ 7000’s magic but with so much more life and dynamics that I like about the Shelter.  I have played 11 LPs in the last 3 nights since I installed the Koetsu.

For all those that say, if it’s not done by Koetsu, it’s no longer a Koetsu, well, I could not care less!  What this does in the Shroeder LT arm is nothing less than spectacular.  As for thinking about this action making this Koetsu not re-sellable, or at a loss, again, I could not care less.  I never experienced phono playback like this so it’s staying with me until the end.  All the praise of this cartridge, all the way back to the early 80s, is what I am now experiencing, and, in a vastly superior phono playback than what existed back then.  As the Zanden 1200 phono stage does not have adjustable loading provision, I will play the Koetsu for a month or so and then I can try loading it, maybe start with 10K and see how that sounds and tweak or not accordingly.

Kudos to Andy for bringing this legendary cartridge back to life in just a week’s time.  Very happy customer here.

John

I've had my Grado Opus3 wood body cartridge for about 2.5 years now--a bit of a splurge at the time at $275, but money well spent!  Since then, I've put over 1000 hours on the stylus.  It still sounded as good as the day I released it from its expertly crafted wooden box, but thought it was time for a new stylus just to be safe to not damage my vinyl and to possibly improve the sound.

After searching for options, I went with Andy Kim.  I live just a few hours north of his location.  That and his reported quick turnaround time made it an easy decision.  After some emails with Andy, I went with the top-of-the-line, boron/microridge option.  Andy's fast service is no joke--the cartridge arrived at his place in a couple days, and he emailed me that night that it was done.  Shipping plus the repair took about a week.

My system is very modest right now, running the Grado on a Fluance RT81 (soon to possibly be a Dual 1229 once it's repaired and there is no hum) into a Schiit Mani 2 preamp, to a Monoprice hybrid tube amp and ending with a pair of Original Advent Loudspeakers.  

The upgrade has opened up the top end of the music spectrum.  The original Opus3 was no slouch, but I hear a much more airy and open sound, along with incredible mids and bass.  The noise floor is much lower, and tracking is phenomenal.  Tracks on the inner groove that got a bit rough are smooth and clear.  I'm using the Löfgren B arc protractor and have an LP Gear head shell that lets me adjust azimuth.  I'm sure I'll need to tweak it a bit as I listen more, but it is sounding amazing right now with just a few hours of listening time.  I'm sure some more break in time will continue to open up the sound.

All in all, a very successful upgrade, both for the sonic results and the experience Andy Kim offered.  If you have an Opus3 and the means to do so, I fully recommend getting this upgrade.  So far, I do not regret it!

I’m pleased to report an amazing experience with Andy Kim at Needle Clinic. Andy replaced the bent cantilever on my 6 month old Hana ML with a boron/mircro ridge. 

He replied immediately to my email with a price quote, and he did the repair on the same day he received the cartridge - December 24. He communicated very well and shipped it back to me the same day.  I would have had it on December 26 if someone had been home to sign for the package.  I picked it up at the post office on December 27 and it’s now back in its rightful place on my Rega P8. 
 

It sounds fantastic. Andy claims it sounds as good or better as the $2,500 Unami Blue, which makes sense because the Blue has the same engine and a boron cantilever/micro line stylus. Only the outer case should be different with this ML mod.  It sounds more detailed than I remember the ML. It was a bit jarring at first but I’m getting used to it and just loving the depth, soundstage and instrument separation. 
 

This was an A+ experience. Thank you Andy!

Equipment:

Rega P8

Hana ML modded with boron/MR stylus by Needle Clinic

ifi iPhono3 Black phono stage

Akitika PR-102 Preamp

Akitika GT-104 Amp

Emotiva T1+ speakers/Hifiman Arya Stealth headphones

i acquired a Hana ML last year during a sale and was very happy with it. unfortunately during a recent visit by a friend, we had an accident and the cantilever became bent/askew.

i contacted Andy at Needle Clinic and he was very quick to respond. he was about to embark on travel, but provided me exact dates and was even willing to accommodate me before he left for his trip if i expedited shipping to him.

not being in a hurry as i had a back up cart (a NOS Denon 103 LCII), i was okay waiting for him to return. i shopped out a couple of days before he returned, so he received it when he came back. within a day or so of his receiving it, he wrote to me that the cat was all set and ready to ship. he had replaced the bent cantilever with a micro ridge nude stylus boron cantilever. the entire process from me shipping it out to receiving it back took about 9 days (i have waited months and months for Soundsmith back in the day to do this).

upon receipt, i mounted it on my rig and immediately notice greater detail and depth - a more pronounced sound stage. i’m sure it can only get better as it gets broken in.

highly recommend Andy Kim at Needle Clinic.

