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Where to get a cartridge checked professionally?

slim

slim

pfm Member
Hello,

I have a Lyra Helikon cartridge that I would like to get checked. It sound beautifully but on some record the sound is affected by sibilance, and I am not sure what the cause is (phono stage? turntable settings? cartridge?).

So to make sure I would like a professional to assess whether the cartridge is operating optimally, or if some parts are not. Could you please point me to a trustworthy shop? I had a Ortofon rebuilt and despite the hefty price I paid the job consisted of a attaching a new cantilever to was was left of the original one with glue (and guess what? It didn't last...). So I am a bit cautious these days...
 
Return to Lyra japan for a check up
Ortofon denmark you get a complete new cartridge back after a re-build
 
vacuum_tubes said:
ESCO will do a status report for £25 but personally I wouldn't use them to do any work these days
Click to expand...
Care to elaborate? I know their prices have gone up.

John Nilson of Audio Origami fame (J7 Rewires) can check out a stylus for you. No idea what he charges for it.
 
Expert Stylus Company may help. I use them to check my old Shure V15s on occasion. They are happy to report "no work needed" if that's the case, so no worry about a ripoff.
 
Try reducing the BIAS (Anti-skate) on your tonearm, my LYRA carts didn't need much BIAS and could lean towards sibilance if this was set set too high.

Try half your tracking weight/force (TW) for your BIAS and see if sibilance reduces. So if your TW is 2g try BIAS at 1g and you can increase this slighty but I would avoid going over 2/3 (two thirds) TW as the BIAS will /can be too agressive.
 
Wise words, Ben & Ted. I had Helikon and Clavis D.C. many moons ago and sibilance can occur, but it's likely to be wrong biasing (too much, prob.). Of course it could be alignment geometry (overhang etc.?) and again, you may have the arm up at the back rather than parallel; that accentuates higher frequencies.

Depending on your arm, (9"?) track VTF at around the 1.75g mark and bias should be no more than, say, 1.2g max.. Less is better than more. Depending upon how many hours it's done, you may find the canti. is marginally skewed; that IS a sign of inaccurate antiskate.

Oh yes, there's Goldring in London; they have a very good rep. but don't cover that many models; however, for inspection only......?
 
Never used this service, but Peak Hi Fi offers stylis and cartridge inspection:

www.peakhifi.co.uk

Stylus and Cartridge Inspection

STYLUS AND CARTRIDGE INSPECTIONPeak HiFi offer a comprehensive and professional stylus inspection service.Nowadays few companies can offer such a service and unfortunately there are still some professionals that believe it is possible to see stylus wear under a hand held 10x magnifier its not...
www.peakhifi.co.uk www.peakhifi.co.uk
 
peachathome said:
Never used this service, but Peak Hi Fi offers styli and cartridge inspection:
Click to expand...
That's useful; they're in Sheffield and £35 is a reasonable standard price, though others will refurbish if required (and ESCo used to deduct the inspection charge if they went ahead with repairs).

OP, if you have an idea of mileage of your Helikon (which must be getting on a bit by now), you know at which stage of its life it's at, so simply having an inspection may not be v.f.m.
 
vacuum_tubes said:
ESCO will do a status report for £25 but personally I wouldn't use them to do any work these days

Northwest analogue can also check it over.
Click to expand...

I'd like to know your reasoning/experience as well please? I've used ESCO a lot over the years, they used to have a problem with time frames, and often communications, but thats all been resolved in the last few years and my experience has been positive. But, you have to like what their Paratrace does as thats usually the only option.
I do like it, and its made a great improvement to some of my carts, C4e Decca and Zu103 with a sapphire cantilever for instance.
 
I've heard that but haven't noticed them to be worse than other similar profiles and considerably better than some others I've had renewed in Germany. They're also not expensive in the first place. I think JW reckoned around 1000 hrs on the London Reference.
 
Mike Reed said:
There was some concern expressed many moons ago about the longevity of their Paratrace styli.
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I'm currently waiting for ESCO to retip one of my cartridges. Prior to giving him the go-ahead, I asked this very question of Wyndham Hodgson and was told to expect 750 hours on the Paratrace stylus before I should send it back to be checked.
 
Ben&Ted said:
Try reducing the BIAS (Anti-skate) on your tonearm, my LYRA carts didn't need much BIAS and could lean towards sibilance if this was set set too high.

Try half your tracking weight/force (TW) for your BIAS and see if sibilance reduces. So if your TW is 2g try BIAS at 1g and you can increase this slighty but I would avoid going over 2/3 (two thirds) TW as the BIAS will /can be too agressive.
Click to expand...
I'll definitely try, I am at 2g/2g for now, thanks!
 
Mike Reed said:
That's useful; they're in Sheffield and £35 is a reasonable standard price, though others will refurbish if required (and ESCo used to deduct the inspection charge if they went ahead with repairs).

OP, if you have an idea of mileage of your Helikon (which must be getting on a bit by now), you know at which stage of its life it's at, so simply having an inspection may not be v.f.m.
Click to expand...
I am checking the serial number with the distributor to see how old it is... they offered a tradi in for 30% off, but considering the price of the Lyra I thought a check would actually help identify other potential problems...
 
Jim Audiomisc said:
Expert Stylus Company may help. I use them to check my old Shure V15s on occasion. They are happy to report "no work needed" if that's the case, so no worry about a ripoff.
Click to expand...
They are the ones I used in the past, Communication is patchy, waiting time is long, but I was happy to bear with that as they had a good reputation. I got a couple of cartridges repaired (new cantilever, ruby then boron) but the last one was basically a boron cantilever glued to what was left of the original one (maybe that's the way MC cartridges can be fixed?)
 
I'd be astonished if most of the outfits mentioned can do anything but a visual check, which might mean nowt.

Measuring things like compliance is dead easy with the right kit, but the right kit isn't cheap, and who but manufacturers would have it?
 
Vinny said:
I'd be astonished if most of the outfits mentioned can do anything but a visual check,
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Thought that was exactly what they do, but with specially adapted microscopes which can illuminate the facets of a stylus sufficient to detect serious wear. I wonder how else one can reliably inspect stylus condition.
 
Mike Reed said:
Thought that was exactly what they do,
Click to expand...

But that is just a small part of a cart' - that was my point. As above - it might mean nowt.
There is no special adaptation needed to any microscope, just decent lighting and experience, mostly to ensure that you don't wreck the cart' with a collision - at x200 or more, the objective is desperately close to the object.

Store any cart' in a drawer, unused, for 30 years and it will look excellent. Would the suspension be near correct? I sincerely doubt it.
 
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