hi joel,
no website for Alan Stretton but I could pass on an email address with his permission. Alan is a retired engineer and 'horn' builder with a passion for 401's and extremely knowledgable, favours the 'high mass' principle.
he built my 7 layer mdf plinth finished in piano black back in 96' and fitted the 401 I had then into it. Early 2003 I replaced the sme 3009 with an Origin Live Silver 250 and upgraded the cartridge (previously Sumiko Blue Point) to AT OC9 which was nice but only lasted a few weeks before I wrecked it whilst dusting the plinth.
The improvement I had got from fitting the OL silver and OC9 was majorly encouraging, giving me more detail and depth as well as really consolidating the bass response that the 401 is well known for.
Trouble is the whole thing sat on the rack idle for a few months as I did'nt trust myself with a new cartridge and could'nt get into the whole effort of sorting it out.
Eventually, around October 03 I came into possession of a Kontrapunkt B cartridge and that spurred me on to deal with the 50 lbs of vinyl spinner sat cart less on my rack.
I have since passed that particular 401 mechanism/platter onto a pfm forum member and replaced it with a more pristine 401 into the same plinth.
at the same time in November 03 Alan replaced the OC9 with the Kontrapunkt 'B' and serviced/set up the whole 401/OL 250/Kontra B setup.
The results, need I say? were absolutely stunning!
I love the solidity of the 401 in its black plinth anyway and now there was a sound to match - bass full and tight, sweet treble, all the highs, lows and speed of a performance you could wish for.
The 'B' seems to do it all, detail, depth, space, speed etc.
Alan himself was shocked at the performance of the Kontra 'B' and immediately expressed an interest in one for himself, saying it was the best cartridge he'd heard, which coming from him, I felt was saying something.
He would have gladly paid the full retail of 700 in the UK but thanks to a link on here about the same time I was able to get him one from HK for about 380 including p & p. Ordered from HK on the Sunday, it was on his 401/rb300/his plinth by Friday.
The last time I spoke to him a few months ago he did have a 'spare' plinth. They are basically solid with a cut out for the 401 mechanism, he supplied me with two armboards which can be mounted with allen screws.
I reckon you could probably get this 'spare' (if he still has it) for 250 or less including shipping assuming that shipping to Japan may account for up to 150 pounds of the total.
email if you would like some photos of mine at different angles and also let me know if you'd like me to approach AS.
Steve