Fidelity Research FR-7 Repair

Look for perfectly working FR-7fz (instead of FR-7 or FR-7f)

I took some nice images of Ikeda aluminum cantilever, this is my ex FR PMC-3 on macro lens. And even closer here. I'm pretty sure you can stay with aluminum cantilever to save money, just make sure to ask for the best stylus shape. 

I asked local dealer to come over with "fz" to compare with my "f", on the first record it was obvious that "fz" is better, but "f" is also pretty good. Later i sold my "f" locally and still happy with "fz". Then i bought Miyabi MCA for funny price and this is one of my favorite. 

The price you have mentioned for "fz" is a fair price. 

Well, actually all you need is to measure Pivot to Spindle distance which you CAN’T DO with mint protractor. If you PS is correct according to Mr.Ikeda (read the manual) your stylus will be spot on (Stevenson). But if the length of the cantilever will be different after refurbishing then it will be off! Remember that you can’t twist this cartridge/cantilever to the left or to the right for use alternative alignment (with alternative alignment cartridge must be slightly twisted ion the shell), if your refurbished cantilever is longer or shorter you will have to mess around with position of the amr hole and PS distance (this is far more complicated).

 I like the idea of: "If Stevenson was good enough for Mr. Ikeda then it's good enough for me."

Definitely, that's why i use manufacturer recommendation (Stevenson alignment) for my FR-7fz 

The original alignment is Stevenson, if you want a protractor with all 3 alignment method and precise ruler for PS distance for any tonearm/cartridge then buy Dr.Feickert.

Mint will be made for 1 tonearm and 1 cartridge only. 

With headshell integrated cartridge like FR7 series i would advice for you to stick to the manufacturers method, do not change the length of the cantilever. 

You could actually order aluminum cantilever with the best possible stylus profile like Gyger.

It's a massive cartridge and even of the Boron is the strongest it can be destroyed (bent) just like any other cantilever :))   

You tell me 

Our chakster believes in manufacturer authority and intentions despite our long disputes about tonearm geometry. In addition he distrust retippers and never retipped any of his carts. So his advice is ’’based’’ on his believes.

Been using at least 4 re-tipped and re-cantilevered cartridges and all of them were worst than the originals, so never again (and this is one of the reason i am against the retip/refurbishing), for me it’s obvious that no one can make better than the original, especially if the original manufacturer is a BIG company and cartridge design is a clever design. Re-tip is a compromise only, people trying to pay less and they will get what they are paying for. Using a third party parts instead of the original is worst idea in my opinion and some cartridge designers already posted about it on this forum many times. I have no idea why people retip cartridges or refurbish them if better cartridges available even for the price of the retip (many great cartridges available at $500-700).

The difference between Stevenson and Beearwald is about 1mm.
Aka effective length Stevenson 245 mm, Bearwald 246mm.

You are talking about Pivot to Spindle distance, but how can you twist a cartridge designed for Stevenson to align it by cantilever position, there are 3 steps in any protractor and the problem is not that stylus can reach those points, the problem is that a cartridge body must be turned to the left or to the right in the headshell because the cantilever must be in line with lines printed on protractor, your headshell intergated cartridge will be off the alignment and changing PS will not help you, because FR7 does not move to the left or to the right in the headshell at all. Some people just don’t understand it! They want to create more problems for FR7 series.

With Axel my retipper for years I become friends. Alas he was/is not able to do the work because he lost comand of his left hand. But he
was nearly 70 and with 50 years of experience.

Axel refurbished cartridges are worst than the originals and i was able to make sure about it, compared them in my system. He’s been using Nagaoka cartrilevers transplanted from Nagaoka cartridges to Technics MM by gluing them using as you said joint pipe. Those cartridges are worst than the original, because the boron cantilever is rod, not pipe (like the OG) and stylus is glued. The last cartridge he touched stop working after 1 year (one channel malfunction). This is waste of time and money. It will never be better than the original (if the original design is a good one). Invest in original cartridges, perfectly working samples, NOS units and you will be fine. Don’t like them - buy another (better cartridges). Any good cartridge is a very delicate devise and it’s better not touch it. We see many retipped and refurbished cartridges for same, this is the best place for them. Only manufacturer can guarantee that a cartridge will be the same as new after their service, but even manufacturers prefer to give us a brand new cartridge instead of the broken one. 

