Does Ortofon still rebuild the A90 ?

rockitman · Sep 21, 2011

I haven't been able to get a straight answer. I currently have a rather new one, but seek a second that will perhaps be longer in the tooth. Therefore my decision to buy a second, well used one is contingent on the fact if ortofon still rebuilds this wonderful cart. This is what I found on the Ortofon site. It doesn't exactly say they will rebuild the cart after it's worn out.

From the Ortofon site:

Repair service Exclusive series
Ortofon MC Windfeld, A90 and Xpression are the exclusive cartridges of very high quality. To support our customers, who have accidentally damaged their cartridges, Ortofon provides a special repair service. Should you have need this service, please contact your local Ortofon Partner.

http://www.ortofon.com/support/service-and-warranty

rockitman · Sep 21, 2011

To help get to the bottom of this, I sent a note to ortofon support in Denmark.

Hello,

I am inquiring to see if you guys will still service the out of production Ortofon A90 phono cartridge. It is in my opinion the best phono cart ever made. Will you folks still service this cartridge when it wears out ? What I mean is, will you do a complete rebuild for worn out A90's ? I look forward to you response. Thank you.

Chris Moynihan

owner A90 serial # 186

ack · Sep 21, 2011

The Ortofon USA importer has repeatedly and unequivocally said Yes, on agon, for those three cartridges.

rockitman · Sep 21, 2011

ack said:
The Ortofon USA importer has repeatedly and unequivocally said Yes, on agon, for those three cartridges.

That is encouraging. To hear it from Ortofon headquarters in Denmark would even be better. I will certainly share their response if or when I get one.

rockitman · Sep 22, 2011

So I just heard back from Ortofon (Denmark). Sounds like complete rebuilds are out of the question. I don't think the US Distributor knows what he/she is talking about unfortunately:

Hello Chris

Happy to hear you are not being disappointed with A90, thank you.

We offer repair of exclusive cartridges, incl. A90 http://www.ortofon.com/support/service-and-warranty :
Repair service Exclusive series
Ortofon MC Windfeld, A90 and Xpression are the exclusive cartridges of very high quality. To support our customers, who have accidentally damaged their cartridges, Ortofon provides a special repair service. Should you have need this service, please contact your local Ortofon Partner (which is Ortofon.us http://www.ortofon.com/comprofiler/userprofile/1109)

Should the cartridge be worn, that we will be pleased to offer Exchange Service:
Exchange service MC cartridges
Ortofon Moving Coil (MC) cartridges are handmade, extremely complex and cannot be repaired. Therefore Ortofon has an "Exchange service". For customers who has a MC cartridge with normal worn out diamond and no misuse or damages, we offer the customer to buy back his cartridge for 25% of the current price list provided that the customer buys a new Ortofon cartridge, either equivalent, compatible or better model.
Exchange Service cartridges must be returned to an authorized Ortofon Partner pursuant to the purchase of a new cartridge. If you should have the need for this service (also mentioned in our users manuals), please contact your local Ortofon Partner.

I doubt complete rebuilt option: A90 was a limited edition, discontinued for soon a year ago, thus spares for complete rebuilt not available. We used to say stylus life time is in the range 600-1000 hours without degradation of performance, thus (hypothetically) complete rebuilt could be an issue after a number of years. In the meanwhile we would continue working on new models, using new materials, new technologies to improve performance and acoustics, thus new exciting (from the engineering and acoustical point of view) cartridges would be available.

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Ortofon US http://www.ortofon.us/contact

Best regards
Katarina H. Nielsen
Ortofon A/S

Steve Williams · Sep 22, 2011

Wow

that cartridge is good only for 600-1000 hours. What happens when it degrades? Is it then obsolete

rockitman · Sep 22, 2011

Steve Williams said:
Wow

that cartridge is good only for 600-1000 hours. What happens when it degrades? Is it then obsolete

I'm thinking with proper regular cleaning, both cart and LP, 1000 hrs will be the turning point when the stylus should be replaced. That's like around 3000 record sides played calculated with an average time of 20 minutes per side. I am kind of bummed out about the rebuild thing. Maybe they can do the stylus/cantilever only and the suspension would still be good after 1000 hours ??? I just don't know. I'm not sure there is another cart out there that will make me as happy as this one. I may need to travel to Denmark and start a protest vigil outside of headquarters demanding an A90 re-issue.

PS: A bad/worn stylus damages LP's.

