Sumiko Blackbird Soundsmith Rebuild Level?

Try contacting Andy at www.phonocartridgeretipping.com.

He may be able to help you. I have used his services before, not for your specific problem though, and been very happy with his work and the pricing.

I had a Blackbird rebuilt with the SS.
With the level 3, I found the cart nicer than it already is.

In my system,(tubed) the 'bird had a very detailed upper which at times, approached too much.

With the rebuild, seemed a tad smoother in a good way. Overall, worth the price and turn around was just over a month.

6 months later was a different story

Unfortunately, disaster struck again and I'm now considering a LO MC or a SS cart.

We can install Boron with ultra-low mass nude Contact Line. That should provide near undiscernable performance from the original, except with better inner groove performance. Althought it is not on our website, we do stock a large numebr of varied cantilever materials and nude styli.

Peter Ledermann/Soundsmith

That is good to know Peter!

Hello Peter, and thanks for your response.

I just received the SAE1000E that you did the level 2 rebuild upon. It sounds very, very nicely and I'm wondering if I should consider the level 3 with the Blackbird since it is a higher quality cartridge, from the accounts I've seen?

I did not know that you can do the boron cants. That might also seem to be a good option with the contact line stylus. I'll send you a message on your site to get the details....

Thanks to the others for providing insight, and regrets to Tablejockey....ouch! Or rather, I know just how that feels!