Greetings from Mexico City.
I just got my cartridges back from Andy, a very nice and helpful guy, with the fastest turnaround time: 1 day, can't beat that.
I sent him two cartridges: a Shelter 901 (previously Soundsmithed to a ruby cantilever) and an Ortofon OM40 Gold. I didn't know MMs could be retipped, go figure!!!
I'm impressed with the results, they sound so good now, way above their league. Andy states that a proper retipping (a proper stylus-cantilever setup) is very very important, even more critical than the cartridge itself. I believe him now.
Both were upgraded to boron/microridge and I clearly noticed the following from the very start: less congestion in loud passages, truer timbre, no distortion at the beginning and end of the record sides, little to no stress in loud vocals, far more detail, less friction noise, a better sense of each element's surroundings.
The Shelter is now more like a brand new 4-5 KUSD cartridge (think Koetsus, Lyras, Clearaudios). Piano and strings' long notes are more stable, with clear decays. The microridge adds a syrup coat between the stylus and the record that makes voices transparent, sweeter, more present and nothing spitty. I have a couple of very demanding japanese pressings that have caused trouble in the past, but not now, the boron handles them in spades. There is also more life in the sound. Some defects I associated with vinyl as a media, are now gone. Records I've been spinning endlessly for 40 years come alive like never before.
The Ortofon is close to the Shelter, which is saying a lot, considering it's way below the Shelter's price. The Shelter is a bit more refined, nothing more.
I am glad I found Andy, thanks for the good work, keep it up.