Use a mirror and a flashlight!
What devices have you found useful when inspecting your stylii for cleanliness?
Please do not describe how you clean your stylii once you have discovered they are dirty. Make that another topic!
I am interested in what you have found useful during your inspection. My Audio Technica microline stylus is so small I can hardly see it at the best of times. To make things worse for me, I need reading glasses and my current tone arm is a fixed head-shell design so I cannot easily get a good viewing angle - the arm does not tilt much! Also the background, mainly a black mat, does not offer a good contrast.
Suggestions please ....
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Belomo Triplet loupe - nice and sharp, crisp image. 15x is about perfect to see what you need with a bright image and not too much "judder" effect from the magnification. There is a 20x which can be useful too, but its image is dimmer. Much better than the plastic or single-element loupes, ugh. Of course you can get more magnification (USB microscope), but for daily cleanings and general inspection that is unnecessary! |
I keep a small 20x magnifying mirror loose on the deck below my cartridge, no need to remove the headshell or cartridge or stylus. The arm remains locked in the rest, you simply rotate/tilt the mirror this way and that for any view I just found this diagram indicating distance/magnifying power, my stylus tip is 2" above the mirror when at rest.
for $10, I am going to try this 30x one with built in light 30x Magnifying Mirror, 4" dia, with light
You don’t need or want the suction cups, you pick up one edge, angle it about this way and that, seeing the cantilever and stylus easily. In my case, I just move it below whichever cartridge I am checking. Now, I have a nearby light fixture, and I bounce the light down onto the mirror and it reflects under the cartridge. This new one with it’s built in and dimmable light might work, might not. Scissors as a bonus ............................................ Brush, or Stylus Cleaning Fluid: I lift the arm up higher out of the rest, and can see magnified in the mirror the brush/cartridge/cantilever/stylus as I approach and draw rear to front.
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I think your magnifying mirror will work well for me! I have tried a loupe, but not as good a one as @mulveling recommends. I will get both! I have a USB digital microscope, but it is a pain to set up. I might also try a car inspection camera which at least includes a light source and is self-contained. I don't think it would help for cleaning, though. Really need something I can use after each side is played, and which can stay in place @lewm I am getting pretty quick at removing the entire tone arm from the mounting board. Much faster for me than removing and refitting a cartridge! |
RB wrote, "my current tone arm is a fixed head-shell design so I cannot easily get a good viewing angle - the arm does not tilt much." Do you really think one can inspect the rear of the stylus and the cantilever (which also can accumulate dirt and debris) without removing the cartridge from the headshell, in that situation? All the magnification in the world is not going to allow a good view of the back end of the stylus and cantilever. With my Triplanar, I can flip the headshell over on its back for inspection of the stylus/cantilever, without removing the cartridge from the tonearm or altering the azimuth (once the cartridge is reverted to playing position), but this does not seem to be possible with RB's tonearm. |
Mirrors and magnification.in dentistry they have small mouth mirrors and glasses with magnification loops.a surplus store might have some.i have used these alot in surgery.fiber optic scope like they use in auto industry might work they have lcd screens with magnification.i have some pediatric scopes I use to get stuff out of small kids lungs but they are way too expensive.we have huge monitors hi Def great detail. My rigid zero degree sinus scopes would work you might be able find some used on ebay.depends on how bad you want to see it.people send thier stylus in to be rebuilt you could call one of these companies and ask how they do it.enjoy the music |
Checking after each side is played is over-doing it IMO. I check when I turn the system on, while warming up: check, typically ok, or brush a speck of dust, or maybe if I see something more stylus cleaning fluid with it's cap brush. Or, you hear something, sure enough, a bit of ...... hanging on the stylus IF you are finding anything more that occassional dust, frequently finding gunk on your stylus, then it is digging that out of dirty grooves, you need to do a better job cleaning them. I no longer use a brush to clean the LP, it pushes dust down into the grooves I think. I use a large lint free eyeglass cloth, a manual spin, a light wipe of any surface dust center to outer edge (I have forced air hvac, airborne dust) My old LPs from high school/college days were filthy, noisy, gunk on the stylus frequently. I manually scrub the crap out of them with infant scalp brush, the advanced stylus gets deeper in the cleaned grooves than the elliptical I had in those days, they sound surprisingly listenable again. Setup for perfect imaging, whistle while I work, batches of 10 |
@lewm Thanks, I can see where you are coming from, even if I cannot see my own stylus! Just as an aside, what do you consider the back of the stylus to be, the bit that faces the oncoming groove or the bit that is essier to see? My tone arm dates from about 1972, and is an SME 3009 Series II improved with fixed head shell. SME sold almost half a million similar arms but I have no idea how many had fixed head shells. Secondhand it is worth less than 1/10 of your Tri-Planar! SME gets most of the credit for the industry standard head shell socket, which was actually by Ortofon. The advantages of a fixed head shell include less mass, more rigidity and fewer electrical connections. The disadvantage is, er, it is fixed. My current cartridges are both Moving Magnet types, so the stylii can be pulled out of the cartridge body, though I have not been game enough to try this yet. I takes just a few minutes to unscrew the four screws holding the arm to the base and unplug its DIN connector, so I can look at the whole assembly upside down. Or just undoing two bolts achieves the same thing but does not guarantee to keep the previous alignment. Happy to do this every few months to look for wear, but I really want something that helps each day, and ideally has near zero set-up time |
