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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
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?
ct0517's avatar
ct0517
1,798 posts
 
It's not clear to me that such "whiskers" are actually metal

Interesting - lets get a quick answer on this one.

Dan, pull one of the whiskers off, walk over to your fridge and place it near the fridge magnet holding the picture of you with the trophy bass. Does it stick ?
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
We had a customer that pulled some 'whiskers' off of his cartridge... After that the cartridge never made another sound. After that he never did that again.
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