Cartridge Damaged, need advise on getting new

Simple job to replace the cantilever, but your cartridge will never be as good as the original Dynavector. 

Really, I was advised it may actually sound even better.

Of course, for this reason there are so many re-tipped cartridges for sale on ebay.

If a re-tipper himself will tell you that after his service it will be better than Dynavector then why he’s not a cartridge designer who can make much better cartridges using his magic parts ?

You’d better read what cartridge designers like J.Carr (Lyra) posted about re-tipping process here on augiogon long time ago, and why it must be avoided if you like the original sound of certain manufacturer (like Dyna for example). Especially if your re-tipper will change the whole cantilever.

And people who always claimed re-tipped cartridge is better than the original can’t even compare original to re-tipped sample, normally they got their re-tipped cartridge in a few month since it was shipped to re-tipper. If you can compare one thing to another with 3-5 month gap between the listening session then you must have some special computer brain.

Normally A/B comparison is the answer to all the question.

P.S. In my opinion it's better to buy another original cartridge. Personally i would never re-tip/refurbish any cartridge if original manufacturer can't service them with original parts. 

You can only upgrade very bad cartridges like Denon DL103 with better parts (different cantilever, different stylus profile), but if you cartridge already top class then it's not a good idea. Re-tippers have no idea about calculation made by cartridge designers, the sound can be way off that calculations. J. Carr explained it as a cartridge designers, so i trust him, not a re-tippers. 

I will say again that i think retipping is a good choice if finances are an issue. I’d rather have a top cartridge retipped than a brand new inferior cartridge.

But why do you think it must be inferior cartridge, do you believe that it can be a better cartridge even if the price is lower than retail of the new high-end cartridge ?

@chakster did you read my last post? I had an emt tsd 15 retipped by Soundsmith. Im actually listening to it at the moment. When i got it back i compared it directly to a new one with about 20 hours on it. Both were very different sounding.

Right, different sound, as you said

The original was definitely better though.

Exactly

But the retip didn’t cost much and for 1/4 the cost it’s money well spent. It’s good too. Just not as good as the original. This whole retipping thing should be looked at for what it is. Cost effective. I see people trying to sell retips for high prices, thinking they are like new again. They are not. A retip is just a retip.

Great post, exactly what i meant.
The cost is about $350-750 for retip/refurbish with different cantilever.

One example: paid about $500 for NOS Dynavector Karat with Diamond cantilever with Micro Ridge stylus (unused). Paid even less for NOS Dynavector Ruby with Micro Ridge stylus (unused).

Entire cartridge (NOS, boxed) with exotic cantilevers just for the mid price that retippers normally charge for service. And there are many cartridges anyone can find unused for reasonable price. Some people prefer to stuck with one cartridge forever, it’s hard to understand (at least for me).

New or USED ? 

I don’t think Dynavector retipping their cartridges, let me know when you will get information from them.

Here is my Dynavector thread with info about some other models worth to look for, especially Te-Kaitora in your situation.

And here is the interview with Dr. Tominari of Dynavector Systems

No one can explain better than J.Carr (Lyra) who is a cartridge designer himself. An this is what he said:

To retip a cartridge that was originally equipped with a stylus made by one manufacturer with one made by a different manufacturer is like rebuilding a Porsche engine with Jaguar pistons and crankshaft - the components used for rebuilding may be of high quality, but the design philosophy is rather different from the original.

Still, as one poster wrote above, changing only the stylus will alter the sound less than if the cantilever material is changed. When a cartridge is designed, the designer will consider the moving mass (sum of the stylus, cantilever and coils), the resonant character of the cantilever, and the (sonic) propagation velocity of the cantilever (affected by the cantilever’s mass and rigidity), then choose the suspension and dampers accordingly. If you change the cantilever material, you are effectively throwing the original designer’s calculations away. -J.Carr

I think it’s very important. Re-tipper will never tell you this, because they want you to pay for their service and your cartridge will work after their service, but how and for how long no one will tell you. Even a person who owned original and shipped it for retip will get it in a few month and can’t even compare it to the original anymore. What you will get is no longer original cartridge and no longer original sound concept of the cartridge invented by its designer. Of course it depends how good was the original cartridge to your ears, but you get the idea.