Dear Theo: Lyra doesn't nominally provide a separate cleaning service, and heaven forbid were this the case! We are heavily backlogged in our production, and the single person who builds all Lyra cartridges is the same one who takes care of all servicing issues, including inspection and cleaning. If we were to provide a standalone cleaning service, we'd be even farther behind in delivering cartridges than we already are.
Usually what happens is that we get a cartridge back because it doesn't track properly, doesn't sound right, is a low-rider, or whatever. We will look at the cartridge, test it, listen to it, and take care of whatever is wrong with the cartridge, and that automatically includes cleaning. Unless the user specifically requests us to do so, we prefer not to perform any more deep surgery than is necessary to bring the cartridge back to good health, since doing so would take more time (thereby eating into our limited production time), and cost the user money.
In your case, the best plan would be to keep listening to your Kleos, and looking at it periodically through the magnifying glass. If the cartridge starts to sound decidedly "off", or if looking through the magnifying glass makes it appear that the magnet area is encrusted in black pepper or rare spices (smile), then send us back the cartridge.
Lyra handles any and all service issues through the dealer that you originally bought the cartridge from (or the national distributor). It makes life much easier for us when we can deal with bulk returns of a dozen or 20 cartridges at a time, rather than needing to write paperwork or visit the shipping depot for each and every cartridge.
With our present backlog in production and servicing, frankly it could take 8-10 weeks before we can turn an order around.
Normally we take care of service cartridges in the chronological order that we receive them, but it always helps us if the owner can write a memo describing what he thinks is wrong with the cartridge, and sticks the memo to the cartridge box (so that we can read the memo without opening the contents).
BTW, I strongly recommend preventative maintenance. While it may not be advisable to attempt any action about the ferrous particle issue, the stylus should be cleaned frequently. I can hear the buildup on the stylus after one LP side, and therefore I normally clean the stylus after each side. If I am feeling lazy, I may only clean the stylus after one LP.
Preventative maintenance will definitely extend the useful playing life of the cartridge, which we certainly welcome (as it lessens our workload), and I am sure that you do, too (smile).
As an aside, do you feel that the material of the shim affects the sound above and beyond the revised VTA? I wouldn't be surprised if a duralumin shim, brass shim, stainless steel shim all affect the sound in somewhat different ways.
kind regards and hth, jonathan
