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Cartridge issues... opinions please

Jbmorrey

Jbmorrey

Active Member
So I moved my turntable around a bit the other day and set it back up, to hear the sound at times distort, as well as get a type of “crackle” sound at times, which I read could be due to the cartridge no being aligned properly, but I also noticed the top seems to be off at an angle slightly, could I have a bent cantilever? Thoughts?


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bill7621 said:
when was the last time the stylus was cleaned? Looks like it has a wad of gunk on it. I'd start there.
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Yea, the stylus was dirty, I did not notice that, cleaned it up and still has that distorting sound to it. I guess I should realign the cartridge? It seems like it is aligned though.


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Ilikevinyl said:
It still looks like there's crud on the tip.
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Well I am tapping the stylus into my Onzow Zerodust “Blob” at multiple angles, is there another way I could clean it ? I just don’t want to damage it and do not have a stylus brush. Have always just used the Onzow.
 
Use a small artist brush after you dip the stylus in your Onzow Zerodust to wipe away any leftover crud on the tip. I use a small flat artist brush to wipe my cartridge stylus. The hobby stores have the best quality artist brushes. I get mine at Hobby Lobby. If there's crud on the stylus I use plain distilled water that I dip the brush into then ALWAYS wipe the stylus from Back to Front! Your Denon DL-110 has a very tiny hyper elliptical tip that gets deep down into the groove. Make sure your records are washed (cleaned).
 
You could try magik eraser, just dip it like the Onzow. You need a brush but you can get ME at the grocer. The crackling probably has to do with the interconnects or ground wire but that stylus looks dirty.
 
oldman54 said:
You could try magik eraser, just dip it like the Onzow. You need a brush but you can get ME at the grocer. The crackling probably has to do with the interconnects or ground wire but that stylus looks dirty.
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Magic Eraser I don't like. Tiny fibers get built up over time, especially on a Jico SAS stylus!
 
I have a radio shack brush I like. It has a pad similar to the original Discwasher about the size of postage stamp. I bought the last NOS one last month for too much. Then I found another I forgot I had. My original is a little worn after 40 yrs but still usable. I have a Discwasher carbon fiber one too. I've used ME when inspecting stylus under 60x magnification and it works. Don't have any sas or ml though.
 
Spring for a Discwasher SC-1 or SC-2 from the bay. Drop of pure water on the leading edge and glide that brush under your nail so that the nail gets washed with the wetted brush section and then dried with the major portion of the brush, always from back to front, just as the record moves under the nail.

One cleaning and we should see a diamond on that cantilever, if it is still there.
 
Jbmorrey said:
I have never cleaned the Onzow , honestly did not know you could clean it, how can it be cleaned?

James
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I put a drop of soap and water on my finger tip, rub the dome a bit, then rinse under a trickle from the tap. Let it air dry before replacing the lid. Some of these sticky polymers are hydrophilic (absorbs water) so cleaning not only removes the dust but renews the tack.
 
Jbmorrey said:
Finally got my needle cleaned, ended up putting some of my record cleaning solution on a q-tip and let the needle tip soak a bit, cleaned right up and things sound as they should, thanks for pointing out the dirty needle, I thought I did something to misalign it when I moved it around.
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Good to hear you solved the distortion problem! :thumbsup: I always wipe my stylus after every album. ;)
 
As a rule you should clean your stylus with a stylus brush (very inexpensive on E/Bay) every day before you play LP's

Cheers
 
It appears that your stylus is partly damaged, missing (could be an optical illusion, or not enough camera magnification in your pic for a tiny stylus).

Anyway, presuming the stylus is ok ...

Get yourself one of these:
pro-ject-clean-it-stylus-cleaning-brush-5480765095999_1024x1024.png


And some of this, with its own soft brush (looks like a nail polish brush). Get something from a reputable company (manufacturer) who knows a thing or two about styli. Don't cut corners and buy something from some honky-tonk vendor. Put a dab of this solution on the stylus:
clearaudio-ac003-stylus-cleaner-liquid-20-ml-with-brush.jpg





And do this:
ALWAYS FROM BACK TO FRONT:
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Let's start from here and then see where that takes you.

If that doesn't cure the problem, tonearm alignment would be the next step.

Finally, you align the cartridge. You can't align the cart if the tonearm is not aligned.

I'm not a fan of Magic Eraser for delicate styli, but that's just me.

Bon chance! (Good luck)! :)
 
cafe latte said:
Yep still dirty needs alcohol.
Chris
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Never use alcohol on a stylus! It can loosen the glue if it's bonded! I use the Soundsmith method of using Blue Tak modeling clay. Dip the stylus in it, you can see the crud come off! Wipe stylus after with small stylus brush. Never had a problem with the Soundsmith way.
 
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