Questionable service at Soundsmith

Question:  do you pay SS up front, or when the cartridge is ready to ship.

This is not a exception. It took a year of waiting with no response for my friend with his Sony XL55 shipped to SoundSmith. Same situation. They are very slow and cartridge can be easily lost for some time and then re-discovered (somewhere on their shelfs), fixed and shipped. Normally they offer discount after all !

Soundsmith seems to be one of this forum’s sacred cows (reputation for stellar work, not a lot of competition). Posting anything critical about them is going to get you some responses you don’t like. I was going to send them a Sumiko cart that I’m selling for service but couldn’t stomach the stated wait time listed on their site.

So, after digging around online I saw some positive feedback for Andy Kim at Needle Clinic. I sent it to him for a re-tip. All it needed as a damper replacement. Two (2) week turnaround. $250. YMMV

Rather than to conclude that they did a one-hour rush job on your cartridge after you finally got through to them with your complaint, I am more inclined to believe that your cartridge may have been rebuilt months ago and then stuck on a shelf somewhere, either through a bookkeeping error or simple negligence.  Your contact, which might justifiably have been done six months earlier, at least, finally made someone look around the shop to find your cartridge.  I would not indict SS for this sort of error.  In the end, they did not cheat you, and I doubt they ever would cheat you or anyone else deliberately.  It's a boutique business that seems entirely dependent upon the skill of one man who is not getting any younger, and maybe one or two disciples to whom Peter is hopefully teaching the art of cartridge repair.  Even so, I would bet that no re-tip leaves SS until PL has inspected the finished product. If Peter has had health problems in recent months, that could be the whole reason for your long wait.  All's well that ends well.

I started this thread because one I wanted to vent, Secondly to share what has been my experience and warn those who might be contemplating on retipping their cartridges.  I am rather surprised by some of the not so good comments here.  I thought people on Audiogon are audiophiles who are far more refined or classy.  My bad.  Like I said, I was trying to be nice and not hound Soundsmith.  I have a busy life.  I'm work in finance, play sports and have a very active social life.  I'd be happy if at all, I could squeeze in some time to listen to my system.  Trust,  a year would go by real fast.  Well, I really had spent much more time here than I needed to.  It's been fun reading some of the comments, specially the ones of support.  This is my last post on the subject.  Ciao!    

Whatever happened he or his representative should've apologized if they didn't and shouldn't have charged you at all. It does sound like they only care about the money and their own problems not about other people as well. 
Sucks big time.

I've had great experience with Soundsmith retipping, and just recently received my old MC Sigma Genesis 2000 back from them after they installed a new cantilever and stylus. It did take a few months, as they make clear on the website.

Ebm, according to the post someone REALLY does.

Nobody sits around for a year and waits.

My personal experience with Soundsmith has been nothing but stellar and this has been over a period of 7 years and 9 carts rebuilt and or retipped, as a matter of fact they have my Universe as we speak, in for a suspension adjustment. Something certainly went wrong in your case though and probably falls into the shit happens catagory but I certainly wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the finished job was anything but top notch. Enjoy your cart, by now it will be like a lost jewel just found.

I believe they had already bunch of disputes of charges. That's what I would do plain and simple. $450 does not justify of a year of waiting time.
anything over a month should subtract $$ from total. Dispute will win. Efficient and saves money.

I sent them a cartridge 9 months ago and haven't heard a peep.  I made an email inquiry about a month ago with no response.  I've heard they take a long time, so I figured 6 months.  Fortunately, I don't need the cartridge right now. 

Some of you are incredibly patient and forgiving, which is lucky for Soundsmith. Waiting a year to find out the status of a cartridge doesn't make sense to me. I would certainly have emailed them after the first three months for a status request and pricing estimate. My takeaway from this post is to have more than one cartridge, and follow-up with Soundsmith on any transactions with them at least until Peter gets his family problems under control. Family problems, no matter what the nature, are a fact of life but business is business. 

Unfortunately my story coincides with the OP.  My Lyra has been with SS for thirteen months.  I know that Peter has had serious family troubles during that time, but I am approaching the point of calling my cartridge home.  If SS does complete the repair, the results should be worth the wait.  It helps to have lots of cartridges to play with while one is out for repair.    

I am surprised he did not contact you to discuss what was going on with your cartridge.

Personally I would have been calling / emailing at week 14 (not waiting until nearly week 52). That being said, stuff happens. Peter is one of the good guys in this industry. I can't imagine not being a Sound Smith customer. His products and support policies are IMHO beyond reproach. Love my Aida, and love it even more after Peter rebuilt it.

Have you received your cart back? Before you claim "Rushed, no proper care and testing" you should probably give it a listen.

Perhaps I should but I didn't want to come across as a pesky, impatient customer.  I worked in retail and I know how those kind of customers are treated.  Besides I have other cartridges I could use in the meantime.  I gave them the benefit of the doubt, perhaps theyare busy between making their own brand of cartridges and the backlog of retip orders.  I'm a patient guy but when I got to thinking its been a year, thaat when I said enough.

All this happened today.  I paid just to get the cartridge back.  I know it's gonna sound good.  It is a very good cartridge to begin with, a Benz Micro Reference.  Condition was excellent, already got the boron cantilever.  Probably the only thing it needed was a new tip.  

Yes, that's him.  This is my first time having a cartridge retip.  I asked him for a quote however I went with Soundsmith because of their reputation.  In light of what happen, I feel perhaps Andy, his name, could have done just as good of a job if not better.  I do have another cartridge I'm thinking of retipping and more than likely now, I would try him.  

Is "that other guy in Washington state" the one in Bellevue?

http://www.phonocartridgeretipping.com/index.html

I live about 18 miles from his shop. If he's good it would be nice to know as I'm thinking about moving on to a decent HOMC from my MMs.

Personally I would have been calling / emailing at week 14 (not waiting until nearly week 52). That being said, stuff happens. Peter is one of the good guys in this industry. I can't imagine not being a Sound Smith customer. His products and support policies are IMHO beyond reproach. Love my Aida, and love it even more after Peter rebuilt it. 

Have you received your cart back? Before you claim "Rushed, no proper care and testing" you should probably give it a listen. 

I think you went to the right guy.  Geez, a year?  I recently sent my cartridge.  Hope it does not take a year.  I think you had it done by one of the best.  I doubt he would ever jeopardize his reputation.  He probably felt really terrible about the mix up and did it pronto.

I just feel like the first person I contacted called the retipping guy and that guy realized, oh yeah, this guy has been waiting a year.  Let's get this done now.  Rushed, no proper care nor testing.  I should have gone to that other guy in Washington State.  

That's a bummer. I've used them for 5 cartridges over the years and have always found the service satisfactory. It has taken them a bit longer lately due to demand and, what I've heard, some family related issues with Peter. The new cantilevers and retipping is his work, so it does take some time.

One year and then presto is strange and maybe you didn't get the entire picture from them. However, $450 for a retip is not a lot.