Can I straighten an off-center twisted cantilever?



Time for a confession: I played exactly three (3) cuts before trying to fine tune my tonearm's alignment. I lost concentration for an instant. The arm slid across the TT's mat, de-centering and twisting --but not breaking-- the cantilever. The cantilever arm itself is still very straight.

This is a Dynavector 20X-L with low hours, for which I paid $300. What is my best path?

There is a jeweler who will loan me his fine pliers, large scale magnification and a vice. Is there any wisdom in trying to realign the cantilever? (beside this incident I'm very good with my hands) Is there anything to lose? I've emailed Soundsmith to explain the situation but had no response.

If I return the cartridge to Dynavector can they return it to original spec? Is it worthwhile? I know Soundsmith is one option, but an audio buddy said the cartridge will never be original specification after a re-tip or cantilever replacement. Is or should that be a concern?

Since my TT is just operative for the first time, I don't know what I'm missing, and wouldn't mind a couple of months without it. When autumn comes (I'm in the northeast: we're not sure Spring is coming) I would really like to be able to listen to my vinyl.

Thanks very much for your shared thoughts and experience.

David
cdk84

Showing 2 responses by ghosthouse

Cdk -
I've no experience with such a repair. Can the Dyanvector stylus be replaced (my only experience is w/Shure carts where you can plug in a new stylus/cantilever assembly)? Even if that ran $150 or half the price of the cart itself, maybe that's better than worrying about whether your fix ever returned things to "virgin" conditions. Not sure this wouldn't get things back to original spec. Have you been able to talk to Dynavector at all?
Cdk84 - Yes. I understood it wasn't bent. Still, why worry? Just replace the whole front end, if possible.