VAS (Steven Leung) cartridge repair/retipping service?

@scm  FWIW I have used Soundsmith in the past but the last two jobs have been done by VAS.  Steve worked on my ZYX Airy3 which I bought used.  Suspension needed work and there was corrosion on the coil and cantilever.  The corrosion issue was later verified by the seller who said it was in storage and noticed mildew in the area.  Turnaround was 4 weeks in April of 2019.  More recently he worked on my Dyanvector XV-1s.  I thought it was due for a retip but it needed a cleaning, polishing and some suspension work.  Turn around this time was 10 weeks beginning in Feb of this year.  He says his backlog is only getting longer.

At this point...I honestly wish I never saw this thread because that`s what motivated me to send my ZYX off to Steve Leung at VAS in the first place.  

I sent my cartridge to him back in June 2020 (had a couple hiccups here and there) but as of yet... I still don`t have my cartridge back in working order. He was paid too. 

I`ve sent a number of polite emails (trying not to be pushy)...He say`s he`s "trying to catch up"

  
 
Still waiting.............

 

The past three months or so I've been in the process of packing up everything, selling my home and moving to another state. Unfortunately, in the process of setting up my system in my new home I apparently succeeded in bumping my mono cartridge cantilever so it needed to be reset . . . . So off to Steve's it goes without being able to play a single mono LP.. . . . I was however able to set up my stereo tonearm and begin dialing in my system. Well after only a couple nights my play back with the stereo cart suddenly deteriorated badly. After testing with adjust+ it was confirmed my stereo cart was also now derailed/DOA !!!! Holy crap - I’m certainly on a roll !! So off to Steve's it goes as well !!!

Fast forward, I now have both cartridges back, set up and playing vinyl. I can report back that Steve properly set up my MIYAJIMA ZERO mono cart (and did a tuneup as he called it) - and completely rebuilt my TRANSFIGURATION PROTEUS stereo cart (new cantilever/stylus and rebuilt the suspension). I am happy to report my overall playback has never sounded better.  

Over several years Steve has done many things for me (rewired tonearms, built and repaired other cartridges, and done other miscellaneous analog audio work) - he is highly recommended from me.

I too have just sent my first cartridge to Steve for a rebuild/retip, have been using Soundsmith for the last 10 rebuilds of other carts but felt the need to pursue other repair services with things being as they are, please do not read this as a reflection on Soundsmith as they have always given me service and price that was very fair. The turnaround time was more than fair with Steve as I just funded and the cartridge, a Dynavector DRT XV1s shows to be in my mail box. Will follow up here after I install and get a feel for the finished cartridge. Steve did not ask for payment till the day he finished the work and was ready to ship. Enjoy the music

Greetings, all!

While I haven't had Steve do any work for me YET, he did indicate that it wasn't a good idea to ship my Thorens 160C to him- damage risk. So, I'm asking him what things he can do that I can ship from Atlanta. Hopefully he can give my Precision Fidelity Strain Gauge the once over.

That said:

1. are there any reputable individuals or outfits in Atlanta or the SE US that also do  quality TT updates and mods?

2. do any of you have experience using or updating/upgrading/modifying the Precision Fidelity strain gauge system?

Thanks much!