2. analog
  3. 161241-129831

Diamond Stylus Enters the 4th Dimension

So, I went to play a Chet Baker Album last night. Lowered the arm, flipped og the mute switch and.......GARBAGE!

The cantilever looked fine. On examination with my USB microscope I confirmed a sullen fact. The diamond had gone AWOL. There is just a little glue left on the end of the cantilever which is completely undamaged. It is a Clearaudio Charisma cartridge.

Anyone ever have this happen? I played records the day before no problem. I did not take anything to the stylus brush or otherwise. I do use an Audio Technica tonearm lift but it's trigger mechanism is so light. I can't believe that did it and it certainly should not do it. IMHO the cantilever should break before the diamond gets knocked off. 

The cartridge is four months old and I got it from Elusive Disc. It has a two year warranty. Here is where the rubber hits the road. 
128x128mijostyn
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn OP
8,570 posts
 
Those cantilevers that hang out in the open like that are asking for it for sure. 
jjss49, afraid not, but after the acid I took wears off I should have another look at that cantilever. Maybe the stylus will grow back.
pindac, thanks and what I was thinking, a failure of the adhesive. Do you have any references for that? Clearaudio warns against using any solvents when cleaning the stylus so I have only used a dry brush.
Still no word back from Elusive Disc. Patience is a virtue   🤯
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,871 posts
 
Sounds like the glue holding the stylus to the cantilever let go. One question, did you use one of the Onzow type bubble cleaners with this cartridge? They have been known to eat cantilevers and stylus, although with the proper handling protocols, even those can be safe.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn OP
8,570 posts
 
No, just a dry brush.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,896 posts
 
I've had one cartridge failure and I have a local friend that's has had one -- caused by a violent drop onto a record in my case, and a fuzzy sweater sleeve snag in my friend's case. In both cases the stylus popped clean off the boron cantilever, which remained intact. The glue bond to boron seems to be one of the weak points of the cartridge assembly -- the other weak point is cheap thin-walled aluminum pipe cantilever, which you often see bent or crumpled.

But that definitely SHOULDN'T have happened to you in the absence of shock or trauma! That sounds like a bad glue job. 
big_greg
6,623 posts
 
I bought a second hand Van Den Hul cartridge and experienced the same thing. The seller refunded my money and I sent it off to Van Den Hul for a rebuild.

I've snapped the cantilever off my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood not once, but twice. I'll never buy another cartridge where the cantilever is that exposed. 
More to discover