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

[BruceBW]

this is the cantilever from a ZYX Optimum. Before on top, after (as it is now) in the green color picture. I pushed it back (picture with orange background) and thinking a dab of adhesive on the top will fix it, but don't want to ruin a $10K cartridge

. Initial indication from the distributor is that ZYX in Japan will require me to pay to have it "retipped", which in the ZYX world means you buy a new cartridge at a discount. It only has a few hundred hours on it so do not want to pay for another $10K cartridge even at a discount.

ideas?

 

[djsina2]

this is the cantilever from a ZYX Optimum. Before on top, after (as it is now) in the color picture. It appears the adhesive has failed as the diamond is pushed up into the cantilever. Initial indication from the distributor is that ZYX in Japan will require me to pay to have it "retipped", which in the ZYX world means you buy a new cartridge at a discount. It only has a few hundred hours on it so do not want to pay for another $10K cartridge even at a discount. Seems to me it could be pushed down and re-glued but I wouldn't know what glue to use and not sure I have the dexterity to pull it off.

ideas?



View attachment 85350

View attachment 85348

$10k cartridge and they won’t stand by it? Ridiculous.

 

[BruceBW]

$10k cartridge and they won’t stand by it? Ridiculous.

that is yet to be determined so don't want to cast stones just yet. But the distributor told me that in similar situations that was their position. I'm thinking if it is just a matter of applying some adhesive then I can get it done on this side of the Pacific and save shipping and insurance on sending a $10K cartridge forth and back from Japan.

 

[Solypsa]

If the shaft the stylus fits in is tight and not deformed you will hopefully retain the same zenith and azimuth alignments however it seems likely that the SRA could alter slightly if the stylus is even a little off the previous position on its shank length. iow cart might require a new sra adjustment. The glue may add minor additional mass to the stylus assembly too but maybe not as there was likely some glue before.

I applaud the diy and self-reliance spirit. I am similar in inclination. If it were me I would send it in for a factory repair, for one thing thinking of resale value for another the principle that it shouldn't fail like that.

After the repair it could be interesting to send to Wally to document the angles but that costs more than the shipping to repair. ( to reference the AM thread...)

Great photos btw...

 

[Solypsa]

A quick inquiry to a few good cart repair people will tell you if someone that works on carts everyday would make the glue repair or want to replace the whole assembly ( and if they can access the carbon assembly ). Their take on it might inform your next step.

( And I would not want to pay for a trade-in in this instance either )

 

[microstrip]

What are the trade-in re-tipping financial terms of the manufacturer? It is hard to have an opinion without facts.

Unfortunately most of the time it is a nebulous subject - IMHO manufacturers should have an easy accessible public re-tipping price. It is not possible to debate a cartridge value without price and re-tipping information, as the terms are extremely variable from one manufacturer to the other.

 

[BruceBW]

update... I am waiting for a response from both Soundsmith and ZYX. If anybody has a good repair service I would be interested in a recommendation as Soundsmith seems to be in a bit of a COVID disarray at the moment. So to respond to a few replies.

I am not overly concerned about slight changes to SRA and Zenith as I can compensate with an AnalogMagik alignment.

Sending it to the manufacturer to be repaired may not be an option. If ZYX declares that it can't be repaired then replacement is the only option from them. I am waiting to see if they will make a determination based on the photos. If they insist I send it to them for evaluation which is likely, then I am out several hundred $$ in insured shipping for a round trip if they declare it unrepairable and I choose not to buy a new one. I will not buy a new one.

The distributor says it will be "discounted" to about $7K to replace it

Perhaps I got a bit ahead of myself and would have been better to post after I had more info, but I was in shock after seeing my $10K cartridge in this condition. Thanks for the support

 

[andromedaaudio]

Glue .
Seems like minor damage if this is the only damage off course , did it just fall out or did you damage it / drop it .
Its a bit strange for a new cart that the diamond needle just fell out ?
What about guarantee from the manufacturer ??

A repair is preferably done by a cart specialist with a microscope off course ,so he can check for other damage as well / clean the cart
I suggest you could even contact A J vd Hul in the netherlands.
As far as i know he repairs all brands he also repaired my koetsu for a fair price

 

[BruceBW]

did it just fall out or did you damage it / drop it .

it never came out, just pushed up as in the middle picture. I was going through an alignment, raising/lowering it onto the record and all of the sudden after I lowered it the arm just skated across the record. When I looked with my USB microscope the reason was obvious, the stylus was no longer getting into the groove. If I don't get a good answer once I hear back from ZYX I will take your suggestion and contact Van den Hul... thanks for the suggestion

 

[andromedaaudio]

it never came out, just pushed up as in the middle picture. I was going through an alignment, raising/lowering it onto the record and all of the sudden after I lowered it the arm just skated across the record. When I looked with my USB microscope the reason was obvious, the stylus was no longer getting into the groove. If I don't get a good answer once I hear back from ZYX I will take your suggestion and contact Van den Hul... thanks for the suggestion

Then it looks like it wasnt properly glued in the first place .
In that case it would be a guarantee / after sales problem for the dealer / importer .
(If you bought it new )
Looks to me a fairly easy repair anyway .

