Stylus cleaners

@audphile1 

I like the Shyla. It very clear and open, pretty much like all the other gear I've chosen. VPI took the AT cartridge and enhanced the midrange, but the cartridge sounds balanced. It's tuned to VPI turntables. 

For years I used tube gear, but I'm getting too old to crouch in the 20" space behind my racks and change tubes. I had the ARC Reference 3 preamp and PH-7 phono preamp, which did not sound too bloomy. Both were pretty clear. I find that the Pass Labs gear has a very similar sound, with the treble just slightly rolled to avoid treble harshness. When I began with tubes, I didn't think there was much to replace them, but now there is. My amp is a 20+ year old Hovland Radia, which was the only solid state piece of gear from Hovland. It is a very sweet amp.

@audio-b-dog very good. I’m really digging the Hana ML cartridge on my VPI Prime X. Sounds great. Will probably be going up the Hana line when ready for upgrade. 

I used to have Pass XP-22 preamp and X260.8 monos. That very slightly rolled treble plays into a homogenized presentation which after years of owning Pass gear I wanted to move away from. Great stuff nonetheless. 
Enjoy the tunes!
 

@audphile1 

I'm curious what you replaced the Pass Labs with. Also what speakers you have.

I purchased the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova speakers about a year ago. They are voiced with a more transparent tweeter than the old rolled=off romantic Sonus Fabers. I love the speakers. They are truly high end, but when I play vinyl they can become a bit harsh. Thus, the Pass Labs. The Pass Labs phono preamp XP-25 has a lot of adjustments including capacitance. By playing with the phono preamp settings I was able to tame the tweeter. I love these speakers!

@audio-b-dog

Replaced the Pass separates with Boulder 866 integrated. Wilson Sabrina speakers. Whest Two.2 phono stage. I run Kimber Carbon phono cables from table into phono stage and a pair of Kimber Carbon XLRs from phono stage into amp. 
I’m familiar with SF Olympica Nova. Great speakers. If you feel vinyl can sound harsh trying a different load on the phono usually addresses it but you got it covered! Took me a couple of weeks to fine tune the cartridge/phono stage setup. Also, adding Kimber Carbon interconnects was a very positive change. 

I took a survey ove various stylus cleaning approaches and summarized them in this post

The Magic Eraser method has served me well for nearly two decades.

Thom @ Galibier