What about diamond cantilever/stylus combo

Dear @trytone  @mulveling  : The main difference between cartridges from the same manufacturer or between manufacturers is the design of the CARTRIDGE MOTOR and after that comes the cantilever build material and length and shape of that cantilever.

Same cartridge motor cartridges but with different cantilever will performs different and in your Koetsus and as a cantilever build material Boron is only second to Diamond and that's one reason to performs better in its quality performance.

Glue is not exactly an " enemy " on a cartridge design because the cartridge as a system along the LP grooves modulations and its relations ship with the TT and tonearm can help to damps a little vibrations/resonances developed down there.

Cartridge at that top levels use a very especial type of glue and at minimum to not affect really the dynamic mass down there.

Btw @mulveling  you can't know ( because no one cartridge manufacturer says. ) if the diamond sample is exactly the same cartridge motor design and I mean it: a clone.

The cantilever issue is not only about build material but as I said: its length, shape and even its " raw " characteristics on each manufacturer. Along all those parameters and other than the stylus shape that makes a differences is the cartridge suspension type where the cantilever is and how attached.

Things are more complicated that what we can think, nothing is simple with a cartridge.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Perhaps this is an issue more about customer perception than glue. Do you really believe Soundsmith customers are ignorant of what they are buying? For a bit less than 500$, their clients are able to enjoy an experience that to many may be indistinguishable from what they remember before the service. One assumes that this might be hard to measure(what with variability in samples of what is usually a hand built product) and perhaps even harder to distinguish by listening(since a few months have usually passed between the end of the life of the original and the installation of the retipped cart). The service recently allowed me to buy an Air Tight cartridge(the 15000$ Model) on an Audiogon auction for close to 2000$ and have it retipped. This allows me some(hopefully close) version of the airtight for a third of the best price that my industry connection could allow. I do not believe Soundsmith make any claims to install the exact cantilever and diamond but rather to offer some version that owners may enjoy(or that will allow a worn or damaged cartridge to be sold for an attractive price to those that may not be able to afford a new or barely used high dollar item). Whether they are so popular due to how the retips perform or the professionalism of the repair work is up for debate. Anyone that may have dealt with them(and I have been a customer 4 times over last few years) receives an instruction sheet that explicitly warns against using a liquid cleaner that might damage the glue(they prefer a soft brush for dust and something  akin to Blu-Tak to remove the film that builds up. I am still new to this pursuit and respect those who believe they can hear the difference between what they remember and a retip but comments about the service being some how unworthy due to use of glue or not producing an identical performer seem unfounded. As always am eager to be shown the error of my ways. LS (PS The next Austin Record Convention starts about May 18th, will be there selling mostly classical recordings as I have been for over 30 years, hope to meet some of you there).

I am not making any claims against SS’s value proposition; obviously their very modest prices combined with stellar user reviews makes it a hard-to-pass choice. Especially when revamping top-class generators resold without tip for a song.

I am saying that I personally will not spend near Koetsu-level money on a cartridge terminated in a sloppy blob of glue. And I stand by my assertions of the various Koetsu variants’ sounds, because I’m not relying on memory for the comparisons I’ve done. Though I partially agree with Raul that cartridges are very indeed complex beasts, and unit-to-unit variation is the elephant in the room. However, my experience with a # of Koetsus gives me the impression that they are more consistent than most manufacturers. The VTA/SRA, channel balance (this is always ABSOLUTELY perfect, which is a big deal to me), azimuth, and alignment vs. cartridge body are literally almost dead-on, every time. If you DO plop down big money for a new Koetsu or a Koetsu rebuild, you can be sure you will get a good one. 

@jpjones3318


http://fidelisanalog.com/2018/10/20/sony-xl-88d/

Hey, this is one-piece diamond stylus-cantilever, right ?
So for @trytone  this is the best example, no glue at all