I’m sorry but it’s awful job, your cantilever is glued to the collar, and your stylus is glued. Too much glue, but this is what re-tipping is all about. You could buy just another original KARAT instead.
Let me show you the ORIGINAL here (under my macro lens).
And this is my 17d2 mkII
There is glue on your 17D2 cantilever as well as your diamond. The 17D2 is not the same cantilever or diamond as the 17D. There is no more glue on the cantilever than was there when it was new. This cantilever fits into a tiny square tube and is glued into place at the factory. It is not glued to the dust cover.
Yes, there is more glue on the diamond than what is used at the factory. This is common retipping practice. Diamonds fall out whether original or retipped. When a diamond falls out of a new factory cantilever, people blame their own mishandling. When they fall out of retipped cantilevers, people blame the retipper. The mass of the extra epoxy used has no negative effect on the extended tip mass, so what really is the big deal? It’s a typical snobbish nitpick.
Yes, you could get another 17D whatever model is available now. It won’t sound better. It will have a better diamond than this one in terms of longevity, but not tracing ability right now. That was the customer’s choice to go with an elliptical.
To say it’s a horrible job amidst all of your assumptions simply reveals negative bias and nothing more. We know all about your negative bias already. It is well documented.
The fact is this cartridge at horizontal and perfect azimuth puts out an even 40dB channel separation and 0dB channel balance. Tracking is perfect and so is frequency response. The cantilever is straight and true and the diamond is positioned as a new one. To say it’s a terrible job is utter nonsense. No straight from the factory 17D whatever iteration that I have measured has read this well. I wish I could take the credit for that, but in all honesty, I can’t. They turn out how they do and I some influence over it but not exacting control. Nevertheless, it is what it is and it reads as it does and who are you to say it’s a terrible job? Nobody.
I charged $250 for the diamond and $75 for the electrical repair. This is to install an original Ogura diamond into a diamond cantilever, and also the removal of the old diamond which was probably the most difficult part of this job, limited to this case. The cantilever is undamaged and fully preserved as is the suspension of what is a notoriously delicate cartridge.
You think he could find a new 17D that tests as well and sounds as good as this one for $325? Keep sniffing glue.