Monster Alpha-2 Cartridge - worth repair?

[soundmig]

I'm not sure this is the right place to post, but I didn't find a "cartridge specific" forum.

Anyway, I was rummaging through my audio clutter the other day and came across a Monster Alpha-2. The A-2 has the cantilever broken off, so I put it away long ago and forgot about it. I hear that people like Soundsmith can maybe rebuild cartridges like this. Given the reputation of this cartridge back in the day, I'm wondering if it would possibly be worth spending a few hundred bucks to get it repaired? Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[Tedrick]

The Alpha 2 was made by the same gentleman that builds the Zyx line of cartridges. If the coils are still good, it's definitely worth re-tipping.

 

[Stanton681EEES]

Do It, do it, do It. People who's opinions I value have told me if i ever find one cheap to jump on it and don't look back.

 

[nailer]

Soundsmith now has a boron cantilever. http://www.sound-smith.com/options-cantilever-and-stylus-shapes#overlay-context=services

Go for it!

 

[soundmig]

Thanks for the thoughts and opinions. I guess I'll send it off to them for the "evaluation" and see what they say. If it can be rebuilt, based on what I've read, it should handily outperform my BP Special - and anything that I could buy new for what the rebuild will cost. If it can be rebuilt, I guess this was one lucky discovery!

 

[majick47]

Soundmig go full speed ahead and get the Monster Alpha 2 retipped by SoundSmith. The Alpha 2 is a prized cartridge that would be impossible to match today for the money it will cost you to have it retipped by SS.

 

[soundmig]

Soundmig go full speed ahead and get the Monster Alpha 2 retipped by SoundSmith. The Alpha 2 is a prized cartridge that would be impossible to match today for the money it will cost you to have it retipped by SS.

Thanks for the "gentle push". I filled out the form on sound smith and plan to get this deal going It should sound quite good on my Well Tempered Classic.

 

[soundmig]

I received the Alpha-2 back from SoundSmith yesterday. They installed a Line Contact Stylus mounted on a Ruby Cantilever to replace the missing stylus/cantilever. I mounted it up last night. After adjusting VTF, tangency, A-S, Azimuth and VTA I had very little time to "listen", but what I've heard so far is AMAZING. Once I've had time to listen more and fine tune a bit I'll post more description, but I'm already blown away by the sound of this cartridge.

 

[soundmig]

I've had some time now to do a bit of tweaking (fined tuned A-S and VTA) with the Alpha-2. I've also listened a fair amount now and I can say that the Alpha-2 is an outstanding cartridge. The soundstage is huge. The sound is warm yet extremely detailed. The Bass is big and solid but not bloated. The mid-range is warm and musical and the highs are brilliant and airy but never harsh. The top to bottom balance is darn near perfect. Wow, I'm so pleased. Last night I played an LP of Dire Straits (Private Investigations) that was cut from an analog master, then played a 44.1/16 version through my BiFrost. As great as the BiFrost is, the digital version lacked the "realism" of the analog version. The digital version also threw a less wide and less deep soundstage (although very good) and the texture of acoustic guitars and cymbals sounded "somewhat artificial" in comparison. I'm not a digital basher, and I wish that I had a 24/96 or higher version of Private Investigations for a more appropriate head to head comparison as I think it would be much closer. Suffice it to say that I am very impressed with the Monster Alpha-2 as rebuilt with new LC stylus and Ruby Cantilever by SoundSmith. Hats off to you SS and your staff for resurrecting this incredible cartridge for me

 

[majick47]

The recommendation to have the Monster Alpha-2 retipped by SoundSmith doesn't seem to have been bad advice. My bet is that your Alpha-2 would be competitive with any new cartridge costing a couple thousand $.