When such a fine cartridge, the property of my friend Tom, wasn’t singing up to par it was a truly sad evenience.
The cartridge was purchased second-hand and she never sounded awesome… maybe just average, as per Tom’s impressions sharing.
Naaaah!
Some surgery was needed and only a man, to my experience and after trying several famous, yet sometimes overrated, so-called cartridge mavens’ cares, was able to perform a complete rebuild.
Leonid Sinitsin was able to dismantle and carefully make the miracle: new steel cantilever, new hand-wound triangle-shaped coils, new conical diamond, alignment, also a magnet air-gap re-adjusted, previously too wide, resulting in a very poor overall sound and dynamics and detailing and far too low sensitivity and lacking of WOW! factor… not a good sampler, indeed…
From the once a black duckling into a majestic swan.
Chiaki Kikuchi’s workmanship was sadly getting worst at any sampler, after the 2005-2006 vintage cartirdges which – someway – created the myth and sure my loyal fellowship… such a pity he wasn’t able to keep the quality standards high, but that’s all gone, now!
Now, after only some weeks wait, the Lumiere DST # 157 is singing again in The Peak arm, mounted on a Thomas Schick headshell and Tom’s Garrardzilla.
Thanking Leonid for his kindness, care for details and great support and wishing Tom many years of musical bliss.
Stefano Bertoncello