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Metal "whiskers" on cartridge body

I checked my stylus/cartridge yesterday, the stylus looked great. However, I noticed metal "whiskers" attached to the front of the cartridge body (an ESCCO modified Zu Denon 103R).

I have no idea where these came from, the cartridge is always stored in a clean wooden box, by itself, when not in use.

Is a there a safe way to remove them? They don't seem inclined to go anywhere, but I'd rather they not be there.

I welcome your thoughts.

Regards,
Dan
islandmandan
prcinka
364 posts
 
do you clean the tip with say Clearaudio tip cleaner or Oznow? I would use air can to blow these off ...but please be careful! sometimes I had some black residue also on the body and the "ribber" seal which I got out with tiny painters brush...but again be careful as these things are very delicate...
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Do you have a cat?
palasr
453 posts
 
The metal is attracted by the strong magnets in the cartridge. As to how they get there, it beats me. Since record pressing is a purely mechanical process not carried out in a clean-room, it's possible there's always a bit of metal residue from the plant floating around in the inner sleeve, jacket, etc... I usually brush them off gently using a small artist's paintbrush.
ct0517's avatar
ct0517
1,798 posts
 
Hi Dan - my "guess" is they came from possibly your (modded?) cartridge itself, and what is floating around in your room. Have you been soldering around your gear again? :^)

When I had a Benz Micro MC3 retipped by Soundsmith I inquired into getting the nude version done. They advised against this due to the floating metallic (debris) environment that a cartridge lives in.

Cheers
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
I've seen these on quite a few cartridges. It's not clear to me that such "whiskers" are actually metal, though their orientations certainly appear to result from the magnet field of the cartridge.

A research project with spectroscopic analysis is clearly in order. Any takers?
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