@viridian...lol!  Took me sec to get it, but that's clever! 

I purchased a  modified/retipped Denon 103 cartridge from Andy this July and I'm extremely happy with both the sound and the experience. Andy was great to deal with and my system sounds the best it ever has. 

Thanks Andy 

Kim did subpar work on a cart for me, and when I sent a photo showing an obviously crooked cantilever he responded with a ridiculous word salad instead of just saying what he should have said" "I'm sorry. Send it back and I'll make it right." After a bit of back and forth I decided to send it elsewhere because I was getting a real strong vibe that he was going to spit into my soup, if you know what I mean.

Based on everything I've read about Kim, on Audiogon and elsewhere, your odds of getting a job well done are pretty good, but there's also a chance you'll get hosed.

The work I've had done by Soundsmith, VAS and Joseph Long was all done correctly the first time.

Just had Andy repair my Rega Apheta 3. He re-tipped it with a micro ridge nude stylus boron. Sounds fantastic - a significant upgrade over how it sounded before. He also did the repair in record time and was great to work with. I highly recommend him.

I damaged the stylus on my Dyna 20XXL. Andy replaced the damaged stock stylus with a new microridge-that was 4 years ago and its still sounding better than the original on my Amadeus Mk2. The replacement made a positive impact on detail and even more so on channel separation. He completed the work quickly and communicated well throughout  the process. Highly recommended. The community is lucky to have Andy as a resource. 

I recently had my Ortofon Bronze retipped by Andy. Everything about the experience was outstanding. Amazing quick turnaround and the cart sounds phenomenal. 

I just had my Winfield cart retipped by Soundsmith.  Quick turn around, excellent sound. 

I have used Andy's service twice.  The first was retipping my Accuphase AC3 in 2018 with micro ridge nude diamond.  The second time is my Highphonic MC-A6 last week with same type of tip/cantilever.  Both cartridges show sound improvements over the original, very fine high end and in great detail.  

I highly recommend Andy to everyone for cartridge repair/retip.

Frank

I just received back the Benz Ebony L I sent to Andy.  It was back within a week after I sent it including two cross country trips.  It sounds better than before and the price was quite reasonable.  Fantastic service from Andy!

Andy replaced the stylus on my 20+ year old Linn Arkiv in one day.  It now sounds fabulous--much better in every way.  He was also very helpful to me.  I had a difficult time removing the cartridge from the Linn tone arm and was concerned about damage I might cause putting the "new" cartridge back in.  I brought it to Andy and he did it for me.  I can't recommend Andy enough.  

Andy replaced the stylus on my 20+ year old Linn Arkiv.  It now sounds fabulous--much better in every way.  He was also very helpful to me.  I had a difficult time removing the cartridge from the Linn tone arm and was concerned about damage I might cause putting the "new" cartridge back in.  I brought it to Andy and he did it for me.  I can't recommend Andy enough.  

Just had fantastic interaction with Andy Kim and Needle Clinic. I sent him a Sumiko Songbird for re-tipping and it came back sounding significantly better than the original. He also completed the work and shipped the cartridge back to me the same day he received it. Oh, and you can reach him by phone, which was great because he convinced me I could re-install the cartridge myself vs. taking it to the stereo shop. Could not recommend Andy more highly.

Another happy Andy Kim customer here...  I had a Madrigal Carnegie One in use for ~12 years and decided it might be time for a re-tip.  After reading testimonials from all the major players' customers, I gave Andy a call.  He patiently explained what he thought of my cartridge and what it would cost to re-tip it.  I asked what he thought about its age and if he had some idea of a Carnegie's suspension at 15 years, and told me he was familiar with this cartridge and not only where it might be in its life-cycle, but how difficult this cartridge is to open and service.

Instead of pursuing that route, Andy provided some insight about his modified Denon 103 option.  Boron cantilever, micro-line stylus, partially-nuded body to go along w/ the Denon's superb generator, and at a great price to boot.

This was back in March, and after setting up my Ariston RD-11s / Sumiko tonearm, I'm now two months in I am smitten with the sound.  Open, airy, detailed, smooth... I don't have the vocabulary to fully explain the impact this cartridge is having, but I believe I paid a fraction of what comparable high-end cartridges sell for.

Thank you, Andy!

Another happy Andy Kim customer here...  I had a Madrigal Carnegie One in use for ~12 years and decided it might be time for a re-tip.  After reading testimonials from all the major players' customers, I gave Andy a call.  He patiently explained what he thought of my cartridge and what it would cost to re-tip it.  I asked what he thought about its age and if he had some idea of a Carnegie's suspension at 15 years, and told me he was familiar with this cartridge and not only where it might be in its life-cycle, but how difficult this cartridge is to open and service.

