About Us

Owned and operated by an audiophile.

More than two decades of experience. Worked on everything from entry level cartridges to high end $15k cartridges. Reputation for high quality workmanship and satisfied customers.

For repairs, Needle Clinic uses only OEM components. Needle Clinic stocks components purchased directly from cartridge manufacturers so every component replaced is either a direct replacement or an upgrade. All work turned around in less than two days by Andy Kim at his repair shop in his home near Sacramento, California. Nothing is farmed out. No middle man. All communication is directly with the person doing the work. Unlike other US-based retippers, customer cartridges are not sent to overseas specialists. Thus turnaround time is quick, around 1-2 days in general.

No office or store front or office staff, minimizing overhead costs to provide affordable, value-based services for the audiophile community.

Phono Cartridge Basics

Yes, phono cartridges are complex

How Phono Cartridges

When first sold, manufacturers market

Why Phono Cartridge

When doing an upgrade, all the market

About Me

My interest in audio started in 1968 while in junior high school, I wandered into an electronics shop in Seoul, South Korea. I picked up some low end gear and took them apart to see how everything worked. In high school, my buddies were always breaking their phono cartridges and had to buy new ones. I decided to leverage my knowledge of clock repair and took those broken cartridges and repaired them for free. I became quite popular.

After graduating from Yonsei University with a B.S. in Physics, I embarked on a career in the real world, yet remained keenly interested in audio as a hobby. In the 1990, I had built my own business in tech and money was flowing in, so I spent lavishly on high end audio gear including the top of the line Tannoy Westminster speakers that cost me $20,000 and had to be shipping to me from New Jersey – I was living in California. I still remember the moment when I fired up the Westminsters for the first time.

In the early 2000’s I grew tired of my business and I decided to pursue my passion – audio. I built my own amps, upgraded CD transports, and designed and built speakers. I also renewed my interest in repairing/upgrading phono cartridges, vastly expanding my knowledge so much that I felt confident I could open up a phono cartridge repair business.

Today, business is good and while it hasn’t made me rich, it has made me rich with satisfaction: I promote my hobby, I make customers happy, and I love that they tell their friends. I expect to be doing this work the rest of my working life, not because I need to, but because I love to.

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