The argument that a re-tipper in 2020 can get what manufacturer was able to get in 1986 is false. They need a time machine to do so.

They can’t get 90% of those cantilevers from the 70s/80’s, as i said earlier some of them are simply no longer available at all and no longer in production anywhere in this world (beryllium, boron pipe, ceramic).

Looking at FR-7fz aluminum cantilever or at Miyabi aluminum cantilever i can say for sure that it is not an aluminum cantilever that SoundSmith can get today, they are all different in shape, mass length, special treatment.

This is the reason why anyone can detect a fake cantilever on any cartridge if a person remember the original one. Those new cantilevers are different and no one need a microscope to recognize that they are different.

SoundSmith Ruby cantilever/stylus combo does not even looks like an old Ruby cantilevers i own on many original cartridges like Grace F14 and LEVEL II.

How can anyone say that re-tippers can get the same? They can’t get the same without time traveling back to the 80’s.

So when a person who own some vintage MC from the 70’s pretending to get the same Boron cantilever it’s an illusion, he can’t get the same cantilever, because nearly all Boron cantilevers from the 70s/80s were Boron PIPE and now 100% Boron cantilevers are Boron ROD. Huge difference in mass rigidity etc. 

Ruby and Sapphire also way different today, i have compared many new and old cantilevers. Too much glue on new ones and very little on the old ones. People reported that new diamonds fell off in a few years (especially if someone will try a liquid stylus cleaner). Even the cheapest Aluminum is different too.

Re-tippers can offer what they can (it’s their business), but it is way different from the original design. Some of the re-tippers job looks awful under microscope, some are accurate. You never know. Some of the retippers will never tell you their own opinion, you asked for retip you will get it, that’s it. If you don’t like the sound it’s your problem, the job is done.

Of course it is my personal opinion and someone may not agree with me, but please don’t tell everyone that re-tippers getting cantilevers from the same bin as the manufacturers, we're talking about vintage and new cartridges here, don’t forget the 40 years gap in time between the production of FR cartridges and new production of Namiki and Ogura cantilevers for modern retippers and manufacturers.

It’s funny, buy your favorite Mr Andreoli (interview is here) does not use any of the cantilevers from those Japanese manufacturers like Namiki and Ogura for some reason. He design and make his own LIKE THIS (even for his reference MM cartridges). Another interview with him.

As you know those Ikeda (FR) and Takeda (Miyabi) hardened aluminum cantilevers are not mass market product, i’ve seen a dozen of aluminum cantilevers on many cartridges and they have nothing to do with those special aluminum cantilevers coming from state-of-the-art designers, completely different, what is the same is the word "aluminum", nothing else.

This is all like a Ford parts on Porsche car, or vise versa (this is re-tip and re-cantilever of the best vintage cartridges with third party parts available today).

It will not sound the same when you change tip or cantilever. 
If you want it closer to the original use aluminum cantilever with press-fit LineContact nude diamond. 

Not all aluminum cantilevers are the same, not all diamonds are the same, especially after 40 years, combination used by Ikeda is not available today, but similar materials available. Those new aluminum cantilevers does not even looks like old from FR-7 series, diamond was called Refined Contact Diamond. I’ve seen many aluminum cantilevers in my life and they are all different size, mass, shape, length

Boron or Ruby is completely different, it can be better or not, you never know. I want to remind that FR-7f anf fz are amazing cartridges as it is, when you change something it’s not necessary must be better. It’s likely you’re ruining all calculation made by cartridge designer (for this reason i never retip or refurbish any vintage cartridge, it’s better to buy another sample).

Aluminum is not expensive, so if something went wrong you will not lose too much $$$

Dear chakster, You changed the question . The question was or
assumed to be about sound not styli variations.

everything can affect the sound quality: mass, length, shape, mounting method whatever ... you name it

Whatever the stylus shape or cantilever material they all need to be glued or fastened into cantilevers and glued into joint pipe.

stylus gluing is the worst method

whatever retipper mount to the joint pipe will change mass, resonance etc ... if it’s not the original parts choosen by original cartridge designer, those aluminum cantilever used by Ikeda is not available today, it can be only different aluminum cantilever (or completely different material like boron and others)

As you I also admire Takeda’s Miyabi and Ikeda’s FR-7fz. Both
with aluminum (alloy) cantilevers.

