Magnetic Headshell Screws

[Jerwardemy]

I have a Grado Prestige Gold1 mounted on my Thorens TD-145 MKII...the headshell screws that my turntable came with would not work with my Grado, so I ended up finding some that would work at Ace Hardware. The problem is, they are plain steel and are therefore magnetic.

I have run this cart with those screws for awhile now, but today I took them out and the stuck right to the side of the cart.

I'm going find some aluminum or stainless replacements as soon as possible. My question is, will using non-magnetic screws possibly have sonic benefits after running my cart with those magnetic screws? Also, running the magnetic screws wouldn't have damaged my cart in any way could it?

 

[Pio1980]

Probably no damage on the Grado, just a PITA to deal with with strong magnet carts like Grado and MCs.
With the exception of some Denon Moving coil carts (which come with good non-magnetic hardware) I've gone back to using hardware store nylon screws and nuts. Overtightening is impossible and they stretch a bit, providing constant tension. Of course they are non-magnetic and easy to trim to necessary length.

 

[Balifly]

There are screws for mounting cartridges on to Thorens headshells.
Here are some examples.
http://www.bargainturntables.com/233185/thorens-headshell-cartridge-screws-mounting-kit/

They are also packages of similar screws available on Ebay ( I have those ones).

 

[boreas]

I'm going find some aluminum or stainless replacements as soon as possible.

If you do decide to go the stainless route take a magnet with you to the hardware store. Not all stainless is non-magnetic. It depends on the alloy. Basic common or garden stainless steel is an alloy of steel and chromium. It's the chromium that provides the rust resistance to the metal.

Some better grades of stainless also contain nickel. Nickel enhances the rust resistant properties of the steel/chromium alloy. It also makes it non-magnetic so that's what you're looking for: stainless that's a steel/chromium/nickel alloy.

John

 

[gadget73]

Brass or aluminum may be better, particularly if tonearm mass is a concern. Plastic is also a winner for that, its quite light.

 

[tawny]

I'm going find some aluminum or stainless replacements as soon as possible. My question is, will using non-magnetic screws possibly have sonic benefits after running my cart with those magnetic screws? Also, running the magnetic screws wouldn't have damaged my cart in any way could it?

Steel screws, or rather, bolts, don't act as magnets- they are merely attracted in the presence of a magnetic field, so unless a bolt collides into a cantilever, it can hardly damage a cartridge.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SRM-TECH-PRO-...rntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f07e9d29e