 

[andromedaaudio]

I will take your suggestion and contact Van den Hul... thanks for the suggestion

He will probably ask you what you want .
To either glue the ZYX needle in or replace the needle with a vh hul tip
He likes his own tips

 

[Scott Naylor]

Not to sound like the Grand Inquisitor or blame the victim, but just wondering what your stylus cleaning regimen is? I believe ZYX specifies deionized water only for cleaning with their UP-1 Lambda Stylus Polisher. Perhaps the adhesive they use doesn’t hold up long term to liquid cleaners containing non-H2O ingredients? Regardless, I wish you all the best in resolving your problem! Keep us posted? Best regards

 

[BruceBW]

just wondering what your stylus cleaning regimen is?

excellent question.. I have never used any liquids, only the ZYX battery powered stylus brush you mentioned and that sparingly

BTW I use a timer and the cartridge has a little over 200 hours on it.

 

[scot]

Brucebw

I’m very sorry to hear that. How old is that cartridge? I would DEFINITELY not try to “fix” it yourself. You could make things worse. The second you try to do anything, you lose all hope of having the manufacturer fix it. I would send an email or call Peter Lederman at Soundsmith, he has a great reputation for repairing and rebuilding or retipping many different cartridges. He supposedly does great work.

If that cartridge is only a few months old, and ZYX won’t stand behind it, that is totally unacceptable. Was it bought brand new from an authorized dealer? If so, I would have the dealer contact the distributor and see if that gets you anywhere.

Just keep in mind, Van Den Hul takes FOREVER to get it back. A friend of mine sent him a cartridge to be retapped and it took him 8 months to get it back! 8 months.

You may also see if JR Boisclair can help. JR is one of the head honcho’s at Wally Analog. wallyanalog.com. I wish you the best of luck in getting it fixed. Take care.

Best regards
Scot

 

[BruceBW]

thanks for all of the advice and suggestions. After my initial conversations with the distributor it appeared they were not going to take care of it. Now, all indications are that they will. ZYZ has indicated they will be able to repair it. Not definite until they get it back but looking good.

In hindsight I probably should have been more patient, but when I thought I might have to eat $7K to have things back to normal I freaked out a bit. I'll post the final result but for now I am assuming that ZYX is going to take care of me

thanks again

 

[mtemur]

first of all sending it back to ZYX should not be considered like sending it to where it was manufactured. most cartridge manufacturers buying cantilevers fitted with styluses directly from one of 3 companies. in ZYX's case it's Namiki I believe. so ZYX is going to fix it their own way far from original factory's cause normally they're not fixing styluses to cantilevers. it's not their profession. on the other hand if you ask Namiki I don't think they will offer a repair service.
I would try to fix it myself it doesn't look hard but I'm quite handy with this kind of work. if you're not try to find a good local repair service maybe a watch repair service can help. best option may be Wally Analog or Soundsmith as mentioned by other members. in worst case you will need it to be retipped. just consider that even if you made it fixed by ZYX with a glue the result may not be satisfactory due to reasons I mentioned above and you may still end up retipping. high priced cartridge does not mean high build quality and ZYX is no exception. usually a good or exotic case.

 

[jfrech]

thanks for all of the advice and suggestions. After my initial conversations with the distributor it appeared they were not going to take care of it. Now, all indications are that they will. ZYZ has indicated they will be able to repair it. Not definite until they get it back but looking good.

In hindsight I probably should have been more patient, but when I thought I might have to eat $7K to have things back to normal I freaked out a bit. I'll post the final result but for now I am assuming that ZYX is going to take care of me

thanks again

I read all the threads. This is absolutely a warranty type of situation. In all of my years I've never seen the pics that you posted. Best of luck, if they do not warranty it 100%, I would not buy another from them.

Their answer should have also been different. Ship it to an authorized person to inspect, like the distributor. Then say yes or no. I'd in no way repair it anywhere else, if any parameter of different it'll effect set up and sound.

 

[bonzo75]

I read all the threads. This is absolutely a warranty type of situation. In all of my years I've never seen the pics that you posted. Best of luck, if they do not warranty it 100%, I would not buy another from them.

Their answer should have also been different. Ship it to an authorized person to inspect, like the distributor. Then say yes or no. I'd in no way repair it anywhere else, if any parameter of different it'll effect set up and sound.

Tang also had awful experience with Zyx carts breaking all the time. Audiogon is full of problems. Build is one thing, but this sounds like poor service as well.

 

[Audire]

I’m so sorry this happened. From what I’m reading here - esp with what bonzo75 stated - I’d be looking at getting another brand of cart.

 

[microstrip]

thanks for all of the advice and suggestions. After my initial conversations with the distributor it appeared they were not going to take care of it. Now, all indications are that they will. ZYZ has indicated they will be able to repair it. Not definite until they get it back but looking good.

In hindsight I probably should have been more patient, but when I thought I might have to eat $7K to have things back to normal I freaked out a bit. I'll post the final result but for now I am assuming that ZYX is going to take care of me

thanks again

Nice to read the good news. Just one question - 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.