Re-tipped phono cartridges


I noticed a lot of ads for re-tipped phono cartridges are suggesting this is an improvement over the original. I respectfully disagree. Regardless of the new stylus the integrity of the original design has been compromised. Think of it as a fine Italian automobile with a blown engine. It can be fixed but is it ever truly the same?
dreadhead
Accodrinf to the Technics research published here the type of the cantilever and the whole moving mass is very important.

Technics engineers explained it very well:

"Somewhere in the high frequencies, every cartridge has an undesirable resonance point. Undesirable because there the frequency response curve climbs a sudden peak. If that peak is in the audible range, your records sound not as intended. That resonance frequency is determined by the total effective moving mass of the vibrating system - the summed masses of the diamond stylus and, most importantly, the cantilever and magnet, etc. To shift that harmful resonance frequency up into the high supersonics, the effective moving mass must be reduced to the lowest possible minimum. Also, too much effective moving mass increases the mechanical impedance, thereby negatively affecting the cartridge’s tracing ability."

As you can see on this image they are comparing Hollow Pipe Boron to a pure Diamond rod cantilevers. The high frequency peak is different.

I have a better example of the same technology on high resolution image of my Grace LEVEL II with hollow pipe boron cantilever and MicroRidge stylus.

The difference of this technology is obvious, can you see any glue around the stylus tip on my images ? It’s nothing but a grown crystals of Pure Boron into a pipe configuration. A tip mounting hole made using a laser beam. This is all about low moving mass and superb rigidity.

Unfortunately none of the retipper can offer Hollow Boron Pipe cantilever these days. They can’t mount the stylus using laser drilling techniques, instead they are using a huge amount of glue just like this (on boron rod) or like this (on ruby rod).

When you retipper is not qualified you can get something like this (horrible job, will you accept it even if it's cheap?). In comparison just look at the original from the manufacturer.






Dear chakster, I don't know when my Klyne 7PX 3.5 is produced
(80is?) but there are ''filters'' included for different hf frequency 
resonances. From 20 Khz till 35 Khz. There are also recommendation for about 30 wel known MC carts. The ''system'' is called ''high frequency contour''. So the phenomenon you mentioned was well known back then already.  

Retipping a cartridge is a silly idea. There is much more stuff inside the cartridge that wears out such as the suspension and coil connection wires. The manufacturer will remanufacture the cartridge giving it an entirely new armature/cantilever/ stylus assembly. Oh, what happens to the coil wires is that years of vibration work hardens the metal and eventually they just snap. Always have your valuable cartridges remanufactured by the original company. Always keep an eye on your stylus with a microscope. Do not wait until you hear something. That’s way too late.
Seems to me retipping a cartridge is like changing the oil on your car without changing the filter.  Break it out the wallet & buy a new one. 
Hi Chakster,
What camera were you using when you took those high resolution pictures? I want to invest one to examine some of my cartridges.
Thanks,
Calvin