Cartridge rebuild

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vicdiaz
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Cartridge rebuild

Post by vicdiaz »

Hi,

Long time no post. Been working a lot back at work (hackers constantly trying to exploit vulnerabilities but so far no luck), and on my spare time Audiomaniak takes most of my time setting and resetting new and old LP12s so owners can fully enjoy them ;)

After careful analysis of all cartridge retip-rebuild available options I ended sending up my Linn Arkiv to Armour-Goldring for a well deserved full rebuild (new coils, new suspension, new cantilever and new Ogura/Vital stylus). The only thing I can say is WOW!!! Haven't spent so many continuous hours listening to records in many years!!!

Highly recommended!!!
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by ThomasOK »

I haven't dabbled in rebuilds personally but have had a few done for customers and also installed others that customers have brought in. I have been most happy with the Goldring rebuilds as they have done Troikas that sound the closest to the original. I have also seen some real botch jobs from other companies who have been hyped up on other forums, including forums now extinct.

It is good to hear that they can do rebuilds with Ogura parts. Did you have a boron cantilever installed? One interesting thing is that Ogura normally sells complete coil/cantilever/stylus assemblies. Those assemblies are used by Linn in the Kandid, Lyra (probably in all models) and Koetsu among others. I am pretty positive that they supplied the assembly for the Arkiv B and the Akiva, so you should be getting a very close match to the Arkiv B with the rebuild.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by beck »

Very interesting! What would be recommended for my worn out KlydeB (three years old). A retip or a full rebuild and what would it cost?
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by vicdiaz »

Hi Thomas,

I did not request the boron cantilever (did'nt know it was available!) Aluminum cantilever and Ogura stylus.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by vicdiaz »

Hi Beck,

I don't think they do retips only (not sure). The full rebuild cost is 300GBP + VAT + Shipping. If out of the UK there is no VAT but there may be import duties. In my case I was charged import duties by the UK even thought the cartridge was to be rebuilt and returned to the US. I ended up spending a little bit more than I expected but about a third of the cost of a new Linn Krystal.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by tokenbrit »

So cartridges have to be sent to Goldring UK for rebuild? For some reason I had assumed that they would have a US presence...

I have a Troika that needs a rebuild. I had a brief email exchange with ESC - they said they would put me on the waiting list & contact me when 'my turn' it was coming up, but never got back to me after that. I knew they were busy but that's crazy ;)
After that I found out that ESC rebuilds are good but not necessarily true to the original character, so maybe it's a good thing I didn't hear from ESC again. If Goldring are close(r) to the original Troika, and trusted with Linn rebuilds, then a trip back to the UK may be in order :)
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by vicdiaz »

Hi Tokenbrit,

Never found a Goldring rebuilder in the US. In fact a VERY trusted source told me last Thursday that Roy Hall is Goldring's rep in the US and it seems he sends them to the UK for rebuild.

BTW, I requested technical information about the rebuild and David Giffin from Armour Goldring confirmed it was rebuilt to Troika specs. I suspect that, when Supex stopped OEM'ing Linn cartridges, they requested Lyra to build a Troika spec'd cartridge for them to have some kind of product continuity while they figured out what to improve. Not long after, the Arkiv B was released.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by vicdiaz »

Beck,

I recommend a full rebuild. It will come back as good as new or better, not a cantilever surgery work. After 20+ years cartridge suspension dries out which directly affects its compliance. A cantilever/stylus replacement may not address that.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by beck »

vicdiaz wrote: 2018-11-24 18:18 Beck,

I recommend a full rebuild. It will come back as good as new or better, not a cantilever surgery work. After 20+ years cartridge suspension dries out which directly affects its compliance. A cantilever/stylus replacement may not address that.
Thank you for the answer. My KlydeB is only three years old so maybe I can go cheap with a cantilever/stylus replacement........
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by ThomasOK »

Goldring are the people who built the Klyde so I would definitely recommend going there. I don't really think it is a good idea to replace the cantilever and diamond. Because of the way the cantilever is attached to the coils this is very difficult to do properly, hence why the coil/cantilever/diamond is generally replaced as a whole structure by Goldring. I have seen companies who will replace your cantilever with one of a different material. In some cases I have seen they will cut off an aluminum cantilever near the coils, shove a ruby, etc. cantilever in the aluminum stub and glue it all together. Not my cup of tea. Now if Goldring said they could do it properly, that would be another matter. But if you don't want the full rebuild it might be better to find out if they, or somebody else competent, can just replace the diamond. But I would also be careful who does it as I have seen hack jobs there as well. I'm also not sure if you can effectively push a diamond through the cantilever the way it was done in the first place and still have the original level of structural integrity, but they would be the people to ask.

In other words, just go for the Goldring full rebuild and you will likely be much happier!

In response to another question, they are all done in the UK. If you send it to a distributor they will just send it to Goldring.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by beck »

Thank you Thomas.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by John »

I have used Linn cartridges since 1984. The last new one I purchased was in the early 90’s when the Klyde came out. Linn had a rebuild scheme going for a few years that they discontinued and then restarted a number of years later. Under that program the old cartridge body was swapped for a rebuilt version which had a new motor assembly. Too me it was like getting a brand new cartridge.

