What devices have you found useful when inspecting your stylii for cleanliness?

@rauliruegas  I pop the stylus into the Magic Eraser before every side. Been doing it for decades. Decca cartridges.

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.

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. 

I use the onzow zero dust stylus cleaner.  Just lower the needle down a few times and voila - cleaned. Frequency depends on you. 

@lewm 

"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.