Ever Damage A Stylus Using Cleaning Brush?


I’m having a moment of audiophile anxiety. Help me Obi Wans of this forum!

I’d been using the DS Audio ST50 gel cleaner for my Benz Micro Ebony L cartridge. Due to recent uncertainties about the possible liabilities of those type of cleaners I bought a carbon fiber stylus brush, from boundlessaudio.

I use the Audio Intelligent cleaning fluid.

Everything has been fine, and I’ve never been sure how much pressure to apply to brushing the needle, so I’ve always tried the lightest touch possible. Sometimes, though, the middle aged hands aren’t as steady and I can give it a bit more pressure than I was planning.

So last night I lifted up the needle mid track to clean the needle. Couple of very light brushes just skimming the bottom of the needle, always back to front of the needle as recommended. With the system still on I can also hear how light or not I’m brushing, hearing the sound coming through the speakers. But the last brush stroke went up a bit higher, slightly submerging more of the stylus giving it a bit of a bump up and a louder sound through the speakers. Didn’t think too much of it. But when I sat back to listen I could swear the sound had altered slightly, like the sound had gotten a tiny bit lightened, brightened, forward vs the "inky black background" I’d just been listening to.

Just how plausible is it that I may have damaged or shifted something in the stylus?

In thinking it through it seems to me if any real force had been applied, since the stylus was not at all locked in to the holder, it would have bounced the arm up somewhat. But didn’t. Second, it seems to me there is at least as much force simply dropping the needle on to the record.

But I could be wrong. And I don’t know if the tonal change was all in my head. (I’m hoping it is...but even listening today I still seem to perceive a slightly different tone).

Any thoughts on this truly First World problem?

 

 

prof

@tylermunns no problem. I stopped using the ZeroDust and instead use the brush included with the Hana cartridge.
Every 5-6 records I clean the stylus with MoFi LP-9 liquid stylus cleaner. 

Considering my concern for my stylus now, having read Fremer’s article regarding the hazards of the Onzow Zerodust (which I’ve used regularly for years, every side, at least two quick dips at a time) I’m feeling like I need to trade in my Clearaudio Concerto v2 now.  I don’t know how many hours it’s had.  I’ve had it for 4 years, but with plenty of protracted periods of non-use.  Darn.
Those cantilevers protrude in such a precarious way, I feel if I were to try and clean it and the stylus with the rigors the job demands, the risk of snapping the cantilever off completely or causing undue strain to the suspension would make the project not even worth it.  Might be best to ditch the Onzow, adopt a better stylus-cleaning method, and start fresh.
 

@tylermunns My take on it would be to just stop using Onzo and give the stylus some good cleaning with a liquid stylus cleaner. Use magnifying glass or a USB microscope (if you have a digital camera with macro lens that can work too) to inspect the stylus and the cantilever. If you’re not seeing anything scary there, I’d just continue enjoying the music. Hey…didn’t mean to make you this worried…but I guess it’s too late for that hahaha. 

@audphile1 Hey, no need to worry 🤣. I take care of that very well on my own, even under the best of circumstances.  I have been wondering for a while if things sound amiss, constantly vacillating between contentment and anxiety.  Those cantilevers on the Clearaudio cartridges are scary, for sure.