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Anybody out there re-cantilever their cartridge with a Soundsmith Contact Line diamond ?

The cantilever on my Dynavector 20x2 is damaged. Dynavector wants X number of dollars to exchange it. Then I read about Soundsmith's rebuild option, which is intriguing. A feature aspect of their cantilever rebuild is their Contact Line Diamond stylus as opposed to Dynavector's Micro Ridge Nude diamond.

 

"The Soundsmith Contact Line diamond stylus has three times the contact area in the vertical direction of the groove wall compared to an elliptical shaped diamond".

 

I thought I was in the clear, but now I'm informed that a Contact Line Diamond stylus with three times the contact area, picks up a ton of surface noise off the record. So much so that the surface noise can become forward on all but the most pristine records. So much so that the surface noise becomes intrusive.

 

Anyone out there had a Soundsmith modification done to their cartridge, if so which option had you had done, and what's been your expience?
thehorn
tooblue
1,931 posts
 
Just reinstalled my ZYX Universe back into my system. Cart was rebuilt by Soundsmith with his Boron cantilevered Contact Line diamond 6 months ago and after 400 hours I pulled it to run my stock Dynavector DRT XV1s. Darn have I missed this cart, gorgeous from top to bottom and easily outperforming the Dynavector which is no slouch. I have probably 500 hours life left on the DRT XV1s at such time I will send it to Soundsmith for their Boron cantilevered rebuild and will laugh all the way to the music bank. I am keeping my eyes peeled for a used ZYX Universe 2 to have the same rebuild on as it wears down. Enjoy the music
mirolab
208 posts
 

About 10 years ago (or more?) I had SS put a ruby shaft on an old Ortofon MC-30. What I got back far exceeded my expectations... for about 6 months.  The MC-30 broke internally, and could not be fixed (affordably).  It was risky upgrading a 15 yr old cartridge, I guess.  Later I bought a SS Zephyr mkII cart (boron shaft).  It was "very nice".  Too nice in fact.... To me, it was boring.  I went back to a less old MC-30-SuperII and rediscovered the MC magic I was looking for.  I've just recently got a Cadenza Blue (ruby shaft) and I really love it.   Overall my experiences with SS were very positive, but their MI cartridge was just too polite sounding "for me", 

jwags818's avatar
jwags818
4 posts
 

 I have a DV-20X2 HO that also had the stylus come off the cantilever. I had VAS in NewJersey repair it with a new boron cantilever and microridge stylus for $450. I was absolutely blown away by the improvement to my systems sound. The transient response was faster with better defined edges. A richer, fuller tone. It reminded me greatly of the change that occurred when I replaced my resistive volume control with an autoformer. Like I lifted 2 bed sheets off my speakers. I never would have thought it could have impacted the sound that much.

dynalead
37 posts
 

Peter and Soundsmith are terrific.

bassrome's avatar
bassrome
4 posts
 

I have an old Grado Reference that Peter retipped twice. I finally decided to buy a Soundsmith cartridge and started with the Voice. It was much better than the Grado and with the same stylus/cantilever I was using. I eventually got that retipped during the pandemic and it took awhile. I bought their lowest priced Othello as a temp and was amazed at how close it got to the Voice in terms of resolution and dynamics. I finally upgraded my phono stage to one that could handle low output cartridges and purchased the Sussurro. This is the best cartridge I’ve heard although I haven’t heard any cartridge north of $10K. Check out Peter’s videos on the Soundsmith web site. They’re very educational.

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