Ana Mighty Sound Re-tipping Service : An Incredible Story

[ledoux1238]

I bought a used Transfiguration Proteus at the beginning of 2023. It was installed and played for at least two months. The Proteus had a sound signature that was similar to the ZYX and AUdio Tekne MC's that I was playing with. It was very nice.

In May 2023, I sent it to Francois Saint-Gerand of Ana Mighty Sound for a diamond cantilever replacement. This was after much research with plenty of positive reviews and a couple of queries to Francios. Between May and December there were many emails from me to Francois, with maybe two responses indicating that the cartridge was been diagnosed. Beginning of 2024, Francois sent photographs of the cartridge. He told me it was in bad shape. He may need to sourced a donor Proteus. I was quite concerned as the photographs did not resemble the cartridge I sent hiim. My concerns were never addressed by Francois. Then in May 2024, A full year after I sent in the Proteus, he wrote that the diamond cantilever was done, and he would follow with an invoice. It was silence again until July. He replied to my previous email expressing surprise that his assistant had not contacted me with the invoice. Then in September came the daggar. He wrote that the work was finally completed but that a boron, not a diamond, cantilever was installed. By this time, I was quite accustomed to his BS. But the email from last week really prompted this post. He wrote that the boron cantilever install was indeed a mistake by his team. But he is not longer working with his re-tipper team. He included the email of Laszlo Vencel Szabo, and this person will take over.

I am now without a Proteus. To be clear, no money has changed hands. All the while it had been Francois fabricating problems then seemingly solving them,

I hate that this is my first post on this esteemed forum, butt how does one deal with this? What recourse do I have?

 

[Shuggie]

If a new boron cantilever has been installed on your Transfiguration Proteus, it would be OEM specification Ogura with PA line contact tip - I believe that Ogura supply new cantilevers to repairers with PA tips already attached. There have clearly been some misunderstandings with Francois, but a Proteus re-built to original spec should still be a wonderful thing; and in my experience Laszlo Vencel Szabo is a very reliable craftsman, and I have no concerns regarding his work on a number of my cartridges. I have always found Francois to be helpful and reliable too.

Out of interest, what were you looking to achieve by replacing the original Ogura sourced boron cantilever with a diamond alternative, presumably from a maker such as Namiki and fitted with a different tip compared with the OEM Ogura PA?

 

[ledoux1238]

@Shuggie I was looking for higher resolution with the diamond cantilever.

If as you say, you've had good experiences with Francois and Lazlo, then there is maybe only one explanation for my situation. I have been caught in between a messy process of falling out between Francois and Laszlo's teams. None of them wants to deal with me or answer my email.

 

[Cala]

I do apologize for all this situation. Business situations do fail and in our case : we have decided to stop working with Laszlo and Vencel.

There was indeed a mis-comuniction in between us and it lead to having your cartridge repaired to identical with a boron cantilever and original tip.

I have forwarded you the contact from the Hungarian team so you can eventually turn it into a diamond cantilever version.

I can also send you back the cartridge has it is and fully repaired. I will not charge you for that.

The relationship between AMS and Laszlo + Vencel was much more than a business but also a strong friendship. Complicated and sad situation alas.

 

[ledoux1238]

@Cala Please return the cartridge. I sent a PM with the shipping address. I’ll follow with an email with the same information.

Thank you!

 

[Moiz Audio]

HAPPY TO SEE the issue was solved.

 

[ledoux1238]

As promised, Francois returned the Proteus fully repaired without charge, albeit with a boron cantilever, not the diamond initially requested. My experience can be described as ‘being in the right place, but at the wrong time’. Certainly both Francois and Lazlo are honorable individuals, but I was caught in a bad situation between them. I thank both of them for transforming a defective Proteus into a glorious one.

 

[mtemur]

As promised, Francois returned the Proteus fully repaired without charge, albeit with a boron cantilever, not the diamond initially requested. My experience can be described as ‘being in the right place, but at the wrong time’. Certainly both Francois and Lazlo are honorable individuals, but I was caught in a bad situation between them. I thank both of them for transforming a defective Proteus into a glorious one.

I’m glad your issue is resolved, but in my opinion, you should give some credit to WBF. If you hadn’t raised your concerns here, the issue might not have been addressed.

 

[ledoux1238]

@mtemur I would get on my knees and kiss the ground that WBT has paved. The speed with which things turned around after posting is quite amazing.

I now understand why Lampizator’s TOTL DAC, say, was launched at a WBT member’s gathering rather than at a trade show. The sheer buying power is frightening, as well as an enormous wealth of knowledge for someone like me, admittedly a mid-tier player in this crazy hi-end audio game.

 

[ravenacustic]

I had my Proteus re-tipped by Francois and his Hungarian techs mid-2023. I had a very successful outcome. I did not request a diamond cantilever. Turn around time was very fast as well. Price was in my estimation reasonable. Listening to it right now.

 

[ledoux1238]

@ravenacustic I believe your experience with both Francois and Vencel is the norm, prompt service and good results. My experience was the exception. I would most definitely return to Francois for retipping service. I just do not know who will he collaborate with going forward. And I would certainly consider a diamond cantilever upgrade in the future, if that option is still available.

Because Transfiguration is defunct, its cartridges receives much less attention. But like you, listening to a Ana Mighty Sound retipped Proteus is quite a wonderful experience. Compared to my other cartridges in the 4k-5k range, there is increased sounstage width and depth, more pronounced separation of instruments, better low level information, much more dynamic and much better resolution......in short better everything.

Can you comment on the before and after of the Proteus' sound quality? Would you say that the re-tip is a return to the original sound of the Proteus?

 

[ravenacustic]

@ravenacustic I believe your experience with both Francois and Vencel is the norm, prompt service and good results. My experience was the exception. I would most definitely return to Francois for retipping service. I just do not know who will he collaborate with going forward. And I would certainly consider a diamond cantilever upgrade in the future, if that option is still available.

Because Transfiguration is defunct, its cartridges receives much less attention. But like you, listening to a Ana Mighty Sound retipped Proteus is quite a wonderful experience. Compared to my other cartridges in the 4k-5k range, there is increased sounstage width and depth, more pronounced separation of instruments, better low level information, much more dynamic and much better resolution......in short better everything.

Can you comment on the before and after of the Proteus' sound quality? Would you say that the re-tip is a return to the original sound of the Proteus?

I cannot make a before/after comparison. Something happened to the suspension making it inoperable. I purchased another brand cartridge to replace it which I lived with for a year. By the time I made the decision to send it to AMS at least 1-2 years had passed. I can’t say how close the repaired cartridge sounds to the original. I can say that the result has been very good particularly after an analysis and remounting by JR Bosclair.