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How do I remove gunk from a Lyra Delos cartridge?

I was getting distortion at times when playing lps.Last week I took the turntable to a high end store in Manhattan and they said they would see if they could locate the problem.Everything checked out fine,but they did find what they called gunk on the stylus that you can only see with a magnifying glass and that they were unable to remove the gunk.The store is not a Lyra dealer so maybe they were being cautious when trying to remove the gunk because they did not want to take the chance of damaging the stylus.I will be going to the store tomorrow and I will ask them what methods they used to try and remove the gunk.If someone can give me some advice on removing the gunk I would appreciate it or if you think I would be better off getting in touch with the manufacturer.I'm worried about damage to the stylus. My turntable is a VPI 19 MKiii with a Audioquest PT-6 tonearm.I am thinking about upgrading to a VPI 9 Signature or getting a new turntable if it is more cost efficent. Thanks
montgomery
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uru975
684 posts
 
Look up Magic Eraser in the archives. It is what I use and have not had any problems since. Plus it is very economical.
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
What Lyra spt (stylus perf treatment)?
photon46
1,082 posts
 
I had a similar problem years ago when I purchased a misrepresented cartridge from someone here on Audiogon. The "mint" condition cartridge had an accumulation of vinyl crud seemingly welded to the upper perimeter of the stylus and shank. I used a 10X loupe to keep an eye on things while I worked, which helped a lot. I glued little 1/5" square blocks of Magic Eraser on 1/5" wide by 2" long pieces of popsicle stick wood to make an easily controlled cleaning tool. I also had to use tiny folded pieces of 600 and 1200 grit sandpaper to attack some of the worst accumulations. They were folded abrasive side out, so there was a sharp, crisp edge of abrasive to use. It takes a steady hand, but if you take things slow, no problem.
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
I would be very concerned that the stylus is damaged to begin with and this is why it is accumulating "gunk" in the first place. An undamaged stylus is smooth and does not "chisel" vinyl from the record and accumulate on the stylus. You really should have this checked out by a qualified service provider.

Jonathan?
photon46
1,082 posts
 
I clean my stylus with a little block of Magic Eraser after every play and there is a definite accumulation of tiny black vinyl particles soiling the white Magic Eraser after a few dozen plays. LPs are always spotless and cleaned with two vacuuming steps (cleaner and pure H2O rinse.) I have no doubt that set up parameters are spot on. I think it's normal for some constant debris to be kicked up from the grooves in spite of attention to cleanliness and setup. Otherwise, why would we need to clean the stylus in the first place? If someone is a complete slob about record hygiene and plays uncleaned used lps, I don't have too much of a hard time imagining a buildup of compacted crud after a few hundred hours. After all, the immediate point of contact between the stylus and lp surface is subject to immense heat and pressure (albeit very briefly.)
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