@nandric
Well, it's definitely bent. I would prefer a professional look at it. Sounds like Soundsmith is the way to go. I suppose they can tell me what's best for repair and possible replacement. Considering I got it used and then played it for many years before the damage, it might be a "let's fix it up to last a long time" situation. I'll contact Soundsmith and get ready to ship. |
Well, I did think solicit possible advice on moving on up. However, looking at ebay, the cheapest FR-7fz is $1500. The problem for me is that I don't know how to find a "perfectly working" Fr-7fz. I'm a photographer and believe me, every piece of photo equipment on ebay is "mint" or "near mint" even when you can see scratches, dings and paint worn off. So, I take it with a grain of salt when people say whatever they say to make the sale. My concern is that for me, that's a lot of money and that I end up with a cartridge that needs repair.
In the current state of the world today, it makes more sense for me to send it in to Soundsmith. So, I pay out $500 to fix it up. The cartridge is a known quantity to me and I'm back in business. Then, looking down the road, I can start thinking about upgrading. In this case case I've gotten a tip from chakster that the "fz" is better than the "f" so I don't waste my time with an incremental upgrade.
Thanks everyone! I'll report back after I get the cartridge back. I'm hoping to get it out tomorrow. |
The cartridge is on it's way to Soundsmith so that's good to know. We'll see what they say about my cantilever.
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They said my cartridge survived the damage but needed replacement. I was worried something was torqued deep inside. They're suggesting the boron option, I've asked about the change in sound since the original was aluminum. The story continues. |
By survive, they meant that I didn't trash the entire cartridge beyond repair. A mover loaded my turntable, with cartridge attached, into a truck on it's side and piled boxes on top of it for a drive from NYC to LA. They didn't heed my instructions that it was fragile, etc. That move was a disaster from every standpoint.
It's $450 for the boron replacement. They said it's the strongest material and that's a heavy tracking cart. At this point I just want to get my turntable up and running. I've never mounted a cartridge before but these are times when it makes sense to start learning how to do that. I'm going to get a MintLP protractor for the FR-64 to set things up when it comes back. |
I thought it was Stevenson for this? |
Would replacing the cantilever/stylus be an upgrade to the cartridge? |
Well, it sound like it will be happening regardless. Nandric had suggested that the cantilever could be fixed without replacement so I started thinking that perhaps I would want that anyway. Sounds like if it's bent, it will need replacement. So boron here I come. I'll have no way of knowing if it's an upgrade because it got bent over 15 years ago and I've had two different cartridges, an amp replacement and a preamp replacement in the intervening years. Oh, and tinnitus. Let's not forget that. Hopefully it retains it's magic. |
I will hopefully mount this thing and never mess with it again, well you know what I mean. So the Mint sounds good to me. I like the idea of: "If Stevenson was good enough for Mr. Ikeda then it's good enough for me." I don't see changing this ever again. The only thing I can see happening is someday buying the FR-7fz.
I gave Soundsmith the go ahead for boron/CL earlier today so that part is in process. Now, I need to figure out what skills I need to learn how to put the thing on. That other headshell thread had my head spinning.... |
Wouldn’t Soundsmith maintain the same cantilever length?
There's a manual? I'll check... |
I sent them an email. They're very responsive. Thanks for the assistance everyone! I really appreciate it. |
They haven't done an assessment yet. I asked them about the possible need for replacement (instead of, as Nandric suggested, mere repair) and they said if the cantilever is bent, it will need replacement. I'll post back when they let me know what the deal is. I'm not against replacing it. Just hoping that it sounds the same. |
Thanks for the information, both of you. I'll see what they say when they get back to me and ask about aluminum/nude contact line diamond combo. I thought the cartridge had a magical something that I never heard in subsequent cartridges I tried. At this point I'm hoping to get some of that back. If after repair it's not to my liking I'll look into FR-7fz. I just would prefer to not spend that sort of money now. |
Soundsmith said that the aluminum they use is not the same as the aluminum that the original cantilever was made from so a choice based on that was irrelevant (my words). The strongest option is boron so I went with their recommendation on that. Should I be asking about cantilever length? |
Update, they trim by hand to match length. So, no worries there. |
My cartridge is done. I'm ordering the Dr. Feickert from musicdirect since it covers all three methods. Looks like I'll be getting setup sooner than I had anticipated. |
That's interesting. I think it's great that there's still movement in this area. Thanks for posting that information. Soundsmith said that the aluminum they had access to was softer, hence boron being a better choice.
I own an Ebony view camera and was sad when Hiromi Sakanashi closed down Ebony a few years ago. Luckily there are a few places still making view cameras cameras, but it's very niche as digital has taken over. When my Ebony got damaged in Death Valley, I sent it to Canham cameras for repair. Thankfully.
I think turntables are still niche, but there's still a lot of sales activity in that area. I meet lots of tech people here in Seattle that own a turntable to go along with their streaming setups. |
I'll post pics when I get it back. And yes, I have the regular FR-64, not the S. A friend whose going to help me setup the cartridge told me he has a protractor so I didn't buy the Dr. Feickart. For a long time I was running various carts in a Orsonic headshell so all the arm stuff is going to have be re-done. |
I'm not getting the Feickert because my buddy has a protractor. I'll never use another cartridge again. I don't never know where the Orsonic is at this point. My plan is to install the FR-7 and hope it lasts forever. Well, maybe next year I'll buy an FR-7fz. That way I'll have two FR cartridges in the house. Just in case.
I'll have to check but I think I have an overhang tool around here. Thanks! I'll look at calipers. |
I own other cartridges. I will never use these cartridges. They were a stopgap because my Fidelity Research was damaged. They were failures in comparison. It’s like I bought a Yugo to get me to work after I crashed my Bentley. Now that the Bentley is fixed, I will no longer drive the Yugo. So, the Orsonic becomes a relic as well. If I find it, I’ll likely sell it along with the other cartridge. Which will remain nameless. I've never setup my own cartridge before so this will be an interesting learning experience. |
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