The end of a pickup cartridge's life

[JazzBones]

There comes a day we vinlyist dread, the day or the days leading up to our beloved cartridge's last days in the groove of our favourite LPs. Straight away consideration must be given to a replacement, a similar cartridge, a cartridge of a different pedigree, an upgrade or down grade, a switch from moving coil to moving magnet or iron OR... and this is the big question, Can I get this cartridge of mine refurbished back to original performance and whats it going to cost me??? I guess most of us have been here before?

Who amongst us has had a cartridge refurbished or re-tipped and are completely satisfied with the results? I am aware of the good work done by The Expert Stylus Co., but I have also seen re-worked cartridges go up for sale after the owners have paid for the aforementioned work. Possibly the fitting of a different profile may alter performance for the worse or maybe for the better, anyone know?

In these days of hard times for all (?) its necessary to ensure value for money and with this in mind, 'Is it worth having a cartridge retipped etc. or downsize'?

Ron

[Barry]

What cartridge do you use Ron? I'm sure ESCo would be able to replace the stylus with one having the same profile as the original.

Their costs are reasonable, considering the excellent quality of their work. The only drawback is, being essentially a 'one man and his dog' outfit, turn-around times are long: many months.

Regards

[mart10]

Hi,
Well I have my DL-103R send off for retip, and it sounds very well now.
In the begin, you notice very much more details, but also the sound was "thin". But you must be patient, and runin a copple of oures.
Than you notice, time by time, the sound getting better.
With the 103R standard a little round and bloomby, but with the retip it is more refind and detailt, also int the bass.
Regards, Martien

[Ammonite Audio]

My old Kontrapunkt B is like new after ESCo clened it out, checked its coils and suspension, and fitted a new Paratrace tip. That cost a little over £200, which is way cheaper than a new cartridge. I get the impression that, within reason, decent cartridges can be kept going indefinitely with ESCo's fettling.

So, to answer Ron's question, it is worth retipping (and servicing) but clearly that is more viable with cartridges of rarity or significant replacement cost, or with DL103s which may be worth "supercharging" with a decent stylus. Sometimes, a trade-in deal on a new cartridge is a better bet. Ultimately, though, if you like an old cartridge very much, then retipping makes better sense than taking a leap into the unknown with a different new cartridge.

[topoxforddoc]

Ron,

I've just had a 1967 Decca C4E rebuilt. It arrived back yesterday (from John Wright who now builds all the Decca/London cartridges) and it's the best cartridge I have ever heard in over 30 years of hi-fi. So yes, if you have real beaut on your TT, just keep refurbishing her when she needs a bit of fettling.

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk

[Mr Pig]

So there you go Ron, get that AT-95E in the post today! ;0)

[MartinT]

I had an AT-OC9 retipped by ESCo and they did a superb job.

My experience is that I've only ever hit end-of-life of a cartridge once. I mostly upgrade and part-ex or sell the old one on.

[JazzBones]

Hi fellas, I'm a day late in getting back here, sorry. Revealing and constructive is what I would sum up here. Theres nothing better than learning from others' experience.

At the mo I am using a newish AT OC9II but my old Koetsu Black is what I am eager to bring back to life. I believe ESCo majored on this particular cartridge and I think that there was even talk that after ESCo had finished with the Black it sounded better than the Koetsu Red ? Don't know about that but its interesting;) anyone know better?

On another thread I asked and got advice on Step Up Transformers (SUTs) and I'm given to understand is that a permanent choice of cartridge has to be made so that a suitable SUT can be implimented into the vinyl playback system :scratch:

Obviously an ATOC9II and an old Koetsu Black are two very different cartridges requiring different settings? By the way the Black lasted many happy years of vinyl playback and is what prompted me to start this thread.

Upwards and onwards,

Ron :piano:

[The Grand Wazoo]

The Blacks have been my cartridge of choice for years - I'm on my third sample. I never had one done by ESCo, my last retip was a van den Hul one and I wasn't completely happy with that. Not heard it for a while though as I keep it as my spare.

[MartinT]

Obviously an ATOC9II and an old Koetsu Black are two very different cartridges requiring different settings? By the way the Black lasted many happy years of vinyl playback and is what prompted me to start this thread.

The Koetsu requires around 30 ohms loading whereas the AT requires 200 or so. You may find that the Bob's Devices CineMag suits both as it has switchable hi/lo gain with 184 and 52 ohms loading. Could be ideal!