Stylus cleaners

A good ten years ago I started using the small gel pads that are used to a "tune" a snare drum to clean my stylus.  The pads are commonly placed in critical spots on the snare drum head to achieve a balanced pitch everywhere on the head.  They are very inexpensive, costing much less than the same item designated specifically for phono cartridge use.  It works great and removes accumulated grunge with little to no effort.  Simply place the stylus on the pad, let it set for a minute and then remove the stylus.  They can be washed with water to rejuvenate them. 

I have seen individuals place Large Magnets near their Cart's when not using them.

The quantity of Ferrous Metal Particulate that the Magnet attracts and catches in some of the seen images is hard to believe has happened.

Note: That same Non Ferrous Particulate is also at risk of ending up internally of the Cart' attached to the Magnet.

A person I know, not too many years past, lost use of a channel on a Cart' with not too many hours usage. The repair technician reported iron filings had got into the Coil, reacted with wire insulation and the end result was a shorted Coil.

My advisory offered today, to anybody who takes their replaying of Vinyl as a serious area of their hobby. Is to send the Cart', with approx' 50% usage life for a inspection, with the idea, it will need a thorough clean internally and possibly a tweak to the tensioning wire. An assessment on the Stylus condition will also prove valuable.

It really is a shame Cart' Companies don't offer a version of this 'Aftercare Service', as part of a Cart's Sale.

As a loose estimation of Cost:

1, I can return a Cart' to a Third Party Service who has not made any monies from me and typically, it is approx' £60 - $80 to inspect the Cart's Internal, usually refundable if work is agreed.

2, If no parts are required (not expected from a 50% usage inspection ) the Cart' returned pristine clean and possibly with a tweaked tension wire, would incur another $30 - $40.

3, For approx' $100 a Cart' can be optimised for the latter part of the usage life, giving the user the very best experience. Not a increasing deteriorating experience, where contaminant already present is being built upon impacting the Cart's function.

4, When the Cart' Company has already acquired in many cases, a large sum of ones monies. It does seem that 'Aftercare' for them is cheap to make available, but as a available service, is one that is very valuable to the user of their products.  Also it probably will be very useful to the Company's learning about their own Products out in the real world. A very cheap insight to what might be a future development need for the R&D Team.

5, Recently I reported on a Company selling Cart's that are retailing at up to $12K that has Dampers self destruct, prior to the Cartridge being much more than a Year old. Not a major issue, if the Cart' is spent in a year with usage hours already spent.

It is a big problem if the Cart' is expected to be used for 2-4 Years until the 1000osh Hours are spent with it in use. 75% of the Cart's usage is with a Damper no longer fit for purpose and Warranty Period is spent as well. I'm sure this Company would struggle with the idea of receiving returned Cart's for a ' Aftercare Service'. How do they avoid not telling the full picture about the serious deteriorated condition known to be found with the Damper Part to the Cart' owner ??? Not the type of forum and media talk one wants about their product.        

@lalitk ”While you can’t eliminate 100% dust particles, using a high MPR 1900 and MERV 13 rated filters in your AC / Furnace system will help pull and capture most of the air borne microparticles.”

Already on it - have been using those for years.  Still have dust in my listening room, but Winex in-room filter helps.  

As for a switching power supply for turntable light… that punched my obsession buttons also, but was too embarrassed to admit it.  I currently have zero switching supplies on my sound system circuit, and immediately thought I would have to add another lps if I got one of those lights - LOL

kn

@tomic601 @audphile1 

Not sure what lamp you’re using, but the ones I have supplied with USB wall plugs….which means I can bypass supplied USB plug and go direct into IEC outlet. 
https://a.co/d/hSPqNgZ

And any device like router, I have been using DC to USB cable thus eliminating the need for LPS. 

https://a.co/d/43KV9zA

@lalitk that’s pretty cool!

I have an outlet next my 2 dedicated lines that’s on a separate leg. I can plug the light into it without impacting the system.