Stylus cleaners

@audphile1 

I had no interest in electronics until my stereo forced me to. I have always been a creative guy. I began writing poetry in high school. I was introduced to classical music by my father when I was 12 or 13. I did not listen to rock n' roll in high schook in the early sixties. I thought it was stupid, and I still do. After the Beatles, things got interesting. And with Davis and Coltrane, Jazz took a less intellectual turn. As I have earned more money I have slowly upgraded my system with my wife as my accountant and regulator. These expensive speakers were my part of an inheritance. But I have enjoyed each step up I have taken. I have gotten too old to stoop in the 20" space behind my racks and change tubes, so I've gone to tubish solid state. If I could still change tubes, I'd still have my ARC gear. The Ref 3 preamp was excellent. I might have upgraded my PH-7, though, although I have loved it much. Basically, I have enjoyed buying and slowly swapping out equipment. Each time the music sounded better. Now I guess I'm really in the high end, but not the dCS quarter of a million dollar DAC high end. Maybe I'll call it the rational high end. Besides, there is only so much I can put in my 18' x 22' listening room.

@bpoletti 

after I use the magic eraser, I use a soft brush (just get a soft fine tip artist brush and cut the handle down) to remove any fibers left.  I don’t have the magnification to take an image, but at 30x the cantilever and stylus are very clean, no build up, no fibers.  I use a similar brush to clean the entire cartridge every so often, otherwise it will get hairy due to static.

@audio-b-dog I listen to a wide range of music from classical to jazz to rock and heavy metal. My expectation from a system is that it should be able to reproduce it all equally well. If I was only listening to classical I probably stick with tubes. Used to own several ARC tube preamps. They make great audio equipment. 

I paid around $70 for the LAST stylus maintenance duo (cleaner and treatment). Sounds expensive for 2 tiny bottles. But considering how much of the product is used each time during the cleaning process, it should last decades. The results are outstanding as well - lower surface noise, improved clarity.

Everyone who uses magic eraser as a stylus cleaner…I hope you realize that it’s abrasive. Yes, diamond is a hard mineral, I get that.

But at the same time I’m curious to understand, with so many choices of purpose built stylus cleaning options on the market, what are the advantages of using this household cleaner as your tool of choice.

@audphile1 

I don't use a stylus cleaner. I just use brushes. My system sounds great. I clean my records with a Degritter so I don't get gunk on the stylus. And I trust Joe Grado, the inventor of the moving coil cartridge: "Don't clean your stylus with that gunk. Just brush it off. Diamonds are so hard nothing sticks to them."