Can Sound-Smith tip sound as good as original?

On the Lyra I had done was a re-tip. Replace the diamond stylus on the original cantilever. I experienced no change in signature. However when the cantilever is replaced, no doubt a change in signature is quite likely. My process was new diamond on the originial cantilever, the suspension was not touched as it was still in spec. Sounds fantastic and I completley recommend Soundsmith for this type of work.

In my experience trying to get the original manufacturer to service one of their own cartridges is an excercise in futility. This past year I tried to get Lyra to service the cartridge and I was totally ignored. Basically from thier dealers I was told that a trade in was the only answer to a newer Lyra. A few years earlier went through the same grief with Dynavector. The only high end cartridge manufacturer that attended to my concerns and accomplished the work I requested as Benz Micro. No trying to upgrade me to a newer unit, or other smoke and mirror tactics.

While the Lyra now sounds wonderfull, in the future I will once again return to Benz Micro. Apparently they appreciate their customer base far more than their competitors and it shows in their customer service.

Thus far the work on the Lyra I have done by Soundsmith is first rate, no complaints. If it had not been first rate work I would have reported it on Audiogon.

Jonathan Carr, while you state factually incorrect, in my issue what I posted is factually correct as I experienced. Perhaps a heart to heart with your dealers and/or distributors is warranted. I could not take the Lyra back to original dealer as the shop closed years ago. You have a splendid product and have recommended the Lyra line to many folks. My most recent recommendation was the Dorian to a dear friend of mine and he is most happy with it.

Dynavector is a whole other story, which doesn't warrant space here. But suffice to say I will never own another Dynavector product of any kind and haven't in some 10 plus years.

I am deep into vinyl playback average about 30 hours per week. So come late next year the Lyra may need service again.

For the 50 years I have been in this hobby business,each and everyone of my customers are treated like gold, because that is just what they are - GOLD. Over the course of the years I have taken gear in that I never sold and took care of that customer. Reason is simple, he/she came to me with a problem. I solved that problem, because I wanted that new customer. I certainly did not want them shopping around, when the situation was in my domain to solve. While I have taken loses over the years, I have gained far more new customers that have stayed with me and continue to do so.

At 65 now I am no doubt considered a dinosaur by todays current business models. However today we are seeing a vast amount of business that are closing there doors and the root problem is customer service.

I do wish Lyra continued success, but on my end it is time for me to re-evalaute. Thus far Benz Micro has my vote when it comes to customer service.