Ortophon spu-gt, which rebuild ?

What are you looking to achieve? A close replacation of original performance? Increased detail retrival at the expense of a bit more tension? Maximal detail retrival? Smoother freqency response?

All of the options are good ones, but it begs the question of what you want for your system.

Viridian, thank you for your interest.

I must tell you that I was surprised that this very early cartridge is still considered a high end contender, just because of its age, not from any personal experience.

I want to use it at its potential, not particularly interested in historical accuracy, but don't want to destroy a classic either.

I listen almost exclusively to classical, only occasionally to Rock or Jazz. Not all my records are in perfect condition.

I currently use Shure M97xe, Denon 103R. Technics 1200 TT.

As my record collection has grown, I have been considering a serious up grade in vinyl playback, but this cartridge just fell into my lap.

It is not usable in its current state, so I am all ears.

Ken

If you use a Technics 1200 stock arm, it would not be able to balance the heavy 30+ gram mass of SPU-GT on the end of it nor would it be a good match even if use a heavy custom counter weight IMO. If you do upgrade your vinyl setup and plans to use the SPU, Schick, Ortofon 309 and Fidelity Research FR-64S are all good arms for SPU.

As for rebuild, Expert Stylus & Co in UK can rebuild SPU but there is a long wait.

I see what you mean Jaspert, the Technics with the supplied aux. weight can balance up to a 13gm cartridge, and the head shell is 6gm, for a max. of 19gr vs the 32 for the SPU.

I will rephrase my question :

The various Sound Smith re-tips run $150, $350 & $450, for example.

Assuming a suitable tonearm, does it make sense to spend that much on a repair, or spend the money on a new cartridge ?

Ken

Repair, certainly repair.

My hardware store has a metal ring with a set-screw that works perfectly as an auxilliary counterweight. It comes in various sizes, have a look at your local store.