Grungy sound with clean needle

It seems unlikely the suspension would collapse on an "almost new" cartridge. Anything's possible, as Mofimadness unfortunately learned, but I'd consider other causes first.

Try cleaning the stylus with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Search here or on other forums for how-to's, cautions and testimonials. Hundreds have adopted this method since I first publicized it 9 years ago. It's more effective than any liquid stylus cleaner (which some cartridge manufacturers warn against, as certain solvents may attack the glue holding the stylus to the cantilever and/or the elastomers in the suspension).

Also, and rather obviously, if you aren't cleaning your LP's effectively - preferably before the first play - your stylus will continually dredge up grunge and muck itself up. This is true even with new releases.

Nothing more fun than troubleshooting hi end vinyl over the internet....:^)

Do you have a spare cart? If so try it and see if grunge goes away. That would tell you something.

Otherwise, do you have a magnifying glass or mirror to inspect stylus with? Could be damaged or defective.

Of course always do your best to make sure any cart is mounted properly with proper tonearm adjustments for vertical tracking and anti-skate, otherwise all bets are off.

..oh and make sure the record you test with is in in good condition as well and you are familiar enough with it to know what it should sound like.

Thanks to all. Am re-installing cartridge with protractor this time. What the hell, everybody is dumb about something.....

Make sure the little needle thingy is pointed down...