I have a variety or loupes, magnifiers, microscopes, including a Shure SEK, and digital scopes. For routine checking of muck on the stylus, and general state of cantilever, I found a 7X magnifier to be the best for my aging eyes. I got one with a Mint protractor for one arm, but the lighting was intermittent, and bought another one of the same power which seems to be a little more robust. It was cheap. I’m using these to inspect whether there is any build up on the stylus and to make sure the cantilever is straight. This is not meant for examining stylus wear. I run good cartridges, have gone to great lengths to develop a record cleaning regime, and try not to obsess over it. Currently run a Koetsu Tiger Eye in a Kuzma Airline arm on the main system. My second system (vintage) involves a little less compulsive behavior, but have a similar assortment of loupes and magnifiers in that set up. |
Dear @richardbrand : " Really need something I can use after each side is played, and which can stay in place. "
After each side, really? well you are anal about and that's you but through many years looking/reading several web audio forums this is the first time that a gentleman likes to do that. The first hand experiences tolds me that if the LP surface is cleaned with care the stylus tip normally is clean and maybe with a few if any debray down there. Take care not to manipulate often the stylus tip due that any cartridge suspension is really fragile and not clean to often the stylus tip with liquid cleaner due that goes against the stylus tip glued down there.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R.
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First, thanks for the upgrade to "gentleman"! For context, most of the music I play is classical. I am just seeing if I want to get back into vinyl, after years of being told it is better than digital, and finding out that my old Garrard 301 is still highly regarded in some quarters. After various upgrades, including a nude micro-line stylus, I am getting CD-like sound quality from some of my records, most of which have not been played much over the last 40 years. The sound quality is incredibly sensitive to tracking force and to dirt on the stylus. I want to ensure that any changes I hear and measure after each tweak are because of the tweak and not because of other factors like dirt. At least I can be sure that my older records were actually analogue! I now know that almost all records produced over the last couple of decades go through a digital mastering stage. |
@rauliruegas I pop the stylus into the Magic Eraser before every side. Been doing it for decades. Decca cartridges.
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I use the magnifier on my iPhone, which zooms in more than I need, and a flashlight. I no longer use any cleaning fluid on my stylus. Years ago I had an expensive Grado Reference and my cleaning lady bent the cantilever. Grado agreed to straighten it (for free). I'm pretty sure Mr. Grado helped me. Anyway, when I talked to him over the phone about the stylus he said, "Quit using that gunk to clean your stylus. I had to clean it off. A diamond stylus is so hard that dust comes right off with a brush." Soi, I now use the Clearaudio stiff bristle brush to get off random dust particles as well as dust knots. I also use a soft bristle brush to clean off the bottom of the cartridge where dust sometimes collects. |
"If your SQ is only CD-like, you have a way to go. Hi Rez streaming is a legit alternative to vinyl, but, IMO, high quality vinyl has it all over RBCD" Yes, I agree I have a way to go! So far, I have taken a quality 70 year old turntable and a 50 year old tone arm and had a first cut at getting them to play well. I have not even got to fine-tuning the system. Unfortunately, at this point I have very few albums (hate that word) on both silver disk and vinyl that I can directly compare. My comment on CD-like quality is based mainly on a new Decca (London) recording of Beethoven's triple concerto, where I only have the vinyl version. If I ignore the faint surface noise and some idler-wheel rumble, I could believe a well-recorded CD was playing! These days I mainly play high resolution classical SACDs which are in another league in my opinion. I have another vinyl on order for direct comparison against SACD! (I think classical music has been served better on CD than most other genres - what do you listen to?) |
Dear @noromance : I don't like to manipulate that often the cartridge suspension where any " thin " mistake and the suspension could goes out or with out been aware it could be weaked at each time and if we do it so often like you just can be aware of any damage till is " to late ". In the other side the vry tip of the stylus tip is cleaned by it self tracking grooves if the LP are really clean and this is the first premise in that stylus tip cleans. Only in the new LP the tip can been dirty but after 2-3 playing times everything goes normal. I'm not saying don't clean the stylus tip only do it not so often as each side. The developed LP surface static mekes more harm to what we are listen it and we need an anti-static gun or the like to be safe down there because the dust threads comes from that static and this is the true dirt that makes the harm to the sound. The stylus tip cleans always is a controversial issue and we post what we thing already fuctioned for each one of us.
