Rebuild A90 or new Per Windfeld Ti?

Hi Folks,

I posted this question on Audiogon to no response. Hopefully, users here will have more experience to share. My venerable A90 went tits up, or rather, diamond down: the stylus was pulled off by blue tack during cleaning (a practice recommended by Peter Ledermann). So I’m debating whether to have Ortofon rebuild it (again) or trade it in for a new Per Windfeld Ti. The cost difference to me would be $750 more for the Windfeld. Has anyone compared the two? Thoughts on the Windfeld Ti would also be appreciated.

Thanks, Bill

Thanks for the responses, guys. Actually, I had this A90 retipped by Peter a year ago and he did fine job, attaching a new Replicant 100 stylus to the old cantilever at a cost of $450, IIRC. Before that, some four years ago, I had Ortofon do their full rebuild on it (yes, I listen to a lot of records). Sonically, I cannot say with any conviction which was the better outcome. So Soundsmith is a good option, yes, but at this point, if I'm going to keep listening to this A90, I think I'd have Ortofon do their number again. For all practical purposes, they give you back a new cartridge in the old housing, with a new serial number and everything.

The bigger question for me is whether I might prefer the Per Windfeld Ti. On paper, it looks essentially like an A95 in its internals and components, housed in a different body. Everyone I know who has spent time with both the A90 and A95 prefers the latter. But there's not much info out there on how the Windfeld Ti sounds.

I hasten to add that I don't think Peter's work or advice were at fault. He recommended dropping the needle gently on flattened Blue Tack, spread on a business card or something, before each play. That's pretty safe as long as you're not impatient. I moved the card slightly with the needle embedded and that did the deed. My fault, really.

I was not aware of Fremer's review, so thanks for the tip. I must say, it seems like my kind of cartridge.

Thanks!