Get that Akai yet? Curious to see your results with those two styli you got for the M312 body.
As I posted in another thread, I was able to re-tip the M body type styli . I have done two so far and hope to try the other two styles, the long nose and the Piezo YM 310/320
type that Spectrum bodies also use. I have never seen the Acutex body version of that as of yet.
So to keep all things Acutex-Piezo-Azden-Spectrum under one thread I'll re post my first post of my re-tip thread here as well.
Here it is
Well after my first attempt at re-tipping with the Entre' EC-20 with went fairly well I decided to finally get to the much needed Acutex M Square body type cartridge re-tip. These are Excellent sounding carts , especially if they have the original STR ( Symmetrical Tri-Radial ) stylus. Finding one in good shape is a lucky as finding the Holy Grail . The Acutex,Piezo,Spectrum etc lovers have just had to settle with Either .7 conical or .4 x .7 elliptical styli to replace worn or damaged STR styli . None of the after market stylus manufactures would even entertain to do a re-tip for these with a high end stylus . So what is an Acutex fanboy to do? Do it yourself Is what I always say if no one else is willing to!!!!
So here is some photo documentation of part of the process.
Started out with the body from the elliptical stylus I used for my Entre' re tip.
Here is the housing with the tip removed. And the ferrous metal " third pole" drilled out
ready to receive the new Shibata stylus.
Then After I removed the Shibata stylus I had to cut it to length . I made a few cuts measuring each time by
mock installing it to the housing and comparing it to another intact stylus housing. Once I felt I was close enough I placed the new cut stylus into the hole and maneuvered it around to get it to the correct
angle best I could and as square As I could as well. Looking at other new after market styli i think I did as good and even better .
Once I felt it was in its optimum location I put a drop of Super Glue on my work table mat and used
the leg from a 1/4 watt resistor to dab into the glue and them apply very carefully onto the
mating place of the collar and new stylus. I then allowed this to dry, a minute or so then I went and
added more glue around the entire circumference of the collar/stylus joint.
Here is the end result.
You can actually see my cantilever is straighter than the EVG 707-DE on the left.
And here it is in action on A Rega RB300 Arm on a custom TT I built maybe 17 years ago with old parts from
a BPC kenwood TT. Its what I had the M312 mounted to so thats what I am testing it on for now. As you can see in the photo I need to get the SRA right. I can try to bend the very tip of the cantilever
behind the needle tip to get the correct angle . Or on a TT with adjustable VTA it can be addressed . It might be a couple to few degrees off. I bent the end on my Entre' to get it the right angle so I am sure this will be possible too if the tubing is as malleable as the Entre's .
Listened to The Catherine Wheel " Adam and Eve " Album first side that has Future Boy as its first track which is excellent for testing carts and Styli with its large transients from very quite to its loud crescendos .
It was very quite where it should be and was able to track the loudest parts without skipping a beat !!
I then put an original STR stylus on with unknown hours and I have to say the re-tip was quite and
more dynamic . Maybe the old STR is worn beyond its better days . The old STR had a few cradles and pops but the new Shibata was very very quite.
Now listening to my MOFI version of Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" and its doing a great job on this record as well.
I think I'm beginning to get a hang of this !!!
PS: One thing that I do need to figure out is a way to set the compliance . There is a set screw that holds the larger tube that the suspension is attached to. This set screw holds the tube in place. To make the suspension a bit stiffer, and therefore it may fix my SRA issue, you need to pull it from the back side to compress the suspension a bit then tighten the set screw. Trouble is its not easy to keep the suspension compressed and cantilever aligned while tightening the set screw.
Thats the neat thing about these styli, it has a somewhat adjustable suspension/compliance.
Athanasios