How often do you demagnitize your MC cartridge?

I'm a "newbie" to analog/turntables, but in my research so far, I have come across many who state that "burn-in" products, of which de-magnetizers are included, is just a marketing scam to make a small industry rich. Check out the "BURNING IN COMPONENTS" section of this web page (just over halfway down the page - might be easier to do a search [CTRL+F] for "magnet"): http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/4133/know.html

I have also read somewhere (but I am unable to find my source) that using these de-magnetizers continues to weaken the magnetic field that the cartidges are capable of producing, causing even more damage (and loss of sound quality) over time.

Just my $0.02

Wes

That's right, you don't want to de-magnetize the magnets (or even attempt to do so)...this may be the exact issue that I eluded to from my research. In essence, continued attempts to de-magnetize the magnets would weaken the electromagnetic fields (or worse, change their characteristics) which would intern reduce the inducted current, etc., etc. causing all kinds of issues with the final signal information.

Thanks, Twl!

Wes