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Diamond Stylus Enters the 4th Dimension

So, I went to play a Chet Baker Album last night. Lowered the arm, flipped og the mute switch and.......GARBAGE!

The cantilever looked fine. On examination with my USB microscope I confirmed a sullen fact. The diamond had gone AWOL. There is just a little glue left on the end of the cantilever which is completely undamaged. It is a Clearaudio Charisma cartridge.

Anyone ever have this happen? I played records the day before no problem. I did not take anything to the stylus brush or otherwise. I do use an Audio Technica tonearm lift but it's trigger mechanism is so light. I can't believe that did it and it certainly should not do it. IMHO the cantilever should break before the diamond gets knocked off. 

The cartridge is four months old and I got it from Elusive Disc. It has a two year warranty. Here is where the rubber hits the road. 
mijostyn

Showing 5 responses by daveyf

daveyf's avatar
daveyf
3,012 posts
 
@mijostyn I think you are right, the Acoustat 6 and the model 8 were in fact doubled up three’s and fours. I seem to remember that they were not called 3+3 or 4+4 though. I did think that the stacked Quad’s were more revealing and accurate in their timbre and midrange reproduction.
I could never get my Acoustat 3’s to really sound that great, the Maggie’s that I sold to buy them, where in my system far superior sounding. The Maggie's were just so much more accurate in their bottom end response and imaged with greater precision. At the time i was using a Counterpoint preamp and a Melos tube amp...perhaps that was the issue??
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
3,012 posts
 
Sounds like the glue holding the stylus to the cantilever let go. One question, did you use one of the Onzow type bubble cleaners with this cartridge? They have been known to eat cantilevers and stylus, although with the proper handling protocols, even those can be safe.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
3,012 posts
 
@mijostyn  Your photo of the cantilever tells the whole story. It seems clear that there was an incorrect gluing of the stylus to the cantilever. A clear manufacturing defect, IMHO. This is something that the manufacturer should make right for you.
BTW, I like your modded Acoustat 2+2's, I used to own Acoustat 3's with the modded C transformers back in the day. 
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
3,012 posts
 
@katylied I know a number of dealers who are now refusing to stock or sell the Onzow cleaner. I’m pretty sure  the horror stories with the Onzow result from what you say...user error. I use one on my Lyra, along with the Last Stylast, and both do work quite well. I think one has to be careful though with the Onzow.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
3,012 posts
 
@mijostyn  I think you are referring to the Acoustat 6's when you say 3+3...is that right? I had a friend who used to own the Acoustat 8's. They were huge! Required an extremely large room, which he had, and were not that easy to drive. I thought they were a good speaker, but I also thought that stacked Quad's were far superior, and for a lot less $$. 
I always lusted after Quads when I owned my Acoustat's...
Not so much today..:0)
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