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New Cartridge- Broke the Stylus

New to vinyl, bought a real nice Rega Planar II and listened for a couple weeks with the original R100 cartridge- enough to get hooked. I had the turntable checked, set up and had a new Ortofon 2M Blue put on.

I went to clean it with the supplied brush and tried to follow the diagram how to use it. I had no problems with the "LAST" brush that came with the turntable. The stylus broke off......

At least I got about 4 hours listening in. Now I am in addict mode waitng for a solution to play the great vinyl I scored recently. The store where I got the cartridge needs to check whether the stylus is replaceable- It doesn't look like it. Guess I will have to spring for a new stylus= $165.00

Any tips on cleaning?
stl114_nj
Post removed 
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,435 posts
 
N80nut....Forget the Zerodust. Better and way cheaper is Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Cut a 1/2 inch thick, 1 inch square from the block, put it on the turntable, cue your arm into/onto the Magic Eraser - up and down via the cuing mechanism, brush the stylus back to front if you feel you need to....done. Get the Magic Eraser block (a lifetime supply) at your food store.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Agree with Rauliruegas, Elizabeth and Stringreen. They covered it.
a_white
3 posts
 
i'm also looking for a stylus cleaner, Mr.Clean Magic Eraser- do you wet this or use it dry ?
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
A_white, for stylus cleaning, use it dry.

Here are links to my original post and an an article describing the Magic Eraser's material properties, with electron microscope photos .

If you search here you'll find additional usage tips but the basic principles have not changed except in one respect: several cartridge manufacturers have recommended cleaning the stylus after every side. This is to prevent the buildup of loose vinyl molecules which get attached to a stylus by heat and pressure at the stylus-vinyl interface. This happens even with perfectly cleaned LP's. A 5 second cleaning after each side will keep any stylus as clean as a new one.

Of course I'd recommend reading the instructions before using this or any stylus cleaner.
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