Instead of pursuing that route, Andy provided some insight about his modified Denon 103 option.  Boron cantilever, micro-line stylus, partially-nuded body to go along w/ the Denon's superb generator, and at a great price to boot.

This was back in March, and after setting up my Ariston RD-11s / Sumiko tonearm, I'm now two months in I am smitten with the sound.  Open, airy, detailed, smooth... I don't have the vocabulary to fully explain the impact this cartridge is having, but I believe I paid a fraction of what comparable high-end cartridges sell for.

Thank you, Andy!

From one Bespoke Cart' owner to another.

A Bespoke Cart' all yours to savour, and only being in front of it will enable another to know the sound it can produce that you find so satisfying.

Enjoy the next 1000 Hours of Vinyl.

I know the Sumiko Pearwood quite well and look forward to the times I know it is to be used at a HiFi Group get together.

Andy Kim -Needle Clinic

I recently purchase a previously owned Pro-Ject RPM 9.  Included in the purchase was a Sumiko Blackbird MC cartridge without stylus. I searched the internet for places to have the cartridge checked out and possibly repiped.  Andy Kim’s Needle Clinic showed up located in El Dorado Hills, CA, just 20 minutes from my house. I arranged for him to check out the cartridge and if it was good to repipe it.  I got the repiped cartridge back in two days.  It played absolutely amazing and provided a new level of playback definition and experience.

After a month or so my left channel went out.  I figured I must have broken a connection on the cartridge with one of my careless needle drops. Sent the cartridge back to Andy.  He let me know that I didn’t break a connection, but that a coil on the armature went bad where it rubs the white silicon rubber damper. He tried to find the broken connection to repair (remember you have to look through a microscope to do this) but he couldn’t, says most retipers, even Sound Smith, don’t repair coils.

As a result, he replaced the high output coil with a new mid level output coil.  So now I have the Needle Clinic Blackbird, the hot rod version of the Sumiko.  It even sounds better than my original repiped version.

Needless to say, I am very happy with the service from Andy Kim.  If you’re in need of repiping service check him out.

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. 

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. 

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.

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!

Very valuable post!

Thank you for creating it!

@shartphoto Another Wonderful Story of a concerning condition on a Cart', having and ending where a Cart' Owner is reunited with a valued Cart'.

There are stories on this forum where Cart's that have had a purchase Value of up to $10K have as a result of following similar steps ti yourself, has produced owners who can tell a similar story.

Most Importantly the story is ready to be told only a few days after parting with the Cart' 😎.

I sent my damaged Benz Scheu cartridge to Andy Kim@NeedleClinic. He rebuilt the damaged cantilever, repaired the bent/damaged suspension, and re-tipped the broken stylus. I just received the completely restored cartridge and am pleased to proclaim it has never sounded better! Thanks, Andy! 

I used Andy @Needle Clinic to repair a damaged my damaged Sumiko blue point special EVO3 with a broken cantilever. He answered my e-mails in less than 30 mins. and there were many (lol) & was very helpful in deciding my best path to repair. I went with a boron cantilever & hyper-elliptical stylus he also rebuilt my suspension which was damaged unbeknownst to me.. Andy’s turnaround time was 2 days from receipt of my cartridge to back in the mail to me. His quality of workmanship looks impeccable under my microscope & my EVO 3 sounds better than when it was new (and it sounded fantastic to me new). I would highly recommend Andy to anyone looking to retip their cartridge

@lardawg I always feel the need to chi in.

I have used Cart' rebuild Services, and gave the utmost praise for the Skills of the Technicians at their helm.

My own and others I know who are using this method, has as a result, created genuine advocates of the practice.

To hear the Cart' had a unknown of fault and the assessment offered following Andy's work is one more story to encourage others to make a Contact with a Third Party Service. 

@munden Another positive for the Third Party Cartridge Service, especially a Service that has a time served technician at the helm.

It looks like a few new albums are on the radar with all your saved monies burning hole in your pocket 😎.

I agree with all the previous positive comments on Andy's work. My koetsu Rosewood Signature was returned in 8 days including shipping over the July 4th holiday, last week.

For comparison, a rebuild through MoFi and the Koetsu factory was estimated to be in  the mid 4 figures with a minimum 12 week turnaround. It was a no-brainer for me, and the workmanship was top notch.

I'd like to share my positive experience with Andy Kim. My Ortofon A90 was in need of a retip/rebuild as it had developed a noisy channel. Ortofon does offer a "rebuild/exchange" program but that was more money than I wished to spend, plus I was interested in the sound of this cartridge with a different stylus profile. I chose Andy as the rebuilder as he's here in California and offers a quick turnaround, plus his reviews were excellent.

