Entre MC 1 worth retipping?

[cupples]

While digging in a box of cables belonging to a deceased friend, I found an Entre MC 1 cartridge rattling around, sadly with the diamond inexplicably hanging on to the upper aspect of the cantilever, rather than the usual underside, so likely non functional, but otherwise the cantilever seems intact, and the suspension ok. I'm sure a retip would be £300 at least - is it worth it? I'd be running it on a SME 3009 S2 improved with a removable headshell.
Andrew

 

[Fergus]

A very long time ago I was given a used Entre which I sent to the Garrott Brothers in Australia to have retipped with their then new MicroRidge stylus. The cartridge I got back was quite superb and my friend who had given me it, he managed a hifi shop said it was the best cartridge he had heard. What I don't know is about its compatibility with the SME, I used mined on an early Systemdek with one of the original Mission 774 arms. Other than that I think it would be well worth having fettled.

 

[Mark Packer]

The Entre MC1 cartridge is, by all accounts, excellent and well worth retipping. I seem to recall that Wyndham Hodgeson who owns the Expert Stylus company has described it as one of his 'favourite cartridges' in the past.

I've had two cartridges retipped by them, a Koetsu Red and a Dynavector XX Mk1. Both sound superb.

Give ESCo a call ‭01372 276604‬

 

[Martyn Miles]

I bought an Entre 1 in 1979, fitted to a Mission 774 on an LP12.
I owned it for about 35 years, never wishing to change it.
Expert Pickups fitted new styli over the years.
Wyndham Hodgson ( Expert’s Prop. ) told me it was one of his favourite cartridges.

I sold it on to a very happy buyer as I had been given a Denon cartridge which required a
new cantilever and stylus.
Expert rebuilt that.
I still miss the Entre in some respects.
It worked well with my Audiolab amplifier and Spendor BC1s.

 

[Mark Packer]

Martyn,

What range of musical types did you listen to on the ENtre MC1 please? I ask as I've been curious about the Entre MC1 for some time now...

 

[Jag Audio]

The Entre MC-1 cartridge is quite a decent performer and I recall it being very open, musical and I used the Lentek battery powered head amp. I have 2 of these boxed Entre cartridges in my box of goodies and ESCO did mention they liked this model very much, I did get one rebuilt by them a few years ago.

 

[Martyn Miles]

Martyn,

What range of musical types did you listen to on the ENtre MC1 please? I ask as I've been curious about the Entre MC1 for some time now...

I listen to mainly light orchestral music ( Vaughan Williams, etc. ), folk music and ‘60s/‘70s popular music.
Film soundtracks, such as South Pacific, Oklahoma, etc.
With classical music the Entre was superb.

 

[peterm]

I bought an Entre in the late 70s and used it in a Hadcock 228 arm, it was excellent.
I remember it was claimed that Lentek ( the importer at the time ) had arranged "cost effective tip replacement" via Expert Stylus. A couple of reviews rated it highly and remarked on very good channel separation.
A few years ago, prompted by a thread like this one, I idly browsed ebay and found one for sale at a very low price (it was claimed the suspension was sagging with the cartridge body riding very low - it wasn't but the clip on hinged stylus guard had been removed and replaced upside down resulting in little clearance between guard and record). I duly bought it and it appeared to have a recent stylus replacement so I was very happy and it sounded just as good as I remembered.
I don't know how the stylus on yours ended up upside down but ESCO do an inspection service prior to a re-tip and it may not be as expensive as you think , give them a call.

 

[Fergus]

I’ve used this fellow before. His work is very good.

Entre Moving Coil Cartridge Nude Ogura Vital 3/30 Line Contact Retipping Service | eBay

Pricing options vary because of the different boron cantilevers on the market which require different profile diamonds to fit. See photos. This is truly a top of the line cantilever.

www.ebay.com

Groove Tickler: The Needle and the Damage Done

A calling does not always ring clearly through time and space. Many struggle through life trying on jobs or careers which turn out to be a poor fit for their unique dimensions. Joseph Long followed a circuitous employment path before finding himself behind a high-powered microscope intuiting the...

www.resistormag.com

 

[cupples]

That's an interesting article! Makes me want to go and get a microscope and tiny tiny tweezers...

 

[gizza]

I also had an Entre cartridge/Mission 774 on an LP12, which went off to The Garrot Bros. when it needed a retip. It sounded excellent. I wish I'd never sold it, I was persuaded that a Pink Triangle/Helius Orion and Goldring Eroica was the way to go.

 

[sktn77a]

The Entre 1 was an excellent cartridge in its day (40+ years ago). Don't know how it would measure up today. Moreover, it would need to be completely rebuilt (not just retipped) to replace the aged suspension. And the magnet/pole piece characteristics may have changed over time, too........... All-in-all, a risky proposition.

 

[matt j]

I’ve used this fellow before. His work is very good.

Entre Moving Coil Cartridge Nude Ogura Vital 3/30 Line Contact Retipping Service | eBay

Pricing options vary because of the different boron cantilevers on the market which require different profile diamonds to fit. See photos. This is truly a top of the line cantilever.

www.ebay.com

Groove Tickler: The Needle and the Damage Done

A calling does not always ring clearly through time and space. Many struggle through life trying on jobs or careers which turn out to be a poor fit for their unique dimensions. Joseph Long followed a circuitous employment path before finding himself behind a high-powered microscope intuiting the...

www.resistormag.com

His instagram posts are great, some of the repairs are gob smacking. It's amazing how many 30/40 year old carts he gets in that check out all ok and barely need but a tweak rather than an extensive rebuild.

 

[ruckerfoad]

His instagram posts are great, some of the repairs are gob smacking. It's amazing how many 30/40 year old carts he gets in that check out all ok and barely need but a tweak rather than an extensive rebuild.

He pulled off a miracle repair of a crumpled cantilever for one of my Stanton CS-100 cartridges last year, and he even has the correct diamond that's a dead ringer for the original Stereohedron. Rare to find a guy that's wired to do this kind of work. Highly, highly recommended!