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24.13.0.217
I seem to have broken the stylus off of my Clearaudio Aurum Beta (II). Does anyone have any experience with having one of these retipped? Everything I have found seems to be trying to convince you to trade in rather than repair, but I really would rather repair this as I don't use it enough to justify another expensive cartridge. Thoughts?
Follow Ups:
I've been down the same path with the Clearaudio Aurum Beta S Mk II - and come to the conclusion that until I find either a Linn K-9 and/or its stylus, or a totally expendible $300, I'll try other, less expensive, retippable cartridges.First out of the chute has been the Shure M97XE, which has been a nice surprise, especially considering the $67 I paid for it.
Think I'll try that AT440 next...
Thanks for the info guys. This seems to be a problem endemic to these cartridges, and I'm not sure it is worth fixing at all. I too was sold on this cartridge in part because it was easily and cheaply re-tipable. It is only about 2 1/2 years old, and if it had 100 hours of use I'd be surprised. Oh well. I'll probably call around to some dealers to see if there is a reasonable fix, but if not, maybe I'll just try the AT cartridge mentioned, or one of the cheapie Grados to get me through.
I had exactly the same problem, with exactly the same cartridge. I was offered a piddly $120 or something like that for a trade-in. Since I know that the stylus assembly comes off and goes back in very easily (see pics from previous poster) I wonder why they can't just sell me a stylus/assembly and have the dealer installed.The good news is that instead of trading in, I am trading up to a cart that, to my ear, sounds better than the Clearaudio at less than 1/4 the cost. At this stage, I would not trade my AT440mla for a Clearaudio Aurum Beta.
Alberto
You might try one of the usual suspects (VdH, phonophono, Garrot Bros. etc.)for a re-tip, but even if some would charge less than the 240.00 you'd pay for a trade in, it wouldn't be enough less for me to opt out of a brand new cart.I know VdH's price will be 300.00+ for new cant and stylus.
I have a Victory H by Clearaudio. When purchased I asked the dealer if retip was offered. The dealer indicated yes, at about $300. Since I was paying about $1,500 for the original I felt that was reasonable. Lo and behold, when I went back for the retip I was told it could not be done, that it was Clearaudio's practice to not offer retip's but trade in's. In my case I would get a $250 trade in allowance againist a $1,800 new Clearaudio. Rip off it is. Seems like the classic bait and switch. I would not purchase any Clearaudio's product and advise others to do the same.
It can be done by the user. The trick is in finding a suitable replacement stylus assembly. The photo is of a Clearaudio cartridge Aurum Beta S beside a Linn K9. I have shown it here before, but maybe you missed that thread. Anyway, Audio-Technica made both cartridges, so the trick is in finding an Audio-Technica assembly that will fit the Clearaudio recess. Some have reported using an AT95 stylus to replace a worn one on the Linn cartridge, but the AT95 is a cheaper build, so it has a bonded diamond tip, rather than a nude mounted one. I would reject it for that reason alone, and that is the rub because most of the good assemblies fit into a round recess, rather than a rectangular one. The only exceptions that I am aware of are the Signet 5.0 Series replacement assemblies. They are rectangular where they need to be, but not exactly the same. You can find them at attractive prices on eBay from time to time, but the fitting of one to your cartridge would require a steady hand and sharp eye. Aside from that, you have the option of acquiring a genuine Linn K9 replacement stylus assembly, and trimming off the holder part of the body. You would still be trimming it to fit, but the task would be far less entailed than with the Signet option. On the otherhand, you might be able to find a Signet line contact stylus assembly, and that would be an upgrade, if you don't mind cutting, filing and sanding small objects.
As far as I know, Clearaudio doesn't make the cartridges in-house, so maybe someone knows who actually makes it, and maybe (just maybe) they'll rebuild it for you.I seem to remember hearing that van den Hul did all of the Benz rebuilds. Maybe he is a good place to ask?
It wouldn't exactly be a local issue. Clearaudio's website states in one place that the stylus is user replaceable, but only offers the user a $300 swap, and that is disingenuous of Clearaudio proper, not distribution, when the overall value of the cartridge is considered. This should be a two minute user affair with a cost of less than $100, but Clearaudio has made a conscious decision to stick it to the end user.
See my above post.
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