Ortophon spu-gt, which rebuild ?

Viridian, thank you for your interest.

I must tell you that I was surprised that this very early cartridge is still considered a high end contender, just because of its age, not from any personal experience.

I want to use it at its potential, not particularly interested in historical accuracy, but don't want to destroy a classic either.

I listen almost exclusively to classical, only occasionally to Rock or Jazz. Not all my records are in perfect condition.

I currently use Shure M97xe, Denon 103R. Technics 1200 TT.

As my record collection has grown, I have been considering a serious up grade in vinyl playback, but this cartridge just fell into my lap.

It is not usable in its current state, so I am all ears.

Ken

If you use a Technics 1200 stock arm, it would not be able to balance the heavy 30+ gram mass of SPU-GT on the end of it nor would it be a good match even if use a heavy custom counter weight IMO. If you do upgrade your vinyl setup and plans to use the SPU, Schick, Ortofon 309 and Fidelity Research FR-64S are all good arms for SPU.

As for rebuild, Expert Stylus & Co in UK can rebuild SPU but there is a long wait.

I see what you mean Jaspert, the Technics with the supplied aux. weight can balance up to a 13gm cartridge, and the head shell is 6gm, for a max. of 19gr vs the 32 for the SPU.

I will rephrase my question :

The various Sound Smith re-tips run $150, $350 & $450, for example.

Assuming a suitable tonearm, does it make sense to spend that much on a repair, or spend the money on a new cartridge ?

Ken