stylus cleaner

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2012-09-19 10:21

Recently I learned how important a clean stylus is by comparing an old recording (pre EkosSE) to my actual setup (w EkosSE and renewed pickup): The old file was just better. After searching for potential reasons, it turned out that some sticky dirt on the needle was the culprit. Green paper would not get it off, brushing being useless, SillyPutty discarded since a bad experience during a warm summer day: so what should I use for cleaning? Reading this in an old thread (mostly about record cleaning):
-----------
FL:
..occasionally, the stylus gets deposits that don't easily fall off. On most styluses, this is visible when looking at the tip from the right angle and with sufficient light (this requires some practice). In the right angle, the clean stylus will be clear like glass. At least once or twice in the life of my styluses, I need to clean them with a pad wetted with a tiny amount of alcohol to remove sticky dirt.

..I have seen Zerodust but had no idea there was a similar substance around. Will try it...
------------
I used a drop of pure Ethanol an a tissue, placed it on the platter, and lowered the pickup onto it a couple of times - perfect. Glass like appearance. With extreme effect on the music, just sounding great.

But now being warned and looking at the stylus after a single record (15x magnifier with light,
http://www.online-werkzeughandel.de/wer ... 5/a-29512/ ) I saw that the stylus is not transparent any more after playing. It is not much material, but potentially degrading the music: Do I really need to clean the stylus with fluid that frequently??

I also checked immediately for the Onzow Zerodust: This is still available. Does anyone use it? And if so, is it doing the job perfectly or is it still necessary to use some fluid as well?

Having realised the musical compromise from a dirty stylus I really want to ensure that it is clean for every LP I play.

Thanks for input, Klaus

John · Post by **John** » 2012-09-20 11:53

I've been using a putty for the last ten years to clean my Linn MC styli and it works great. It was supplied by Expert Stylus but I have seen it sold by a couple different sources. I just lower the stylus onto to it a couple times for a few seconds about every four record sides. It's the same product used by jewlers to clean watch parts and diamonds.

Here's one source, I also have seen it sold on eBay.

http://northwestanalogue.weebly.com/shop.html

This is the actual product:

http://www.tickintimeworldofwatchtools. ... 1268-p.asp[/img]

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2012-10-17 15:44

Thanks John! I found the Bergeon Rodico 6033 at all watch part supply and repair shops and ordered one. In the mean time I also got some ONZOW gel and must say, it has little in commen with silly putty. The dome in the box is not supported and all of the stuff you can see in the pics consists of one big piece of gel. It does not flow but keeps its shape. It seems a bit odd to put it in a box, as a thin film would work much better and could be placed on the platter.

Most of the dirt I experience when playing RCMed LPs is brushed off easily with a soft carbon brush. The dirt that ruined the sound so annoyingly must have stemmed from an occasional play of some uncleaned record. My present problem is how to check the stylus cleanliness in a nice way. Cheap USB 'microscopes' are too badly built. And illumination is critical. While my 15x lens is almost OK, a larger magnification would be nicer.

John · Post by **John** » 2012-10-17 16:20

I now have a lifetime supply of the stuff having recently purchased some via EBay. Avoid touching it with your fingers! I cut a piece off with a razor blade, place a toothpick through it. Place it in a plastic sandwich bag and then flatten it between a stack of records. This small piece lasts almost a year!

Post by **lejonklou** » 2012-10-29 13:27

Thanks John, for the tip about Bergeon Rodico 6033! I didn't know the name of it, but tried it after getting some from Expert Stylus Company. It worked really well. Didn't notice it being better than silly putty, but maybe someone with more experience has a different opinion?

Unlike Klaus I only play uncleaned records (to me they sound best) and only rarely the stylus tip gets contaminated with something sticky. Silly Putty always gets it off. I use it every other record, approximately. Indispensable stuff! Now I'm changing to Bergeon Rodico 6033 for a while.

John · Post by **John** » 2012-10-29 14:10

That's the great thing about forums such as this one, sharing knowledge to benefit like minded music lovers!

fettspeck · Post by **fettspeck** » 2012-11-08 20:14

After I read the thread I ordered Bergeon Rodico from ebay. I have cleaned the stylus for 20 years with the audio technica brush. I was astound how much dirt was on this piece of Bergeon after I used it to clean the stylus. The sound was much clearer after that. This is a good recommendation.

dmitre · Post by **dmitre** » 2012-11-09 05:40

I'm using some AudioTechnica cleaner and it makes sense.

fettspeck · Post by **fettspeck** » 2012-11-09 12:03

I did not say that the audio technica brush is useless. But when you try this green stuff you will realize that it really works better. Keep in mind that the audio technica brush is not availible anymore. You can try it yourselve for little money and that is the sense behind this bargain thread.

dmitre · Post by **dmitre** » 2012-11-09 12:16

Thanks!
I'll do :}

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2013-07-31 08:17

Repeatedly I compared new needledrops after an LP12 upgrade to previous recordings of the same LP only to find that the older version sounds better. This is always disappointing, but tells that something must have gone wrong. Up to date this effect was always caused by stylus dirt. Sometimes visible, but not always. Get it off, and the upgrade is an upgrade. My procedure for getting this stuff off the diamond is as described before: Give one drop (pipette) of Ehtanol abs. on a small piece of paper tissue resting flat on a plastic (credit) card on the platter, and lower the needle a couple of times into it. The fact that this helps suggests that it is some greasy substance that spoils the diamond. As I play washed records only, it seems as if this substance is incorporated in the vinyl and builds up on the stylus when playing records. I fear it is a continuous slow quality decrease and thus not too easy to detect in normal operation.