@richardbrand : " sound quality is incredibly sensitive to tracking force and to dirt on the stylus. " Usually MM cartridges are high compliance ane if the cartridge suspension and the VTF is centered at the manufacturer VTF range " minute " VTF changes normally we can't listen its differences but in the other side been high compliance cartridges the VTF could makes that the VTA changes more easy that with medium/low compliance cartridges design. It's not easy for me to figure out what you are listening with those VTF changes and if your SME is spot on in its original specs and you not named the classical LPs where you listen those differences. R. |
@rauliruegas I have been pulling my table and arm apart several times a day while I fashion and fit plinth inserts made from 28-mm thick MDF with constrained damping layers in between. On one occasion the small sliding weight got shifted accidentally and the cartridge was tracking close to the old Shure’s recommended 1.2 grams rather than the 2.1 grams it should be. Audibly there was something horribly wrong! Similar thing if too much fluff gets caught by the stylus. There are more nasties if the very fine nylon line holding the anti-skating weight comes off its pulley, or gets itself wrapped around the wire holding the pulley. As far as I can tell, the tone arm itself is in very good condition, except for some minor corrosion on the electrical connectors to the cartridge. By design, the sliding balance weight is only good for 0 to 1.5 grams so I twist the main weight using a digital scale to get into the ballpark before final adjustment with the sliding weight. There has been a lot of trial, and a lot of error! The classic error was using a small cable tie to fasten the motor cable to the transit mounting, which is spring loaded and well clear of the motor when the whole thing is upside down. Once the right way up, and hidden inside the plinth, the motor descended and got fouled by the cable tie! The record that I mainly test with is an Accoustic Research demonstration disk, and I use a jazz track with trumpet, piano, bass and drums. An alternative is an Original Master Recording of Sir Adrian Boult conducting Elgar’s orchestral transcription of a Bach organ piece. Plenty of braying brass there! I have a couple of test disks - the "Ultimate Analogue Test LP" and a German equivalent. More vinyl is on its way including Hyperion’s Shostakovich Piano Concertos, which I already use as tests on SACD. I really am having fun, and learning lots ... |
Dear @rauliruegas . I hear you on the suspension issue with too much cleaning. That's why I included my Decca cartridges note. As you know, they don't have a cantilever as such and can take a beating more than a potentially sensitive moving coil. Nevertheless, I felt it statistically relevant to point out there is at least one of us cleaning per side. My records are clean, and it's more of a preventative habit than anything else. |
@richardbrand I inspect styluses with a loupe with a built-in LED light. I also use a digital otoscope with a probe if a screen view is needed. |
It is interesting to read the diversity of routines that everyone has developed to address this simple task. I have three main TTs, two with fixed (i.e. non removable headshells) and one with a removable headshell feature. In all cases I check the stylii for wear using a Wild-Herrbrugg microscope. In the case of the non-removable headshell arms the cartridges must be removed for inspection. In all cases the microscope inspection is performed bi-annually, so it is not too burdensome. For every day cleaning I do many things: in all cases before every play of every side I very lightly apply Stylast to the tip of the diamond only. The record itself is brushed. After each side is played the stylus is inspected and if there is any debris collected it is removed. I have a soft brush provided by Audio Technica, I have a stiff brush provided by Ortofon, I have the gel thingy from Ozow or whoever, and I have an ultrasonic brush that when used with a drop of distilled water does the best job of all. I bought it from Amazon for not much money. BTW, I used the microscope to evaluate all these brushes and such plus blue tack. The ultrasonic brush, made by Hudson if memory serves, did the best job by far.
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@billstevenson Thanks for the great tips. One mystery remains: "After each side is played the stylus is inspected". What, if anything, do you use to do this? |
Dear @noromance : I know that with that Decca cartridge even as the Ikeda 9 have compliance ( very low ). Now you as many other audiophiles ( I made it in the past too. ) makes that stylus clean after each side with out really make an inspection, just we do it we are accustom to. In the other side @richardbrand was or is looking for a device to inspect the stylus at the end of each side where that " inspect device " makes a quality difference between what he is looking for and what other gentlemans normally make: no inspect devices. @richardbrand " One mystery remains: "After each side is played the stylus is inspected". I can’t be sure if @billstevenson do it in the way I do where I only " inspect " the stylus by my eyes looking mostly for debris/dust threads ( he posted that the true inpspection of the stylus is twice a year. ) . This is the " inspection " I do: only by eyes. I like to listen MUSIC and don’t lost time that often with a " inspection device ", time is to short and is " gold " to take advantage of it.
R.
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the new mirror with LED light came, the light works well, no need to aim or hold another light source. it's 30x, slightly better than my 20x, the numbers don't make meaningful sense, btw, many years ago, I gave myself a great shop light with magnifying glass, and built-in lights, here it is, with the 20x and new 30x in same photo, I'm moving my Sumiko Talisman Sapphire to my Long Fixed arm for the Holidays. here's the 20x, I bounce light from a nearby fixture with flexible arm, then pick up the mirror, rotate it this way and that
here's the 30x, self-lit a wonderful hands free feature, I still lift one edge of the mirror, roll it this way and that, you can inspect the suspension, the cantilever, the tip, just a matter of positioning, bending, eye distance. |
