Here's some news or, rather, pseudo-news from someone who claims to be the New Zealand DS Audio Distributor, on behalf of someone named Aki who is... the creator of the DS Audio gel stylus cleaner? Not terribly clear! This was posted recently as a comment under the follow-up article in Analog Planet:
"Hi Stephen here from Soul to Sole Audio.... I am the New Zealand DS Audio Distributor and Aki has been made aware of the comments, regarding his ST-50 Stylus Cleaning Pads, that have been dragged into this conversation about Zerodust.
Here is the info he has posted:
"DS Audio designed and manufactures our ST-50 stylus cleaner for numerous good reasons. Before developing the ST-50, many people used a liquid-type cleaning brush with resulting problems such as compromising stylus adhesive and oxidation of metal parts. There were instances of customers damaging the stylus/cantilever using a small brush for the cleaning or impacting the cartridge suspension by brushing incorrectly.
This is why we developed the ST-50 pad-type stylus cleaner. It is mechanically safer and there is no chemical fluid that may damage the cartridge. The shape of the pad and its low profile allows you to cue down the stylus gently on the pad with no cantilever contact.
We specifically chose a lab grade of urethane gel that is ether based. The two basic formulations of urethane, ester and ether, have some important differences. Water attacks ester-based urethane, causing a significant reduction in physical properties. Ether urethanes exhibit far superior hydrolytic stability (water not reacting with another chemical), especially in humid environments. Ether-based materials also resist fungus growth better than ester-based materials."
Don't know how you folks feel about this comment but, to me, as a non-chemist consumer audiophile, this is nothing but obfuscation. This comment is like that scene in "Peanuts" where Lucy pulls away the football right as Charlie Brown is about to kick it. Misses the point entirely! Stating that the DS Audio gel cleaner is "mechanically safer" is reassuring but I think most of us who bought a gel type stylus cleaner figured that out before we bought one. Indeed, I think that's why most of us bought one in the first place! We still need or would like to know what the deposit or deposits on the styli are. No news from the Wally Tools Lab on this in a week and nothing of any substance on this from Mr. Fremer in longer than that. If Mr. Fremer isn't closely following up with Wally Tools Lab/WAM Engineering's J.R. Boisclair on this, I will consider this extremely irresponsible! If these folks end up leaving us all swinging in the wind on this one, it will be tantamount to starting a fight in a bar and, then, cowardly slinking out the back door!