THIS ARTICLE IS BEING UPDATED ON 8/14/19 – SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE UPDATE
A few weeks ago I was listening to Joni Mitchell’s Blue in advance of writing my last post on that wonderful album, and the record went from sounding a little strange to suddenly, sounding ghastly! At first I thought I had blown a fuse in my amplifier, but when I lifted the tonearm off the record and took a look the stylus, it did not look right at all. My heart sank! “What have I just done to my cartridge?!!”
I bought my current turntable used 3 or so years ago as a complete package that included the cartridge – a Benz Micro Ruby 3H. I knew it was a nice cartridge. It sounded amazing! And whenever I went into the audio store I do business with and a staff member asked me what gear I had and I told them that I had, among other things, a Benz Ruby 3H cartridge, they would say invariably say “that’s a nice cartridge!”
I paid $3k for the whole package and had only a remote idea of the original purchase price, or current replacement price, of each of the turntable’s components. When I searched the cartridge to see what it would cost me to replace it, my jaw dropped. I had no idea I had a $3,000 cartridge on my turntable! I’m writing out the zero’s this time to emphasize how devastating I found this number. I had just damaged my THREE THOUSAND dollar cartridge! Holy F_ _ _!
It was immediately clear to me that I needed to consider options other than replacement. In years past I have always replaced cartridges and never had them repaired or re-tipped. I never even considered it actually, and likely because until now I had never owned a cartridge that cost me more than $450. Since that’s near entry level pricing, typically, to have the cantilever and stylus replaced on a cartridge, it never would have made sense to do that with the cart’s I”d owned in the past. What did make sense was just to replace the cartridge and maybe get something new and change the sound of the turntable a bit.
This time I was looking at a replacement cost that I really wasn’t prepared for, so repairing the cartridge, assuming that was even possible, was an option I needed to look into. Luckily one of my favorite audio bloggers, Bill Hart of The Vinyl Press had recently posted an article with a long list of cartridge rebuilders, a couple of which he had used and had had good results with himself. In fact, not too long before this particular post, Bill had posted a review of the Koetsu Jade cartridge – a $10,000 cartridge (note the extra zero there) and I figured that if Bill has heard the way a $10k cartridge sounds and has also been happy with the sound of rebuilt or retipped cartridges, he might very well be a reliable source on this.
Nonetheless, I must admit that I was and remain somewhat dubious about rebuilt cartridges. Like used cartridges, rebuilt cart’s have traditionally seemed the sort of thing that any self respecting audiophile eschews. When I spoke with the owner of the shop where I’d bought my turntable, he relayed his experience of waiting an ENTIRE YEAR to have his Benz cartridge rebuilt after he sent it to Benz in Switzerland for a refurbishment at the manufacturer. He then went on to state that he didn’t even think this remained an option for me. Strangely, he seemed unaware that there were quite a few cartridge repairers out there offering their services, and he’s been in this business 3 decades.
Of course I looked at some forums on the subject, and after seeing some discussions of and recommendations for some of the cartridge rebuilders from Bill Hart’s list I decided to send out some inquiries. Of the 4 inquiries I sent, I received detailed and timely responses from 3 of them. This was encouraging, but one of these, The Needle Clinic operated by Andy Kim and located in my home state of CA came almost immediately. Andy promised a very quick turnaround of 3-4 days, and he was willing to offer me a money back guarantee on the results.
I was eager to get on with what was a new journey into audiophile territory for me, and figured I had nothing to lose beyond a few days by sending my cartridge to Andy. So I packed it up, shipped it off and eagerly awaited his report.
After a few days it came…
Hi Robert ,
There are some problems with suspension.
In the beginning, I thought the suspension rubber damper worn out and needs a new replacement.
This afternoon , I found the suspension wire has been quite corroded.
The cartridge looks very old and has collected a lots of dirt and tiny metal particles .
To repair it, you will need not only a new stylus, but a new suspension rubber damper/wire plus coil assembly too.
I don’t think this is worth for spending that much of time and money.
I have my own brand NC-1 cartridge.
With trade in, you can purchase one $550 –
I personally think NC-1 sounds better than the Benz 3H.
If you are not satisfied with the sound, you can return it within a week of testing period.
It’s a Japan OEM bulk pack (I don’t have fancy looking big boxes for NC-1)
Here is the spec and a picture.
Needle Clinic NC-1 limited edition moving coil cartridge
The Needle Clinic is very proud to offer our customers a limited edition moving coil cartridge built to our exacting standards based on our decades of cartridge repair knowledge.
The exclusive NC-1 cartridge is a result of co-development between the Needle Clinic and one of Japans finest high end boutique cartridge manufacturer.
The Mission:
Using our decades of knowledge, experience, expertise and relationship oversees to have a limited edition moving coil cartridge built to our specifications from one of the finest cartridge manufacturers available in the world.
Create a low output moving coil cartridge with unprecedented price to performance value.
The Achievement:
Very good tonal balance without over emphasis on dynamics and bass.
One of the most natural sounding mid bands available, excellent clarity and separation of instruments, sweet top end without explicitness or overemphasis.
Limited Production:
The Needle Clinic NC-1 is limited to 20 pieces.
