Dear @rauliruegas . I hear you on the suspension issue with too much cleaning. That's why I included my Decca cartridges note. As you know, they don't have a cantilever as such and can take a beating more than a potentially sensitive moving coil. Nevertheless, I felt it statistically relevant to point out there is at least one of us cleaning per side. My records are clean, and it's more of a preventative habit than anything else.
What devices have you found useful when inspecting your stylii for cleanliness?
Please do not describe how you clean your stylii once you have discovered they are dirty. Make that another topic!
I am interested in what you have found useful during your inspection. My Audio Technica microline stylus is so small I can hardly see it at the best of times. To make things worse for me, I need reading glasses and my current tone arm is a fixed head-shell design so I cannot easily get a good viewing angle - the arm does not tilt much! Also the background, mainly a black mat, does not offer a good contrast.
Suggestions please ....
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- 55 posts total
@richardbrand I inspect styluses with a loupe with a built-in LED light. I also use a digital otoscope with a probe if a screen view is needed. |
It is interesting to read the diversity of routines that everyone has developed to address this simple task. I have three main TTs, two with fixed (i.e. non removable headshells) and one with a removable headshell feature. In all cases I check the stylii for wear using a Wild-Herrbrugg microscope. In the case of the non-removable headshell arms the cartridges must be removed for inspection. In all cases the microscope inspection is performed bi-annually, so it is not too burdensome. For every day cleaning I do many things: in all cases before every play of every side I very lightly apply Stylast to the tip of the diamond only. The record itself is brushed. After each side is played the stylus is inspected and if there is any debris collected it is removed. I have a soft brush provided by Audio Technica, I have a stiff brush provided by Ortofon, I have the gel thingy from Ozow or whoever, and I have an ultrasonic brush that when used with a drop of distilled water does the best job of all. I bought it from Amazon for not much money. BTW, I used the microscope to evaluate all these brushes and such plus blue tack. The ultrasonic brush, made by Hudson if memory serves, did the best job by far.
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- 55 posts total