The question is: Does anyone know from experience that Ethanol is adverse to the stylus glue? And by what method of application? To my idea, Ethanol is one of the mildest alcohols, and the industial glues I use at work withstand an Ethanol exposure for a very long time. As the Linn MCs do not use a rubber connection between the tube and the corpus of the pickup, there is also no rubber part to degrade from Ethanol. Moreover, if the thin paper tissue lies flat on the plastic, it is just the tip of the diamond that dives into this Ethanol 'sponge', not the glued part. There's also no floating liquid around that could travel up the hollow tube by capillary action (I would avoid this, and there's indeed no need for excess amounts of liquid). The Ethanol wetted paper sponge cleanes the stylus nicely - I mean it has a nice effect. The natural flow, detail, and liveliness comes back. An orchestra is a beautifully composed synergy and not a muddy swamp.

As the dirt under consideration is not dust or particles, it is not removed be green paper, onzow or bergeon stuff (all are at hand).
Any opinions about the described cleaning method?

Efraim roots · Post by **Efraim roots** » 2013-08-04 10:13

Interesting. I have suspected for a long time there is some kind of dirt that just don't go away with silly putty and green paper. I want to investigate this and maybe try some fluid sometime. I think this could be a good complement to use a couple of times during the stylus life. My Adikt is a real workhorse :-)

I would be interested to hear your experiences. With an Adikt, is there any obvious reason not to use ethanol? I think I read about some fluid on the Linn forum aswell, will do I search.

*Edit;
Alcohol seems not to be recommended at all what I can see after a quick search. For example this quote from Linnforum: "Surface tension can suck the liquid up the cantilever and damage the cart"

In the same thread I found a interesting recommendation of a product from Lyra, Lyra SPT cleaning fluid and brush. It's supposed to be perfectly safe. The only question is, is this any better than putty and green paper.
http://www.lyraconnoisseur.com/Products ... T/spt.html

And this audio technica fluid and brush, somebody tried that one?

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2013-08-06 17:47

Efraim roots wrote:seems not to be recommended at all

This is exactly the problem. I was looking for real knowledge and experience.

The Lyra SPT is known but not tested. Lyra states it contains 'organic chemical cleaning agents'. No alcohols.

Efraim roots · Post by **Efraim roots** » 2013-08-07 00:06

I see, well I couldn't bring much else than to show my interest for the questions asked..

Some day I'm sure I'll do some tests but I guess it will take some time. First I'll start with optimal installation of my Adikt and take it from there. Hopefully I'll get that done before 2014..

Regarding alcohol. Is isopropyl alcohol in theory as good as ethanol? I have a bottle for cassette head cleaning.

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2013-08-15 09:36

I just found an old worn out K9 stylus assembly in my drawers.
This is ideal for a small test: Put the diamond into ethanol and
check after 24 h, if it falls off. I'll keep you informed.

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2013-08-19 15:30

Here is the 'result' of a 2x 12h soak in ethanol of a K9 stylus.

Overall assembly with stylus, tube and glue:

and view on the upside with glue (rectangular stylus end shining through)

I wanted to check whether the stylus falls off after this action. It does not,
and it was not possible to push the stylus in, and I can see no defect in the glue.

As the tube end is open, fluid could travel upwards when the end is wetted.
I feel that the 'wetted tissue' stylus cleaning with ethanol is a safe
action. In contrast to the use of a brush, the dive-in depth of the stylus
is limited by the tissue thickness and there are no excess liquid drops
as the tissue acts as a sponge.

BR, Klaus

Post by **lejonklou** » 2013-08-20 21:56

Thanks for the report, Klaus. It may be that the ethanol does not affect the glue at all, but if you need to be dead certain, your experiment raises two questions:

1. Is it the same glue used on the K9 stylus as on your MC?

2. Is 2x12h of soaking in ethanol comparable to many quick dips, with long pauses in between each? I am assuming your cartridge lasts for years.

Personally, I dip the tip in ethanol, but very rarely. Only when I notice it doesn't sound right or appears to be sticky, which happens less than once a month. I will be using your tissue method from now on.

k_numigl · Post by **k_numigl** » 2013-08-22 12:33

lejonklou wrote:raises two questions:
1. Is it the same glue used on the K9 stylus as on your MC?

Most likely not. It would be nice to be more informed, but while manufacturers happily invent new stylus shape names, they do not tell us about the glue. To know what is used and check with the glue specs would be much preferable in contrast to a soaking test or just speculation. As often, info one really needs is retained, chat is communicated.

2. Is 2x12h of soaking in ethanol comparable to many quick dips, with long pauses in between each? I am assuming your cartridge lasts for years.

Who knows (both comparibility and durability )) ). My immediate idea is that a longer soak is more advers than a short exposure and fast subsequent drying. If a brush is used it might be the other way round. Funnily, Lyra recommends to use their brush in a way that touches the stylus exclusively and keep clear of the cantilever. No chance for me to do so!

Overall, this little test is no proof of anything and is rather giving a feeling than providing real knowledge. But according to all these warnings, I was really expecting to see the stylus fall off.

The FlatEarther · Post by **The FlatEarther** » 2013-08-28 20:45

Nothing beats Lyra SPT. I have used this on my Akiva since new and it still gleams.

If it is the correct cleaning method for a Titan, it's good enough for any cartridge.

I have cleaned friends cartridges some of which had styli that were blacker and crustier than a crow's ass. All have come up gleaming and none of the diamonds have fallen off.

Flat