Specifications:
Type: Low impedance moving coil (MC) cartridge Frequency response: 10 Hz to 50 kHz
Output Voltage: 0.22mV
Channel Separation: 30dB or more (1kHz) Channel Balance: 1dB or less (1kHz)
Cantilever: Beryllium
Stylus Tip: VDH
Load Impedance: 20-100 Ohms Impedance: 5 Ohms
Tracking weight: 1.8 to 2.2 grams Weight: 5 grams
Cartridge Price:
$1500 USD
I knew my Benz cart had seen it’s way around a few records, but I had no idea it was in such bad shape. It appears that what I’d done was the high end stereo cartridge equivalent of driving a car until the transmission literally falls out from underneath it! At least I knew where I stood now, and Andy had offered me a pretty attractive option. For $550 plus shipping and my broken down Benz as a trade in and with a money back guarantee I could try out the NC-1 and see if I liked it. I decided to give it a go.
I emailed Andy that I’d like to give the NC-1 a try on a Thursday and by Saturday I was taking it out the box and installing it on the tonearm. Within just a week and a half of my Benz imploding I was already playing records again. The level of service I’d received from Andy was impressive and now I was even more impressed with the cartridge he sent me.
Before I agreed to demo the NC-1 I went looking for reviews and found none. I did find one Audiogon forum thread in which a member who appeared to know a thing or two about gear had great things to say about the NC-1, but that was it. If it weren’t for the modest price and the money back guarantee I’m not sure I would have moved forward with the NC-1, but I have to say I’m glad I did.
If you’re still reading this and I hope you are, I’m sure it’s clear to you that I am by no means and expert on the subject of high end cartridges. I’ve heard the Benz Ruby 3H, but despite how much pleasure that cartridge gave me it wouldn’t surprise me if some of it’s best years weren’t already behind it before I ever owned it. Still, I do have a pretty good ear for audiophile sound and after a fair bit of time spent evaluating vinyl pressings I know what sounds good and what doesn’t. The NC-1 sounds good.
The first two things I noticed about the NC-1, compared with the Ruby 3H, were the added detail and the tonal balance. The spec sheet describes the NC-1 as having “very good tonal balance without over emphasis on dynamics and bass.” And “one of the most natural sounding mid bands available,” with “excellent clarity and separation of instruments,” and a “sweet top end without explicitness or overemphasis.” This is a rather accurate description of the way the NC-1 sounds.
The tonal balance of the NC-1 is particularly striking. Records that I had previously found harsh and unpleasant to listen to were now pleasant, and records that were good sounding but with the odd rough edges were now great sounding and natural. The Benz did many, many things well, but on some records it came across as too aggressive. Pianos in particular often failed to resolve well with the Benz, rendering many of the notes edgy and off putting. The NC-1 handles the sound of the piano flawlessly. Vocals, also sometimes an issue for the Ruby 3H are presented by the the NC-1 more clearly and with greater presence.
For instance, I’ve owned a 60’s mono pressing of Billy Holiday’s Lady In Satin for years that has never sounded quite right on any turntable I’ve owned, including my current one with the Benz Ruby 3H. Now with the NC-1 this record sounds much better than it ever has. The vocals are clearer and more present, the strings are more full bodied and sweet and the horns are presented with better tonal balance and sufficient bite. So far not all of my records sound so much better with the NC-1, but on this one the new cartridge has literally transformed the listening experience.
In fairness, the Benz was likely at a place of wear that it was producing more distortion that it should have for a while now. When a stylus wears past a certain point the distortion it produces increases, but because this happens gradually over time so we tend to become acclimated to the changes in sound. In my case there’s the added uncertainty of how much playing time the Benz had seen before I owned it. Nonetheless, I would still argue that the NC-1 does have better tonal balance than the Benz Ruby 3H as well as greater detail.
But at the same time, something was initially missing with the NC-1. The Benz was exciting to listen to and it brought some records to life in a way that I often found thrilling. I just wasn’t getting this from the NC-1. Great tonal balance and detail aside, it started out sounding a bit cold and clinical for my taste.
I plan to write a great deal more about this cartridge and the experiences I have had and continue to have with it. The necessity to set it up myself and fine tune the tonearm adjustments, still in the early stages for me, is a journey that is already adding big time to my audiophile cred. I have already made some interesting discoveries that I look forward to sharing here. For now let me just say that new cartridges need time to break in before they start to reveal themselves and the NC-1 is no exception. The NC-1 is now at about 20 hours of playing time, about half of what I understand to be the typical break in period for a cartridge, and it is already coming to life in ways that weren’t apparent when I first installed it.
So as this journey continues, expect to hear more about the Needle Clinic NC-1 moving coil cartridge. I’m not sure how it compares to other $1500 cartridges, but based on its performance relative to the $3k Benz Ruby 3H, I’d say it’s unlikely that you’ll do better for the price.
UPDATE: The NC-1 has close to 40 hours of play on it as of this posting, and it appears to have broken in. My earlier concerns about the cartridge sounding a bit clinical and cold have completely resolved. The cartridge now brings a warmth and energy to the music to rival and perhaps even eclipse the Benz Ruby 3h. I find now I can give the NC-1 my highest recommendation and I would be very surprised if any cartridge under $3k surpasses it’s performance.