diamond has come loose in my cantilever, ideas to repair ??

Tango

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Mar 12, 2017
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When something goes wrong with expensive cartridge, it is pretty much about trust whether the manufacturer will take good care of the matter. The fact is Who know's if you fu*k up the cart yourself or not. I had four incidents with ZYX. One was my secretary's fault. The other three had nothing to do with how I handled the cartridges. I bought all ZYXs from ddk. He trusted me when I said I din't fu*k up the cart three times. And the US distributor trusted him. So things were taken care of without problem. New cart was sent to me before I even sent back the problem one. Same as buying anything else that is expensive, where you buy it from matters.

About Vdh. My experience with vdh involved a turn around time of about 45 days. I live in Thailand. I am happy with their service. But I don't know if it would take longer for service that is not on their own carts.
 
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scot

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Jan 4, 2018
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Hi everyone

I think we can all learn a very valuable lesson here. This is a perfect example of why a reputable trustworthy dealer is so important. I know a lot of people who, for what ever reason, buy off the internet quite often. I realize that good brick & mortar high end audio stores are getting harder to find. If there is a good one in your area, we should all try to support them if possible.
I
When I’m looking at a new piece of audio to buy, I don’t just look at the product alone. I look at the company to see if they’ve been around for a reasonable number of years. Do they have a reputation of standing behind their product? Do they have a reputation for good customer service? Do they service what they build and do you get it back in a reasonable amount of time? Customer service. I think that customer service is very important. Good customer service seems to be somewhat of a lost art nowadays. The inability to talk to an actual person when you call with a question or a problem is becoming the norm lately. We live in a world of emails and texts. Even then, I’ve waited days for a reply.

If you are lucky enough to have a good dealer in your area, one you can rely on if there is a problem, one who can provide guidance and has the experience to make sure to sell you the right product, not just something they’ve had sitting in the back room that they want to get rid of, is worth it’s weight in gold! I try to support them whenever possible. Not to mention the ability and importance of getting a proper demo. These qualities I find invaluable. Support your local hifi shop! Take care.

Best regards
Scot
 
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djsina2

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May 30, 2019
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I think we can all learn a very valuable lesson here. This is a perfect example of why a reputable trustworthy dealer is so important.
Better yet, buy direct from a reputable manufacturer and bypass the mostly useless two layers of distributor and dealer. I damaged my Audio Tekne cartridge somehow, my fault. I sent it to them and in a few days it’s fixed at no charge.
 
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BruceBW

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I think we can all learn a very valuable lesson here. This is a perfect example of why a reputable trustworthy dealer is so important. I know a lot of people who, for what ever reason, buy off the internet quite often. I
The over arching "Whatever reason" is we save a tremendous amount of money by buying used over new. In an ideal world I agree with you but

1. there isn't a dealer within 150 miles of my home, for many of us there is no "local hifi shop"
2. the ones that are usually don't have the brands I want, and if they do they don't stock the model that I want so no way to demo
3. for non mechanical electronic devices (amps, DACs, cables, etc.) I can't justify buying new from a dealer when I can save 30-50% by buying used on the web
4. for mechanical devices like cartridges even fewer of us have a local dealer that carries what we want
5. in this case (ZYX) there are no dealers in North America, the only one way to buy is from the distributor. His position is that no matter what he thinks, all warranty is up to ZYX, , if ZYX declares it is not a warranty then his hands are tied

while I agree in principle, your idea is a bit Pollyanna in today's environment

do you use any kind of liquid to clean the stylus?
One possible reason for the damage seen in the photo is that the glue that fixes the stylus to the cantilever was solved

no liquids were ever used
 
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Thaluza

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Jul 21, 2021
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Below is a photo of my ZYX 4D. It had around 400 hours on it. It was possible that I caused the damage, but upon reading the OP's post, I am now now having doubts that it was all my fault. I had "bounced" the cartridge on accident, it wasn't really that rough of a bounce, but perhaps a better glue job would have prevented the damage. I sent it to ZYX and they said the stylus was damaged. I took them for their word and bought a replacement 4D Ultimate at a discount. Nice sound, but I would be hesitant about moving higher up the line of ZYX cartridges.

Zyx 4d stylus pushed up?.png
 

Kingrex

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Feb 3, 2019
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I have to ask, what microscopes are you all using to get such great images. And will the scope take a shot of the needle on the edge of the vinyl with high resolution.
Thanks
And bummer on the poor gluing by ZYX.
 

BruceBW

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Nov 9, 2021
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Dino-Lite USB Digital Microscope AM3113 - 0.3MP, 10x - 50x, 230x Optical Magnification, Measurement​


I got mine from Amazon. There are various models available

Fremer has a lengthy article about using it to set the SRA to 92 degrees. I've come to the conclusion that there are so many variables including the inherent difficulty in even getting a measurement, and the fact it is a static rather than dynamic test, that it is ballpark at best. Better than nothing but now that I have used Analog Magik I'll not use the microscope for setting SRA again. Cool toy though.

 

Thaluza

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Jul 21, 2021
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I also use a Dino-Lite.
 

squasher

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Apr 7, 2016
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I don't have much to add other than the exact same thing happened to my Zyx Universe many years ago.

My first Universe had its cantilever snapped off when it went skidding across the record surface by my inadvertent ham-handed-ness.

I then bought a new Zyx Universe (at a distributor-provided discount) but somehow the stylus became damaged in the same manner as the OP ("pushed up" into the cantilever). I have no recollection of any jarring accident that would have caused the stylus to get loosened in its mount.

Rather than buying a third Universe, I had the broken stylus/cantilever re-worked by Soundsmith.
 

Frank is here

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Nov 13, 2013
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Hi....glad your XYZ is back and assume sounding great, also appreciate your photography...
Some questions please:
Did ZYX cover the repair.....[my question is not an argument for or against ZYX]
Did you get a full rebuild which is the usual for ZYX......

I have a cart headed to them for a rebuild....[not a warranty issue].....
 

BruceBW

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I sent it to the distributor (Mehran at Sorasound) who sent it on to ZYX. I was told I was lucky that that the stylus was still there or it could not have been repaired. In this case the stylus was reattached to the cantilever and they stood behind it. I was told it is unusual for them to do this especially since mine was a little beyond warranty. Out of warranty or if ZYX determines a cartridge has been mishandled a replacement at the owner's expense is usually the only option . Mehran told me it is completely up to ZYX how they will handle it.

It is also my understanding that ZYX does not rebuild or retip cartridges, There is no such thing as a "full rebuild." If your cartridge is worn out or damage he will sell you a new one at a discount from MSRP.

I don't represent ZYX so this is only my understanding of their policies. You should verify any of this with Mehran if interested.
 

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