oOooDPooOo Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Hello all; long-time lurker, first-time poster. About 6 months ago, I bartered with an electronics dealer and walked away with a new Marantz TT-15S1 turntable. This table was a huge upgrade for me, and being able to score it in exchange for a little work was a beautiful, beautiful thing. It came with a ClearAudio Virtuoso V2 cartridge. I love this table and try to play it daily. Last night, I was careless and hit the cantilever with my hand while taking a record off. I know, I know. I'm sick about it. It bent the needle really badly. I tried to play a record to assess the damage and the needle collapsed and the cartridge drug on the vinyl. It's toast. Completely broken off now. I need some advice on how to move forward. I can't afford to replace it outright, as it's $900 on Amazon. I contacted customer service, but I haven't heard back and I don't feel like there is much hope there. Does anyone have any recommendations for a repair service? I'm looking at Sound-Smith.com. Is a ruby cantilever/optimized contour nude contact line diamond stylus replacement really as awesome as it sounds? Should I settle for a cheaper cartridge instead? What would fit this table? Any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnelltech Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 There's a few articles like this one floating around:http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/replacing-clear-audio-mm-styli.366506/ Apparently, with a very little bit of work an Audio Technica AT95 stylus will work. AT is the oem for the clearaudio cartridges. I've not done this and haven't heard one like this but reports are that it sounds really good. The AT95 is dirt cheap (like $40 at Amazon and some other places) so it might be worth a shot. oOooDPooOo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 thanks. now i'm going to have nightmares. I have the same table and live in dread of damaging the stylus. I have read that the distributor makes these repairs and I believe NeedleDoctor offers a retipping service... There's a video showing a dude making the repair mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oOooDPooOo Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Thank you both... I think that I have a spare AT95; I may attempt a surgery this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Do you live in a Best Buy? http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/118071-dont-call-it-a-comeback-integrated-amp-thoughts/page-3#entry2510552 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 What? I totally did ksuwdboots 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Please keep us updated on your results. I really like my TT-15S1, but I find it really off-putting that Clearaudio makes it so difficult to repair the cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabwalker Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 someone on another forum had something similar happen. He did the above repair and was not happy with the results. Found the cart to be much nosier and didn't track as well. He ended up biting the bullet and purchased a new cart. Good luck though. Would be interested to see if your results differ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Please keep us updated on your results. I really like my TT-15S1, but I find it really off-putting that Clearaudio makes it so difficult to repair the cart. Just stop listening to records and you'll never damage it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Please keep us updated on your results. I really like my TT-15S1, but I find it really off-putting that Clearaudio makes it so difficult to repair the cart. That's the norm for MC carts and higher end MM carts, Clearaudio are doing nothing that any other high end cartridge maker/re badger does, they are just doing it lower down the food chain like Rega do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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