I am at this moment listening to a Soundsmith retip Transfiguration Spirit that sounds wonderful, and yes, it does have a glob of glue holding the diamond. I also have my Orpheus out to VAS for Steve to clean and inspect prior to reinstallation. And before the usual gang of anti-retippers chimes in - YES, we all would prefer to trade in our used carts for a perfect factory-rebuilt model as opposed to retip. Nobody prefers a glued-on stylus to a brand new factory exchange. We know, we know we know. And we all know they may not sound exactly the same as before. Maybe. But what the factory-exchange-only group forgets to mention is that an trade in can cost thousands more than a retip and some of us would rather spend $500 on a retip by a qualified, proven tech that sounds excellent when you get it back. I have never read a post here that I can recall saying they got a cart back from one of the 3 retippers mentioned that were not satisfied with the sound, although SS does have long turnarounds. True.
Timely retipping
For all those who have sent a cartridge out to be retipped and endured weeks or months of waiting for it to be returned, I would highly recommend the services of Andy Kim at Needle Clinic.
Two weeks ago I broke the cantilever of my Rega Apheta 3 and got in touch with Andy, whose name I recalled from one of the audio forums I've read.
Andy wrote he could repair it in one day, and replace the cantilever with a boron cantilever that would significantly upgrade the cartridge.
So I sent the cartridge 2-day UPS from NJ to Cali on a Tuesday.
True to his word, Andy received the cartridge on Thursday, repaired and mailed it the same day via USPS 2-day Priority, and I had in my hands on Saturday.
It sounds fabulous, and quite obviously better than it was before I sent it
to Andy. The soundstage is much larger, as is the detail, treble, midrange and bass, which is waaay deeper than it was. And the cantilever is brand new.
All-in-all, and very satisfying and amazing experience.