19
Proper care and maintenance of Hi-Fi
cartridges & records
C A R E O F H I - F I C A R T R I D G E S
Replace your cartridge when due - hi-fi cartridges have a lifespan for their cantilever suspensions and stylus needles. This
will vary from manufacturer and type of cartridge as well as other factors like the cleanliness of your records and the care
you take of the cartridge. It is wise to enquire on the expected life of your cartridge to the manufacturer, so that when the
time comes it is replaced accordingly - most importantly this will preserve your records as well as enable you to enjoy the
best performance.
If there is a build-up of dust and dirt where the needle enters the cartridge body you should use a small soft brush to
brush the debris out. Always brush from the direction of the cantilever to the stylus or you may do damage.
Care of stylus - One well known method of cleaning stylii is the Linn green stuff which is a very fine abrasive paper - this
may is OK on some cartridges which do not have fine stylus tips and fragile cantilever mechanisms. However there is a
danger of causing fractures or chips in your diamond stylus on certain fineline tips. This method can also strain the
cantilever mechanism.
There are a number of fluids on the market that increase stylus life and help to clean gunge from the needle - a word of
caution though - some of these can loosen the stylus glue on the cantilever over time - some fluids can also attack the
cantilever or coil material itself or harden the suspension - consult your cartridge manufacturer over this. One key factor
is to use the liquid very sparingly on a cotton bud such that it is just damp (not running with fluid) - this minimises the
fluid which can run up inside the cartridge.
R E C O R D C A R E A N D C L E A N I N G
The stylus itself does a pretty good job of cleaning the grooves and should itself therefore be kept clean. The proprietary
brushes etc. for cleaning records will often do little more than brush dirt deeper into the record grooves and are best
avoided if possible. Also keep records in high quality non-scratch record sleeves - preferably good ones.
A record cleaning machine is really the only answer for cleaning records properly as they suck out the debris and dust in
the record grooves using a powerful vacuum. Tests using a microscope prove that this does the job with 100% success.
The performance improvement is also very noticeable when it comes to even new records being played. We supply and
highly recommend the Moth record cleaning machine as this is very effective from personal experience and comes with
many glowing endorsements – see our web site for details and reviews.
