What devices have you found useful when inspecting your stylii for cleanliness?

@lewm

Thanks, I can see where you are coming from, even if I cannot see my own stylus! Just as an aside, what do you consider the back of the stylus to be, the bit that faces the oncoming groove or the bit that is essier to see?

My tone arm dates from about 1972, and is an SME 3009 Series II improved with fixed head shell.  SME sold almost half a million similar arms but I have no idea how many had fixed head shells.  Secondhand it is worth less than 1/10 of your Tri-Planar!

SME gets most of the credit for the industry standard head shell socket, which was actually by Ortofon.  The advantages of a fixed head shell include less mass, more rigidity and fewer electrical connections.  The disadvantage is, er, it is fixed.

My current cartridges are both Moving Magnet types, so the stylii can be pulled out of the cartridge body, though I have not been game enough to try this yet.

I takes just a few minutes to unscrew the four screws holding the arm to the base and unplug its DIN connector, so I can look at the whole assembly upside down.  Or just undoing two bolts achieves the same thing but does not guarantee to keep the previous alignment.

Happy to do this every few months to look for wear, but I really want something that helps each day, and ideally has near zero set-up time

I have a variety or loupes, magnifiers, microscopes, including a Shure SEK, and digital scopes. For routine checking of muck on the stylus, and general state of cantilever, I found a 7X magnifier to be the best for my aging eyes. I got one with a Mint protractor for one arm, but the lighting was intermittent, and bought another one of the same power which seems to be a little more robust. It was cheap. I’m using these to inspect whether there is any build up on the stylus and to make sure the cantilever is straight. This is not meant for examining stylus wear. I run good cartridges, have gone to great lengths to develop a record cleaning regime, and try not to obsess over it.

Currently run a Koetsu Tiger Eye in a Kuzma Airline arm on the main system.

My second system (vintage) involves a little less compulsive behavior, but have a similar assortment of loupes and magnifiers in that set up.

Dear @richardbrand   :  " Really need something I can use after each side is played, and which can stay in place. "

After each side, really?  well you are anal about and that's you but through many years looking/reading several web audio forums this is the first time that a gentleman likes to do that. 

The first hand experiences tolds me that if the LP surface is cleaned with care the stylus tip normally is clean and maybe with a few if any debray down there.

Take care not to manipulate often the stylus tip due that any cartridge suspension

is really fragile and not clean to often the stylus tip with liquid cleaner due that goes against the stylus tip glued down there. 

Regards and enjoy  the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

@rauliruegas 

First, thanks for the upgrade to "gentleman"!   For context, most of the music I play is classical.

I am just seeing if I want to get back into vinyl, after years of being told it is better than digital, and finding out that my old Garrard 301 is still highly regarded in some quarters.

After various upgrades, including a nude micro-line stylus, I am getting CD-like sound quality from some of my records, most of which have not been played much over the last 40 years.  The sound quality is incredibly sensitive to tracking force and to dirt on the stylus.  I want to ensure that any changes I hear and measure after each tweak are because of the tweak and not because of other factors like dirt.

At least I can be sure that my older records were actually analogue!  I now know that almost all records produced over the last couple of decades go through a digital mastering stage.

If your SQ is only CD-like, you have a way to go. Hi Rez streaming is a legit alternative to vinyl, but, IMO, high quality vinyl has it all over RBCD.