A flurry of questions arises before sending ones phono cartridge out for repairs, such as, “How can I be sure I know what my cartridge needs in the first place?” “Who will be diagnosing and who will be doing the work?” “How will I know what they actually do (or don’t do…) to my cartridge?” The first things to sort out are who CAN do the work you want done, also who WILL actually do it, and who will try to farm it out. After all, refurbishing phono cartridges is a pretty specialized “field”, and, in point of fact, not all “cartridge gurus” actually do repairs and/or modifications themselves, despite they might go along with or even actively promote the idea that they do this work personally. I speak from experience when I warn readers that even “established cartridge gurus” may be more concerned with their business, per se than checking or working on every cartridge that comes and goes for repairs and/or modifications. For example, when I sent my own damaged cartridge to SoundSmith I was actually contacted by someone working for SoundSmith who described his own location as “remote” from Soundsmith. He told me my cartridge was trash, and he offered to throw it out for me. Instead, I paid him for return shipping and then I sent the cartridge to Steve Leung at VAS. I had no reason at that time to doubt Steve when he told me 2 coil wires were cut and the damper was cut and “melted”. Nor did I doubt him when he said he repaired both coils and replaced the cut damper. Well, I just saw recent magnified photos of my cartridge’s motor, and only one wire was soldered, not too neatly. And now I wonder if this caused the damper “melting” Steve mentioned to me. As I wrote in my GSC post on the subject, Steve told me outright that he replaced the cut damper. However, now that I’ve actually seen the damper myself, it is still cut. It also looks old and degraded enough to be a holdover from the 2013 Ortofon refurbishment, and Andy Kim (who I trust)  has assured me that this is the case.>>

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So, from what I have recently seen for myself, is it reasonable for me to wonder if Steve Leung replaced the damper when he said he did? He certainly charged – and I paid – accordingly! I ask because now I can’t help but wonder. I mean, who even knows for sure what they’re looking at even if they do see the thing? I guess I am lucky that my cartridge “worked” OK as VAS returned it. But this begs the question: how does one know if they’ve gotten their money’s worth? It seems like due diligence is in order before sending out ones cartridge, because afterward may be too late.. Caveat emptor!>>

Paul S