Stylus cleaner

@chasker

I use Last stylus cleaner before each listening session, and Last stylus preservative after each side, with stylus brushing.

I have been doing this for decades without problems of any kind!

Tried Magic Eraser and Ozono, but you still need to brush, and gave them up.

If ZYX was really concerned with fluids, why no warning in their manuals ????

FWIW, I have used Last stylus cleaner before and after playing nearly every side of every record I have played in the last 30+ years.  As I mentioned previously I make a point of minimizing how far up onto the cantilever it is applied, to minimize the possibility of any of the liquid migrating onto the internal suspension.

I also use a Nitty Gritty 2.5FiMk2 Record Cleaning Machine on the majority of the recordings I play, but not nearly on all of them.  I use a Zerostat before playing every side of every record.  Also, my SOTA turntable has a dustcover, so between that and a very occasional dusting of the platter with a carbon-fiber record brush (that I don't use on records) the platter is kept clean.

I do not use any brushes on the stylus other than the very soft one that comes with Last cleaner.

I have never had any problems as a result, with any of the cartridges I have used during those 30+ years.  Those cartridges include various incarnations of the Grace F-9E (the original non-Ruby version; multiple original Ruby versions; a Soundsmith re-tipped "contact line" Ruby version), a Grado Reference Sonata, and the Audio Technica AT-ART9 LOMC I currently use.

Regards,
-- Al
 

To the OP,

I thought this conversation was laid to bed years ago when Doug Deacon popularized use of the Magic Eraser.

No doubt there are fluids which (over time) will leave your stylus looking like new (clear/white). I confess to having only used Last, and the results were just meh in comparison with the Magic Eraser.

This might have been a problem with technique (keeping fluid from migrating up the cantilever), but that's my point.  There’s no fluid involved in a Magic Eraser cleaning.

There is a down side to the Magic Eraser, if you can call it that.  You need either steady hands or good technique.

There are times when something doesn’t have to be labeled as an audiophile product to be a best in class product.

As far as the Onzow is concerned, this looks like the old Zerodust - good for removing surface garbage, but not for the baked on vinyl that quickly crusts up on a stylus. Upon having moved on from Last solution (cantilever grunge - possible user error), I used a Zerodust for about a year.

It then took careful and extensive "scrubbing" with a Magic eraser to remove the build-up that the Zerodust let occur. It can be done (remove it after the fact) but it’s a delicate operation, and prevention (regular use of the Magic Eraser) is much simpler.

As always, YMMV, but I thought this was open and closed when Doug posted about the Magic Eraser.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier Design

@don_c55 i don’t know why there is nothing about cleaning (at all) in the manuals for my zyx airy and zyx 4d, but that’s why we have distributors to address our questions directly to manufacturer. I use fluid cleaning only on cheap mm cartridges, but i do not use it on hi-end mc cartridges if the distributor warning people to stay away of fluid cleaning. Rebuild of ZYX (for example) cost too much to make such mistakes.

So the common denominator could be Last...

The Dust Buster by Vinyl Passion will arrive today so I'll check out its effectiveness...