Stylus Retipping Service (phono cartridge) - specialist from Russia, Moscow

Please PM me, I have a pair of carts with missing cantilevers, I would appreciate a repair quote for.

 

Thanks to everybody for your replies! Really appreciate it!

Here is something new...

Denon - DL-304
Stylus - DL-304




Van Den Hul - The Black Beauty
Stylus - ATN-440 MLX



Van Den Hul was not so easy to re-tipp.
This is the way of re-tipping, when you want to keep original boron cantilever, but diamond is missing. And It's impossible to install just a nude diamond on the cantilever (at home, without special equipment). So the solution is - just to cut diamond together with a platform from aluminum cantilever and install it on the original cantilever.

 

Hello!
Send me message on my e-mail: [email protected]

 

Thank you very much!
Is it possible to get some pictures of your retipped Benz cartridge?
There is not so much pictures of SoundSmith works on the net...
For me - it's very interesting how they are doing it.

 

Agree about Boron/Beryllium being better than Aluminum!
But those "special" materials is out of production nowadays as I know (at least Audio-Technica and JICO stopped to produce it).
Probably some other companies have a good reserve stock of Boron/Beryllium.
And Sapphire and Ruby is a good alternative!

 

Yamaha - MC-3
Stylus - Benz Micro Glider



Complete exchange of cantilevers!

 

Sumiko - Blue Point Special Evo III
Stylus - Blue Point Special Evo III

 

Just to let everyone know, I sent Roman two of my favorite cartridges, to re-tip. Many people think these are just cheap, old cartridges: a Denon 103D and a 103M. Actually, to my ear, and from my reading of audio history, these are the two finest sounding moving coil cartridges that Denon ever made. In my opinion, much better than the recent 103 cartridges, with very inexpensive aluminum/conical cantilever and stylus, but themselves quite well respected.

The 103D has a broken-off cantilever. I provided Roman with a very slightly used titanium cantilever/Gyger stylus assembly. Just an experiment to totally upgrade from the original aluminum/hyper-elliptical. The titanium may be very difficult or impossible for him to work with.

The 103M originally came with boron/hyper-elliptical. It came to me with an inexpensive re-tip, done in Japan, using a JVC aluminum/spherical. It just sounds so inferior to the other 103M cartridges I own, that I want this one stripped and replaced.
So I provided Roman with an Audio-Technica gold-plated Boron cantilever/Micro-Line stylus for that one.

If he can adapt these totally non-original cantilever/stylus assemblies to these two old cartridges, and provide sound AT LEAST as good as the same NOS cartridges I have... maybe as good as my high-end Shelter 90x, Harmony, Benz-Micro Ebony LP cartridges... Wow... I will declare Roman an extremely valuable resource to all of us.

 

Hi Roman,

Which technique do you use to straight out the bended cantiliver?
After inserting the new one will it be soldered or glued in?

 

Hello Warren!
Thanks a lot for this message!
Waiting for your cartridges to arrive, I hope everything will be fine.

----

During next week I'm going to order business cards, leaflets, stickers and posters with my personal information and pictures of my works and use it all during Hi-Fi/Hi-End Audio exhibition in Moscow (in November)!
It will be my first experiment.

And here is some latest works... Still got something to repair.

Audio-Technica - AT-F2
Stylus - AT-F2



Denon - DL-301II
Stylus - DL-301II

 

Linn - Troika
Stylus - ATN440MLX




Denon - DL-103R
Stylus - DL-103R

 

I use some different types of a very small, thin and lightweight internal or sometimes external adapters and a small drop of epoxy glue.
*If necessary to use adapter. It depends on type of damage. Sometimes adapters is not needed.
No soldering at all, it's very dangerous and it's impossible to solder such a small things.

 

Very impressive work.

 

Don't believe this work is for the fat fingered, nope.

Joking aside, looks very good. I will keep you in mind when the time comes for sure.

 

Hello everybody!

What do you all think about it?

Terrible work by Van Den Hul...
I used to own one of cartridges re-tipped by Van Den Hul and did some pictures years ago.
Here is a pictures of Technics EPC-P100C MK4 (MM cartridge) - one of the favorite Van Den Hul cartridge.
EPC-100C MK4 stylus assembly is the sane as all other Technics top of the line MM cartridges

Cost of re-tipping by him is so high and it takes months to get a cartridge re-tipped by him.

 

Samy stylus assembly on the different cartridge (Technics EPC-P205C MK3).

 

I would like to proudly present – one of my best works!

I do not work with MM cartridges so often, but this one is something special...

Technics EPC-205C MK4 (made in Japan 1984) – one of the best MM cartridges ever made!

My personal favorite MM cartridge.

Re-Tipping:
- After re-tipping its started to sound like a high quality MC cartridge at the same time staying as MM cartridge.
- The benefit of Audio-Technica ATN150MLX cantilever and stylus over original one – is a diamond shape of ATN150MLX.
Originally Technics uses 0,2 x 0,7 mil. diamond shape, not bad, but nothing special.
And ATN150MLX uses highly appreciated “Micro-Line” diamond shape!
It’s a huge improvement over original cantilever.
-Technics originally uses boron (hollow inside and artificially grown) – very lightweight cantilever, but ATN150MLX is also boron and gold plated (additional resonance protection). I can’t say which one is better, but they are both on the very high level. You can see comparison of both on the pictures.

*Very soon I will do the same with Technics EPC-100C MK3 re-tipped by “JICO NEO SAS” (sapphire cantilever + micro ridge shape).

Look at the spec’s of Technics 205C MK4 – outstanding specifications!

Manufactures's Specifications
Type: Movint magnet, with disc magnet and one-point suspension system
Magnetic Circuit: All "HPF" core, precision-polished finish.
Cantilever (original): Tapered boron pipe.
Damper: TTDD (technics temperature defense damper).
Magnet: Neodymium (magnetic energy, BH max equals 35 mG-Oe)
Frequency Response: 5 Hz - 100 kHz (15 Hz - 70 kHz +/- 3 dB).
Output Voltage: 2,5 mV @ 1 kHz at 5 cm/S, zero to peak, latheral velocity 3,5 mV @ 1 kHz, zero to peak, 45 degree velocity.
Channel Separation: Greater than 25 dB @ 1 kHz, greater than 20 dB @ 10 kHz.
Channel Balance: within 0,7 dB @ 1 kHz
Compliance: 12 x 10 - 6 cm/dyne (100kHz)
D.C. Resistance: 500 ohms.
Inductance: 240 mH.
Impedance: 1,6 kilohms (1 kHz).
Recommended Load Resistance: 47 kilohms.
Recommended Load Capacitance: less than 200 pF
Stylus Tip (original): 0,2 x 0,7 mil, Elliptical 0,07-mm square-block diamond tip.
Effective Moving Mass: 0,109 mg.
Tracking Force Range: 1,25 grams, +/- 0,25 gram.
Overhang Adjustment Range: 52 mm, +/- 3 mm.
Weight: 15,5 grams.


Enjoy!

p.s. Warren, don’t worry – I used my own ATN150MLX, not yours!

 

Great photos and work! Thanks for sharing these photos. Really interesting to look at and sure these sound even better to listen to.