What happens when the stylus tip wears out on a $12,000 cartridge?


There is no shortage of stereo phono cartridges with 5-figure price tags. What do you do when the stylus tip wears out? Do any/some/all manufacturers of these cartridges provide or offer a re-tipping service? Or do you just lay out another 12 or 15 grand for a new cartridge? Sorry for my ignorance - the Denon DL-103R/Lithium Audio Musikraft shell I currently use is the most expensive cartridge set-up I’ve ever owned. I’ve had a couple re-tipped by Soundsmith in the past for $200 - 300. What do you guys at the other end of the price spectrum do?

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Showing 1 response by yoyoyaya

Van den Hul retip/rebuild all their cartridges for very reasonable prices.

The $12,000 cartridge hypothesis distorts the picture because $4-6K is a more representative price range for high end cartridges.