koetsu repair

[mmorse]

thru my own stupidity i accidentally ripped the cantilever and stylus out of my koetsu rosewood signature. sending it back to koetsu is cost prohibited for me. anyone know a place i can send it to repair the cartridge? i would prefer some place on the west cost as that is where but it’s not an absolute necessity. please let me know if there is a place/person who can do the repair. thx

 

[Another Johnson]

Take a look at the options in this thread.

The Needle Clinic: Phono Cartridge Repair & Retipping

Just wanted to shout out to Andy Kim, the proprietor of The Needle Clinic here in Bellevue, Washington. I just got back my Benz LPS from a reconditioning and it sounds better than ever. Andy's turnaround time was 3 weeks and the price was extremely reasonable. I've heard nothing but good...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[Mister Pig]

Expert Stylus was the go to service center for distributors when the company was in transition from father to son. They would be my choice.

 

[Cantus]

Expert Stylus was the go to service center for distributors when the company was in transition from father to son. They would be my choice.

If you want to retain the original nature of the Koetsu sound, I would avoid Expert Stylus, although their work is superb, it'll no longer be a Koetsu.

 

[Mister Pig]

If you want to retain the original nature of the Koetsu sound, I would avoid Expert Stylus, although their work is superb, it'll no longer be a Koetsu.

Since Koetsu is not accepting cartridges at this time. Then what would be your choice? And how about expanding on what Expert does that creates that view point?

 

[Solypsa]

As noted above Needle Clinic ( CA ) may be closest to you. Excellent feedback from many forum members although I can't recall any specific Koetsu commentary.

Note: since you 'ripped the cantilever off' the condition of the suspension &/or generator may be impacted. If so it could be a full-on rebuild, wont know till it is inspected. Might be a good idea to be prepared with an idea of what you are willing to spend, and ask whomever you choose to send it to for a preliminary inspection.

 

[Another Johnson]

thru my own stupidity i accidentally ripped the cantilever and stylus out of my koetsu rosewood signature. sending it back to koetsu is cost prohibited for me.

I responded in post #2 above with suggestions, but this response is more opinion and anecdote than solution.

I have sent three cartridges in for cantilever replacement over the years. My personal experience is that they do not sound the same as the original. As was pointed out by someone else in this thread, it will not be a Koetsu Rosewood Signature when it comes back. And if you really “ripped” it off the cartridge, the repaired suspension is unlikely to ride exactly the same as the original.

At this point in my life, I would not choose the repair route. I would try to work a trade, either through Koetsu, or through a dealer who trades generously. Cartridges usually have pretty good margins, so a dealer like HiFiHeaven might be worth a check.

FWIW, these are the three I sent for repairs.

1. Grado Signature. I got this as a freebie from a fellow whose toddler had broken it. He threw it in when I bought the tonearm on which it was still mounted. He was abandoning vinyl because of the toddler. I sent it to Sound-Smith. I sold it with full disclosure after checking it out on its return.

2. VAS (I don’t recall the model). I’d bought it from a famous guy who owned an audiophile company. It arrived skewed off axis as though it had been mounted on a unipivot with no anti skate. (This was in fact the exact case). I sent it to Steve Leung at VAS. He fixed it for free. I sold it on its return.

3. Linn Krystal. I’d bought it at retail from a Linn dealer. It collapsed in the middle of a side while playing a record after less than 200 hours. The Krystal was a new model. Several failed by this method. Linn would not honor the warranty*. My dealer was aware of several customers whose Krystals had failed. Linn wouldn’t budge, and he was not big enough to eat it himself. I sent it to Sound-Smith and sold it with full disclosure on its return.

This problem (the ease with which a cartridge can fail) is a strong reason for not getting into vinyl if you’re new to the high end. I am currently using cartridges with silly msrps, and I am extremely careful with them. No toddlers, guests, or animals allowed near my TTs. No alcohol when doing any work on my TTs. There’s no other component that is as fragile as a cartridge, nor as expensive per pound.

* Linn claimed, without inspecting mine, that the failures were due to the customer using a liquid stylus cleaner, like SPT. They claimed the liquid had wicked up the hollow cantilever and corroded the fixing. The result was a collapse with no obvious event to cause it. Linn had not warned against using any liquids at that time. I had not used liquid cleaners. Didn’t matter to them. They did not want to see it. They showed no “good will”.

Their response to the Krystal failures was to issue a warning to their dealers so that the dealers could warn their customers. This is a factor in why so many people hate Linn. They do their best to avoid their customers. The dealer is the only interface to the installed base.

 

[mtemur]

I responded in post #2 above with suggestions, but this response is more opinion and anecdote than solution.

I have sent three cartridges in for cantilever replacement over the years. My personal experience is that they do not sound the same as the original. As was pointed out by someone else in this thread, it will not be a Koetsu Rosewood Signature when it comes back. And if you really “ripped” it off the cartridge, the repaired suspension is unlikely to ride exactly the same as the original.

At this point in my life, I would not choose the repair route. I would try to work a trade, either through Koetsu, or through a dealer who trades generously. Cartridges usually have pretty good margins, so a dealer like HiFiHeaven might be worth a check.

FWIW, these are the three I sent for repairs.

