Originally Posted by
BendBound
I've just had my Ortofon Cadenza Black MC phonograph cartridge retipped by Expert Stylus. On the original cartridge, I had 800 hours of use, clocked with a hand counter, all played on VPI or ultrasonic cleaned records. At about 700 hours I noticed distortion, sibilance, and others who knew my system did too. Based on a recommendation from James Henriot of Whest Audio, I inquired with Expert Stylus and a few days later I sent my cartridge from the US to them in the UK.
Once they examined my cartridge, they issued a written report, stating that the tip was "badly worn". They recommended a retipping with their Paratrace design, among a few other options. I went with their Paratrace option. This required shortening the cantilever by 0.5mm, which served also to reduce its mass.
Ms. Julia Thompson handled most communication. She was timely, informative, and keep me up to date. It took, in my case, about 8 weeks, more of less to get the cartridge back. And some of that delay was because I asked lots of questions on the front end. Also, Mr. Wyndham Hodgson is a busy man, and I sent my cartridge to him prior to Easter when he had scheduled some leave.
I got the cartridge back a few days ago and played straight away—once I got the alignment dialed in—a few of my favorite records. I was blown away by the sound. Okay, I admit, I don't have great of auditory memory from two months ago. Straight up, I don't. I had installed during the retip, an Ortofon 2M Black, which is honestly quite good. What stood out most to me on the retipped Cadenza Black was the detail as in decay of notes, and in the soundstage as in soundspace of the room. Just wonderful. I am really pleased with every aspect of service from Expert Stylus and I recommend them without reservation.
If my experience is normal, I give Expert Stylus retipping services an A+, a 10 on a 1-10 scale. Ms. Thompson and Mr. Hodgson were polite, accommodating of my questions, and most professional.
A job very well done.