I tried retipping a Grado Reference Reference 1 and it was not even close to what it sounded like new. I probably will not ever try it again and only buy carts I can afford to replace as a result. I have an AirTight PC-7 with a broken off stylus just sitting around and when I get the bread I'll send it back. But thankfully no one bought my back up, a Grado Statement Reference v2, which I am loving and sounds better than I remembered.
Anybody out there re-cantilever their cartridge with a Soundsmith Contact Line diamond ?
The cantilever on my Dynavector 20x2 is damaged. Dynavector
wants X number of dollars to exchange it. Then I read about Soundsmith's
rebuild option, which is intriguing. A feature aspect of their cantilever
rebuild is their Contact Line Diamond stylus as opposed to Dynavector's Micro
Ridge Nude diamond.
"The Soundsmith Contact Line diamond stylus has three times the contact area in the vertical direction of the groove wall compared to an elliptical shaped diamond".
I thought I was in the clear, but now I'm informed that a Contact Line Diamond stylus with three times the contact area, picks up a ton of surface noise off the record. So much so that the surface noise can become forward on all but the most pristine records. So much so that the surface noise becomes intrusive.
Anyone out there had a Soundsmith modification done to their cartridge, if so which option had you had done, and what's been your expience?