When that program ended I started sending my Klyde and Troika to Expert Stylus who would clean the cartridge and replace the stylus with a new one. I think they rebuilt my Klyde and Troika a few times each, They did great work and the cartridge always came back sounding very good. The word got out and waiting times got very long.

A few years ago Goldring started up a similar rebuild operation that they were doing for Linn except that they offered more services and worked with the cartridge you supplied to them. I had a Klyde, Troika and Asaka rebuilt by David and was very pleased with the turnaround and performance. The Asaka was first followed by the Klyde then Troika. I’m using the Troika now and when that wears out I will swap to the Asaka which is on its second Goldring rebuild. The worn Troika and Klyde will then go back to Goldring.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by beck »

John wrote: 2018-11-26 15:04 I have used Linn cartridges since 1984.

A few years ago Goldring started up a similar rebuild operation that they were doing for Linn except that they offered more services and worked with the cartridge you supplied to them. I had a Klyde, Troika and Asaka rebuilt by David and was very pleased with the turnaround and performance. The Asaka was first followed by the Klyde then Troika. I’m using the Troika now and when that wears out I will swap to the Asaka which is on its second Goldring rebuild. The worn Troika and Klyde will then go back to Goldring.
Thank you for sharing your story John. It is really nice to hear that it is possible to keep your turntable running like this without searching for the new and “better” all the time.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by vicdiaz »

Besides my old (new) Arkiv I have two Troikas and possibly another Arkiv to be sent to Goldring as soon as funds are available.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Charlie1 »

If you send an Arkiv / Akiva then what sort of Goldring cartridge might it resemble (sonically)?
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by ThomasOK »

Charlie1 wrote: 2018-11-28 13:23 If you send an Arkiv / Akiva then what sort of Goldring cartridge might it resemble (sonically)?
This is all theory, but I wouldn't expect it to sound like any Goldring cartridge. The design of the Arkiv/Akiva are quite different to anything Goldring themselves make. Also as they have access to Ogura stylus/coil assemblies they are likely to be able to get one that is a close match to the original. They wouldn't be assembled by Yoshinori Mishima as the original units were but who knows how much difference that would make compared to David's work. Hopefully it would be relatively close to the original cartridge rather than a significant change in musical flavor.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Charlie1 »

ThomasOK wrote: 2018-11-28 17:57 This is all theory, but I wouldn't expect it to sound like any Goldring cartridge. The design of the Arkiv/Akiva are quite different to anything Goldring themselves make. Also as they have access to Ogura stylus/coil assemblies they are likely to be able to get one that is a close match to the original. They wouldn't be assembled by Yoshinori Mishima as the original units were but who knows how much difference that would make compared to David's work. Hopefully it would be relatively close to the original cartridge rather than a significant change in musical flavor.
Thanks Thomas. This is an interesting development in terms of cost effect MCs, especially as the Linn entry point is a fairly steep £1,200 and too much for many. Bit surprised my worn Akiva didn't sell on ebay sooner - it was there for months. Had I known, I might have hung onto it and sent it off myself.

It would be great to get some clips on the Playground thread if anyone is able to obluige at some point.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Lego »

Charlie1 wrote: 2018-11-28 18:20
ThomasOK wrote: 2018-11-28 17:57 This is all theory, but I wouldn't expect it to sound like any Goldring cartridge. The design of the Arkiv/Akiva are quite different to anything Goldring themselves make. Also as they have access to Ogura stylus/coil assemblies they are likely to be able to get one that is a close match to the original. They wouldn't be assembled by Yoshinori Mishima as the original units were but who knows how much difference that would make compared to David's work. Hopefully it would be relatively close to the original cartridge rather than a significant change in musical flavor.
Thanks Thomas. This is an interesting development in terms of cost effect MCs, especially as the Linn entry point is a fairly steep £1,200 and too much for many. Bit surprised my worn Akiva didn't sell on ebay sooner - it was there for months. Had I known, I might have hung onto it and sent it off myself.

It would be great to get some clips on the Playground thread if anyone is able to obluige at some point.
Indeed and once you figure in the cost of removal and fitting and the opinion on sound quality is unanimous I think it should definitely be in the Absolute Bargains! section.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Defender »

does it make sense to rebuilt an Arkiv B or rather save the money and buy something new?
I am asking as I saw some statements here in the forum about how much they didnt liked the Arkiv.
Is there a sonic difference between Arkiv and Arkiv B?
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Charlie1 »

I've heard that a Goldring rebuilt Akiva was awful. Poor tune and extremely quiet. Apparently Goldring cannot rebuild the generator coils like Lyra which is probably not surprising at the price point. The same person is confident that Linn carts made by Goldring will be much better (i.e. Klyde) and perhaps earlier Linn MCs like the Troika will be OK too. Not sure where the Arkiv fits into this picture but I'd be very wary.
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Tendaberry »

You could always send an e-mail to Roberto Torlai in Italy and ask for the options available. I got my Akiva rebuilt there for € 500,- + tax. He gets the cantilever with inserted diamond from Ogura, which I believe is where Lyra gets them as well for the Linn cartridges they make. www.torlai.it
Here you can find a bit of information about the differences between the Troika, Arkiv and Arkiv B: https://www.stereophile.com/phonocartri ... index.html
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Re: Cartridge rebuild

Post by Defender »

thank you for your informations and help
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