Andy Kim - Needle Clinic

Great to see your report on the satisfaction being met as a result of having a Cartridge overhauled by a rebuild service.

The turnaround time when delivered in a short period is an absolute bonus, and my take on it is that  memories of what was temporarily separated from are strong and the benefits of the service undertaken are quite noticeable when recollecting and assessing the new performance on offer.  

My experience mirrors yours as well, with a Cartridge Rebuild from a different supplier of a rebuild Service.

In my case I was able to compare the the returned Cartridge to a identical model.

The returned Cartridge was mounted on a detachable Headshell.

Another Cartridge of the same Model with a few hundred hours of usage was also mounted onto a identical Detachable Headshell.

Both Cartridges were A/B Compared in a identical set up and the returned Cartridge from the rebuild service without any run in time, shone out as the better Cartridge over the original model, to the point that the Original Cartridge was said to be quite lacking in qualities as a comparison. 

The knowing that the rebuilt cartridge was to improve further was very satisfying.

I have not used this service as of yet, or any other service based within the US.

I have discussed a particular rebuild design for a Cartridge I have, but have not got the offer to meet all of my requests.

From all the correspondences shared, I have no doubt, if the Cartridge was to be forwarded as a repair task only, the returned cartridge will have surpassed my expectations.   

As a side, The Services are not limited to rebuilds, and a lot can be gained by having a service only on a Cartridge.

I have heard Cartridges prior to and post an Inspection and Cleaning Treatment, there is a very noticeable difference. For those with a Cartridge left out in an exposed to room atmosphere set up, with not too many hours of usage and owned for a few years, I will heartily recommend sending it in for a Cleaning Treatment.  As a pre inspection before making a decision, have a look at the Stylus > Bobbin Interface where the Stylus enters the Cart's body, whatever is seen will invade further, and airborne metal particles will attach to the coils and magnets.

A friend had a channel imbalance due to metal on a coil.

These are great reports, keep them coming.

These services need recognition, especially as there is a very cost-effective route into owning a high quality and design Cartridge, if the right donor model can be discovered for fair monies parted with.

Another very informative report on the impact a Third Party Cartridge Service can have on a first impression of a returned Cart', either Serviced or Modified.

As stated in previous posts, A Time Served Technician who has a acquired a substantial understanding of a Cart's Assembly and has the inherent skills to optimise the Tolerances for the interfaces that might not be as exact at the time of Manufacture can produce a Cart' that will standout as a returned item.

Add to the assembly exchange parts that are improved as a result of their inherent mechanical properties and the Cart' in general finds a different level of performance.

There is little to be seen that suggests using this type of Service is not beneficial and not good value for money.

I will assume the 901 was approx' $1700 when purchased. If there was a 1000 Hours of usage prior to the recent overhaul, the Cart' has been a $1.70 per hour model.

I assume the Overhaul is $500ish, at present there is assumed to be $2200 invested into the Cart'.

If another 1000 Hours of usage are successfully delivered the Cart' has been a $1.10 per hour model.

Do this revisit to Andy Kim once more and the potential if the 1000 hours of usage is achieved, is a Cart' that will have offered up 3000 Hours of Service at $00.90 per hour. 

Great VFM comes to mind.  

@lardawg I always feel the need to chi in.

I have used Cart' rebuild Services, and gave the utmost praise for the Skills of the Technicians at their helm.

My own and others I know who are using this method, has as a result, created genuine advocates of the practice.

To hear the Cart' had a unknown of fault and the assessment offered following Andy's work is one more story to encourage others to make a Contact with a Third Party Service. 

@munden Another positive for the Third Party Cartridge Service, especially a Service that has a time served technician at the helm.

It looks like a few new albums are on the radar with all your saved monies burning hole in your pocket 😎.

@shartphoto Another Wonderful Story of a concerning condition on a Cart', having and ending where a Cart' Owner is reunited with a valued Cart'.

There are stories on this forum where Cart's that have had a purchase Value of up to $10K have as a result of following similar steps ti yourself, has produced owners who can tell a similar story.

Most Importantly the story is ready to be told only a few days after parting with the Cart' 😎.

For $750 as the Cost, you are now punching above the weight of Contenders coming in at 400%+ of this cost.

I know how that feels 🤩

Long Live the Very Good Reports on such ventures.

Interesting that the different Styli used is solely thought about as being the cause of the additional detail Retrieval. 

The Weight and Length of Boron and Adhesive used for connecting both Cantilever to the Armature and Styli to the Cantilever, are as per the chosen method quite capable of influencing the perception of extra truth being discovered and noticeably presented from the recording.