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

I use stereo microscope with led illumination, currently Carl Zeiss STEMI 305 w/ 10x, and 25x oculars. It helped me to root cause “funny sound” issues, including dirt on moving magnets, not perfect needle azimuth etc. 

@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?

Hi Richard,

After each side I inspect the stylus visually.  I do have a lighted magnifying glass that I use sometimes, but my eyes are still good enough for this purpose most often.

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.

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.