I admire ORIGINAL design of the cartridges i like, if i don’t like the cartridge i will never retip or refurbish it (pretending for upgrade).

I’ve heard some great MC cartridges with aluminum cantilevers such as Ortofon SPU Royal G mk II with Replicant-100 stylus, Miyabi MCA and Standard, FR-7 and FR-7fz ... even MM cartridges like all Stanton Pickering (they are all with aluminum cantilevers). All those aluminum cantilevers are different when i look at them under my macro lens, all diamonds are different (the Replicant-100 is huge, the Miyabi’s PH Semi Line Contact is very small, Stanton/Pickering’s Stereohedron is somewhere in the middle ... they are all press-fit which is great). Anyway, this is original design and they are all spectacular cartridges, i wouldn’t change anything in this design.

My philosophy about vintage cartridges is something like this:
Stick to the original design and if you don’t like it - don’t use it and buy something else until you will find what you really like, don’t try to make a Frankenstein out of some dead cartridges, i do not trust to retippers.

Soundsmith said that the aluminum they use is not the same as the aluminum that the original cantilever was made from

Exactly, those aluminum cantilevers on Ikeda and Takeda cartridges are special and this is one of the reason those FR-7fz and Miyabi are so good (don't mix it up with conventional aluminum cantilevers anyone can buy today). Also aluminum is easier to work with for cartridge designers according to Mr. Andreoli. In Japan aluminum still a good choice for cartridges like Miyajima Kansui and its designer said Boron doesn't improve anything (at least for him). 

I assume that re-tippers simply can't get equal aluminum cantilevers anymore (for a long time) and they can get only what is available (Boron Rob, Ruby, Sapphile or dirt cheap aluminum). 

What is NEW from those jewel companies is Zirconia Pipe cantilever.   
Well, at least something new! 

Would be nice to check an image of your refurbished cartridge if you can make a high res and upload it somewhere. 

If you decided to pass on Dr.Feickert protractor you can at least buy Technics Overhang Gauge to make a mark on the side and use it as a template for stylus position. But you have to make sure the length of the cantilever from SS is the same as the original.

You can also buy yourself a Hi-Fi News TEST LP and you will find protractor inside.

I don't use any rubber rings and the pictures provided above are from the internet to display a $7 the plastic overhang gauge to the OP.  

@nandric technics overhang gauge cost $7 , look here
Alternative mark for the stylus position (overhang) on the side and you’re done with that. At lest this gauge hold the headshell like a tonearm, look here. I tried it with y FR-7fz and it's fine, the stylus is a few mm behind the mark on the gauge. 

Oh, i see 

So dear chakster, You can sell your Feickert and buy one plastic
caliper which you can use for all your carts/headshell combinaions.
The only thing you need to separte are your tonearms and headshlls
which you use with them.

Bad idea. I have about 10 different tonearms and about 20+ different cartridges. Feickert NG is precise tool for every turntable, cartridge and tonearm. I prefer to use universal devices and actually i paid fair price for my Dr. Feickert (well worth the investment). As i said earlier i use all geometries/alignments according to tonearm manufacturers specs (Baerwald for many tonearms and Stevenson for some of them). 

I have no idea what is "plastic caliper" ?

I have Technics overhang gauges (about 10 of them at least) as a cartridge/headshell holders (here is my cartridge with it), but for my technics turntables and technics tonearms this gauge is fine for quick adjustment. The reason is that technics tonearm on SL1210mkII (and modern SL1200G series) is not exactly Stevenson (and for this reason i use manufacturer's device, that plastic overhang gauge), but i can re-aligh with Feickert to Stevenson, Baerwald, Lofgren. 

  

 I'm not getting the Feickert because my buddy has a protractor. My plan is to install the FR-7 and hope it lasts forever.

Then all you need is correct Pivot to Spindle distance according to the FR template.