Andy discovered damage to the Replicant 100 stylus plus a tweaked cantilever. His replacement cantilever has a micro-ridge stylus. He also reconditioned the suspension, straightened the remaining cantilever, and cleaned the cartridge internals.

The cartridge was back in my hands in a few days and, while it's impossible to compare this rebuilt cart with it's new self, it sounds top-notch. I've very pleased and it was much easier to dial in - Andy suggested 2.0 grams with a level headshell - bingo. On top of that I saved ~$1500 compared to a factory exchange.

I highly recommend Andy Kim's cartridge services. 

Another one of Andy Kim's happy customers here...he did me right. I'm hearing new facets of music I've listened to my whole life after getting my stylus re-tipped. Cheers, Andy.

Howdy,

Used Andy Kim's services and had a Grado Gold re-tipped due to an unexpected altercation between my kid and the cartridge, the cartridge lost.

After choking over repair costs, trusted Andy to fix my cartridge. 

I am no longer complaining over the costs, holy cow it was worth the price.  The Mirco Line Nude Boron is truly incredible.  My wife noticed a difference!

Andy was great to work with, tremendously communicative, and quick,

Andy is a true retipper, it's evident he is qualified and flipping good at his job!  

Thanks Andy

Another very informative report on the impact a Third Party Cartridge Service can have on a first impression of a returned Cart', either Serviced or Modified.

As stated in previous posts, A Time Served Technician who has a acquired a substantial understanding of a Cart's Assembly and has the inherent skills to optimise the Tolerances for the interfaces that might not be as exact at the time of Manufacture can produce a Cart' that will standout as a returned item.

Add to the assembly exchange parts that are improved as a result of their inherent mechanical properties and the Cart' in general finds a different level of performance.

There is little to be seen that suggests using this type of Service is not beneficial and not good value for money.

I will assume the 901 was approx' $1700 when purchased. If there was a 1000 Hours of usage prior to the recent overhaul, the Cart' has been a $1.70 per hour model.

I assume the Overhaul is $500ish, at present there is assumed to be $2200 invested into the Cart'.

If another 1000 Hours of usage are successfully delivered the Cart' has been a $1.10 per hour model.

Do this revisit to Andy Kim once more and the potential if the 1000 hours of usage is achieved, is a Cart' that will have offered up 3000 Hours of Service at $00.90 per hour. 

Great VFM comes to mind.  

Greetings from Mexico City.

I just got my cartridges back from Andy, a very nice and helpful guy, with the fastest turnaround time: 1 day, can't beat that.

I sent him two cartridges: a Shelter 901 (previously Soundsmithed to a ruby cantilever) and an Ortofon OM40 Gold. I didn't know MMs could be retipped, go figure!!!

I'm impressed with the results, they sound so good now, way above their league. Andy states that a proper retipping (a proper stylus-cantilever setup) is very very important, even more critical than the cartridge itself. I believe him now.

Both were upgraded to boron/microridge and I clearly noticed the following from the very start: less congestion in loud passages, truer timbre, no distortion at the beginning and end of the record sides, little to no stress in loud vocals, far more detail, less friction noise, a better sense of each element's surroundings.

The Shelter is now more like a brand new 4-5 KUSD cartridge (think Koetsus, Lyras, Clearaudios). Piano and strings' long notes are more stable, with clear decays. The microridge adds a syrup coat between the stylus and the record that makes voices transparent, sweeter, more present and nothing spitty. I have a couple of very demanding japanese pressings that have caused trouble in the past, but not now, the boron handles them in spades. There is also more life in the sound. Some defects I associated with vinyl as a media, are now gone. Records I've been spinning endlessly for 40 years come alive like never before.

The Ortofon is close to the Shelter, which is saying a lot, considering it's way below the Shelter's price. The Shelter is a bit more refined, nothing more.

I am glad I found Andy, thanks for the good work, keep it up.

I've yet to see any mention of using Andy's own NC-1? He had a batch made and was offering them couple years ago?

I passed when he offered one when I got the news a cart wasn't repairable.

Limited Production: The Needle Clinic NC-1 is limited to 20 pieces. Specifications: Type: Low impedance moving coil (MC) cartridge Frequency response: 10 Hz to 50 kHz Output Voltage: 0.23mV Channel Separation: 30dB or more (1kHz) Channel Balance: 1dB or less (1kHz) Cantilever: Beryllium Stylus Tip: Van Den Hul Load Impedance: 20-100 Ohms Impedance: 6 Ohms Tracking weight: 1.8 to 2.2 grams Weight: 5 grams Cartridge Price: $1300 

Couldn't figure out how to paste the pic downloaded from the email. Generic looking, plasticky body but for the price and possible performance might have been a sleeper?

Another best guy doing same-- Steven From  VAS audio NJ .