1. Grado Signature. I got this as a freebie from a fellow whose toddler had broken it. He threw it in when I bought the tonearm on which it was still mounted. He was abandoning vinyl because of the toddler. I sent it to Sound-Smith. I sold it with full disclosure after checking it out on its return.

2. VAS (I don’t recall the model). I’d bought it from a famous guy who owned an audiophile company. It arrived skewed off axis as though it had been mounted on a unipivot with no anti skate. (This was in fact the exact case). I sent it to Steve Leung at VAS. He fixed it for free. I sold it on its return.

3. Linn Krystal. I’d bought it at retail from a Linn dealer. It collapsed in the middle of a side while playing a record after less than 200 hours. The Krystal was a new model. Several failed by this method. Linn would not honor the warranty*. My dealer was aware of several customers whose Krystals had failed. Linn wouldn’t budge, and he was not big enough to eat it himself. I sent it to Sound-Smith and sold it with full disclosure on its return.

This problem (the ease with which a cartridge can fail) is a strong reason for not getting into vinyl if you’re new to the high end. I am currently using cartridges with silly msrps, and I am extremely careful with them. No toddlers, guests, or animals allowed near my TTs. No alcohol when doing any work on my TTs. There’s no other component that is as fragile as a cartridge, nor as expensive per pound.

* Linn claimed, without inspecting mine, that the failures were due to the customer using a liquid stylus cleaner, like SPT. They claimed the liquid had wicked up the hollow cantilever and corroded the fixing. The result was a collapse with no obvious event to cause it. Linn had not warned against using any liquids at that time. I had not used liquid cleaners. Didn’t matter to them. They did not want to see it. They showed no “good will”.

Their response to the Krystal failures was to issue a warning to their dealers so that the dealers could warn their customers. This is a factor in why so many people hate Linn. They do their best to avoid their customers. The dealer is the only interface to the installed base.

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Cantus]

Since Koetsu is not accepting cartridges at this time. Then what would be your choice? And how about expanding on what Expert does that creates that view point?

I can't speak about Expert's current work, but when I used them twenty or more years ago to retip two Koetsus, they completely altered the sound from the originals. Expert mounted their own proprietary tips (Ooh er missus) whose profile is quite different to Koetsu's , so it's not really surprising that they sound significantly different. In a number of ways, many might consider them an improvement and in terms of tracking, perceived detail retrieval and speed, they are, but if you truly love and value that certain je ne sais quoi that makes Koetsus special, then I'd ideally stick to Koetsu (assuming they continue operating in the future) bearing in mind that they've never done just retips, but rather complete refurbishments/rebuilds retaining the original body. Failing that, I would opt for AnaMightySound in Paris who aim to rebuild, using as near as possible original parts and styli and who's work is highly regarded, and who François pays me handsomely every time I mention his company.

​

 

[puroagave]

I can't speak about Expert's current work, but when I used them twenty or more years ago to retip two Koetsus, they completely altered the sound from the originals. Expert mounted their own proprietary tips (Ooh er missus) whose profile is quite different to Koetsu's , so it's not really surprising that they sound significantly different. In a number of ways, many might consider them an improvement and in terms of tracking, perceived detail retrieval and speed, they are, but if you truly love and value that certain je ne sais quoi that makes Koetsus special, then I'd ideally stick to Koetsu (assuming they continue operating in the future) bearing in mind that they've never done just retips, but rather complete refurbishments/rebuilds retaining the original body. Failing that, I would opt for AnaMightySound in Paris who aim to rebuild, using as near as possible original parts and styli and who's work is highly regarded, and who François pays me handsomely every time I mention his company.

​

You're talking about Wyndham Hodgson? he uses his own Paratrace stylus which I beleive AJ Van Den Hul created for him. WH rebuilt two Troikas for me (Supex) with the Paratrace stylus and they sounded at least as good if not better than before.

As for Koetus, Andy Kim repaired a Koetsu Rosewood Standard for me. The cantiliver was sheared off and he used a ferrule to attach a new boron cantilever/mirco ridge styli. It turned out great and sounded fantastic.

 

[Mister Pig]

I can't speak about Expert's current work, but when I used them twenty or more years ago to retip two Koetsus, they completely altered the sound from the originals. Expert mounted their own proprietary tips (Ooh er missus) whose profile is quite different to Koetsu's , so it's not really surprising that they sound significantly different. In a number of ways, many might consider them an improvement and in terms of tracking, perceived detail retrieval and speed, they are, but if you truly love and value that certain je ne sais quoi that makes Koetsus special, then I'd ideally stick to Koetsu (assuming they continue operating in the future) bearing in mind that they've never done just retips, but rather complete refurbishments/rebuilds retaining the original body. Failing that, I would opt for AnaMightySound in Paris who aim to rebuild, using as near as possible original parts and styli and who's work is highly regarded, and who François pays me handsomely every time I mention his company.

​

Thank you for elaborating. AnaMightySound was another to consider, but never dealt with them. Apparently there are a couple of other Italian shops that are well thought of.

My experience with Expert on an Ortofon MC2000, Ortofon A90, and an Accuphase AC2 was quite positive.

 

[audioblazer]

Check this Vietnamese repairer. He seems good & v reasonably price . Search him out in FB & Pm him

 

[Dogberry]

I think the OP has found a way ahead: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/help-with-some-309-headshell.38121/post-939190