Steve Williams · Sep 22, 2011

so the bottom line is this wonderful cartridge becomes a dust collector after 1000 hours

rockitman · Sep 22, 2011

Steve Williams said:
so the bottom line is this wonderful cartridge becomes a dust collector after 1000 hours

w/o a retip, that is quite possible unfortunately. Analog care & feeding can be quite costly...:frown:

DaveyF · Sep 22, 2011

Steve Williams said:
so the bottom line is this wonderful cartridge becomes a dust collector after 1000 hours

Seems that is the case Steve

What surprises me in the reply from Ortofon is the comment that since the A-90 and other Ortofon's are so complicated that they cannot be re-built

I know that Benz, Koetsu and other "complex" cartridges are re-built every day....in fact, the rebuilt aspect is a good moneymaker for these companies. Hard to believe that a Benz or Koetsu or Dynavector is a less complex cartridge, build wise, than the A-90

Personally, if I knew that an expensive cartridge could not be re-built and only had a 1000 hour life, that would be an immediate disqualify for me....regardless of the sound

rockitman · Sep 22, 2011

I have since replied back to Ortofon (Denmark) to ask if they will do a simple stylus re-tip rather than a complete rebuild of the stylus, cantilever, suspension, ect. I will share the response....

JackD201 · Sep 23, 2011

I guess I'll be using my A90 more sparingly then. As excellent a cart as it is, it's not like it blows everything else out of the water anyhow.

naturephoto1 · Sep 23, 2011

I am wondering if Peter Ledermann and Soundsmith may be able to offer some service on the cartridge and re-vitalize it if need be. I would suspect that at least he/they should be able to work on the re-tip and cantilever and possibly also part of the internal portions of the cartridge.

Rich

rockitman · Sep 27, 2011

Latest update from Ortofon Demark.

My question:Thank you for getting back to me Katarina. I know I asked about a complete re-build and that would be out of the question. Can the A90 have the stylus re-tipped by you ?

response:

Hello Christian, yes, A90 stylus can be replaced if and when worn out as a part of Repair Service Exclusive Series.
Best regards
Katarina H. Nielsen
Ortofon A/S

Great news. Now I don't feel compelled to buy a second one.

ack · Sep 27, 2011

This is what the US importer has always said

XV-1 · Oct 20, 2011

Steve Williams said:
Wow

that cartridge is good only for 600-1000 hours. What happens when it degrades? Is it then obsolete

I can confirm that this is indeed correct. I have done around 1200 hours on my A90 and it sounds tired. Lasted me less than two years. that sucks.

I own the dynavector XV-1 and I have had two last me 11 years. Dynavector have rebuilt my XV-1 each time. Each have given me at over 3500 hours of playtime. My current XV-1 with 3500 hours is performing better than my A90 after 1200 hours.

I assume that is due to the extreme stylus angle of the replicant 100 stylus.

I have decided to get a XV-1s now.

MylesBAstor · Oct 20, 2011

turntable said:
I can confirm that this is indeed correct. I have done around 1200 hours on my A90 and it sounds tired. Lasted me less than two years. that sucks.

I own the dynavector XV-1 and I have had two last me 11 years. Dynavector have rebuilt my XV-1 each time. Each have given me at over 3500 hours of playtime. My current XV-1 with 3500 hours is performing better than my A90 after 1200 hours.

I assume that is due to the extreme stylus angle of the replicant 100 stylus.

I have decided to get a XV-1s now.

Have you tried fluxbusting the cartridge?

rockitman · Oct 20, 2011

turntable said:
I can confirm that this is indeed correct. I have done around 1200 hours on my A90 and it sounds tired. Lasted me less than two years. that sucks.

I own the dynavector XV-1 and I have had two last me 11 years. Dynavector have rebuilt my XV-1 each time. Each have given me at over 3500 hours of playtime. My current XV-1 with 3500 hours is performing better than my A90 after 1200 hours.

I assume that is due to the extreme stylus angle of the replicant 100 stylus.
I have decided to get a XV-1s now.

do you think it's the stylus or suspension that is getting tired ?

ack · Oct 20, 2011

It may be worth re-aligning the cartridge

JackD201 · Oct 20, 2011

rockitman said:
do you think it's the stylus or suspension that is getting tired ?

It's certainly possible. Come to think of it, I usually run my carts at the lower range of recommended VTF as compared to the middle of it after a year or so and adjust all other parameters accordingly. The styli being very hard, I doubt is the cause of the "tired" sound.

Does Ortofon still rebuild the A90 ?

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