Can Sound-Smith tip sound as good as original?

A few words from a cartridge designer's perspective.

One of the most sonically critical factors in any MC cartridge is the matching of the cantilever to the suspension and damper system. The rubber dampers and cantilever have a particularly strong effect on the sound, and normally the cartridge manufacturer will select the rubber compound and shape of the damper(s) to best match the cantilever material and shape (including dimensions).

If you change the cantilever material without also changing the dampers, you will alter the sonic balance away from what the cartridge manufacturer originally intended. Aluminum, ruby, boron, beryllium et al have difference resonance patterns, and the job of the rubber dampers is to critically dampen unwanted resonances without choking off desireable aspects of the sound (overdamping). Hence, if the cantilever material is changed, its resonance characteristics will also change, requiring an accompanying change in dampers to achieve the best overall effect.

You may prefer the sound that results from changing an aluminum cantilever to one of boron or ruby, but that is a personal choice that may or may not be shared by the original cartridge manufacturer.

If, for cost reasons, you decide to go with a non-original retipping firm rather than an original factory rebuild, to insure that changes in sonic personality and tonal balance are minimized, I would recommend keeping the same cantilever material.

FWIW, changing the stylus profile may alter the resolution and noise level, but won't alter the sonic personality to nearly the extent that the cantilever material will.

regards and hth, jonathan carr (lyra designer)

Jwglista:

>I'm not sure as to whether or not Sound-Smith changes the damper materials when preforming a cantilever upgrade, but I venture to guess that they do not.<

In most cases, cartridge dampers are proprietary and unique to the individual cartridge manufacturer. The rubber may be a compound of multiple types of rubber which is custom-specified by the cartridge manufacturer, and the damper will likely be shaped in a dedicated mold that is not used for anything else. So if a non-original retipping firm changes dampers, they would need to make their own.

I hear you on the worry factor of committing to a rebuild without knowing what kind of sound you will be getting. I've sent some of my own cartridges to non-original retipping firms for a workover (as a test), and in some cases I thought that the sonic outcome was tolerable, while in other cases I thought that the results were pretty disgusting.

In your case, Jwglista, I think that to have Soundsmith change the stylus profile to something more advanced is an allowable deviation from the original specifications. With a line-contact as opposed to an elliptical, the cartridge may become a little more critical to align and set up, but the essence of the sound will likely remain intact, and otherwise I don't think that you will notice much drawback.

regards, jonathan carr

Jwglista:

Different cartridge manufacturers may have different policies, but here's what we (Lyra) do we receive a cartridge for rework. We don't just retip the stylus or cantilever, but replace all wearable parts with brand-new ones. This includes the stylus, cantilever, coils, suspension, dampers, cantilever mount, recharging the magnets, replacing the cartridge body if it has been marred, and so on. Also, we sometimes develop improvements for a given cartridge model which we will retrofit to a cartridge that is returned for repair, so the customer gets back an improved cartridge that is rebuilt to the latest specifications.

This beyond the capabilities of a non-original cartridge retipper, and is likely the reason why Raul prefers to have (at least) expensive cartridges rebuilt by the original cartridge manufacturer.

Our cartridge rebuild policy is implemented by either supplying a completely new cartridge to the customer, or taking the old cartridge completely to pieces, replacing every part that needs to be replaced, deep-cleaning every other part, and building the cartridge back together again in the same manner and same quality-control as a brand-new cartridge. Normally a new cartridge will be sent out because this takes less time and the customer can get their cartridge back sooner, but if the customer wants their particular cartridge to be rebuilt and is willing to wait, we will oblige.

hth, jonathan carr

Ferrari: I don't know what you have been told by your dealer, but what you posted is factually incorrect. We regularly service our cartridges, normally through our authorized dealers and national distributor. If anyone has a problem with a Lyra cartridge, they are recommended to return the cartridge to the dealer that they purchased it from, and the dealer will return it to the distributor who will send it on to us. If anyone feels that their dealer isn't giving them satisfaction, feel free to contact us and we will try to sort out the situation.

At times we may recommend a trade-in if repairing an old cartridge is not cost-effective (in other words, if it would be cheaper or equivalent in cost to trade-in to a current cartridge model with superior performance), but if the customer stipulates that they want their old cartridge repaired or rebuilt, we will do so.

From everything that I've heard, most other cartridge manufacturers (including Dynavector) also have a cartridge servicing and rebuild program, and again I'd suggest talking to the dealer that you purchase the cartridge from, or an authorized dealer. Note that if you ask a dealer to help you with service work on a product that you didn't buy from him, you are in effect asking him to work for free, so he may refer you back to the distributor or manufacturer, or act like they are unaware that the cartridge manufacturer has a product service program.

hth, jonathan carr