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Sundsmith rebuild.

I just had a Monstercable Alpha1 rebuilt by Soundsmith. I opted for the $150 rebuild (their cheapest -- it's a very old cartridge, and my first rebuild experience).

Wow! I am blown away! It is really good sounding.

At first it was shrill. I was concerned. Then I adjusted the VTA, and let it break in more.

The cartridge has settled in beautifully. Highs are definitely not shrill. Detail is there, so is a nice tight bass. Voices are present and not veiled. There is really good air and depth. The highs and midrange are so much better than I expected; and the bass is very satisfying.

$150 incredibly well spent!!! I am pleased and will send more of my old cartridges to them.

I would love to hear about your cartridge rebuild experiences, as I like the dialogue forum.

Cheers!
bicycle_man

Showing 1 response by td160

td160
74 posts
 
Peter did a re-tip for me last summer. Turn-around was approximately 8-10 weeks. I don't exactly remember. What I do have in mind is that I now have the cartridge and that it is better than before. I didn't have to suffer without vinyl because I had a few spare cartridges for back-up. Actually, the cartridge I sent in was regarded as a back-up. But now it gets full time duty in my TD124. And yes, it is a DL-103R, sporting a ruby/cantilever fine-line stylus housed in one of Uwe's panzerholz bodies. It's better sounding than I would have expected.

Further. I'm grateful that there is someone like Peter doing this service for us and our hobby. If he wasn't here, we'd have no one in North America to do this kind of work.

-Steve
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