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How do I remove gunk from a Lyra Delos cartridge?

I was getting distortion at times when playing lps.Last week I took the turntable to a high end store in Manhattan and they said they would see if they could locate the problem.Everything checked out fine,but they did find what they called gunk on the stylus that you can only see with a magnifying glass and that they were unable to remove the gunk.The store is not a Lyra dealer so maybe they were being cautious when trying to remove the gunk because they did not want to take the chance of damaging the stylus.I will be going to the store tomorrow and I will ask them what methods they used to try and remove the gunk.If someone can give me some advice on removing the gunk I would appreciate it or if you think I would be better off getting in touch with the manufacturer.I'm worried about damage to the stylus. My turntable is a VPI 19 MKiii with a Audioquest PT-6 tonearm.I am thinking about upgrading to a VPI 9 Signature or getting a new turntable if it is more cost efficent. Thanks
montgomery
actusreus
733 posts
 
I use both: Magic Eraser and Stylast (both the cleaner and preservative, but the preservative only occasionally). I clean the stylus after each side of the record played.

I understand that there might be some accumulation after playing even a clean record, but I agree with Stevecham that an undamaged stylus should not be covered in melted vinyl. If that was "normal," it would be a much more frequently discussed issue, which it does not seem to be. I honestly cannot say I have seen any vinyl residue on the Magic Eraser since I got my Delos in 2010.

Going back to the OP, it appears there might be some damage to the stylus, or the poor stylus has seen some nasty vinyl. The OP did not explain whether he purchased the cart used, or what history it has, so I'd start with that. In the meantime, a careful use of the Magic Eraser might help to address the problem.
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,033 posts
 
Best is AT-637
Discontinued, but sometimes available at ebay.
montgomery OP
29 posts
 
The Lyra Delos was bought new last March. Distortion started showing up after about 120 hours.I clean almost all used lps I purchase with the Vpi 16-5.I only play lps that are in very good or perfect condition.The Lyric sales rep said that he was able to remove most if not all of the gunk but still feels that something does not look quite right and that I should definitely have the manufacturer take a look at it.He also said that he could not find anything wrong with the turntable or tonearm.I need to get this resolved because it costs $35.00 cabfare(Brooklyn to Manhattan) to take the turntable to the shop and I have to lug this beast up and down two flights of stairs.Thanks for your responses.
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
Where did u buy it from? That dealer can work with audioquest (local distributor) to get it fixed. Or just contact audioquest directly.

Just curious, what fluids are u using with your 16.5? I wonder if something here or on a certain lp got the junk on your stylus...
photon46
1,008 posts
 
I re-read your post and there are several things that you could clarify in order to provide meaningful advice. First, you say you got distortion "at times." Was this distortion correlated with anything like crescendos, loud passages, inner grooves, outer grooves? Any commonality of playback conditions when this distortion occurred? Second, were you cleaning your stylus prior to the noticed distortion and accumulation of gunk? Third, was this gunk accumulation evenly distributed on the stylus or was it an accumulation that was centered around the upper part of the diamond where it meets the shank? Any accumulation of debris I've ever seen has always been where the stylus meets the shank, the actual stylus has been pretty clean. Even the nasty used cartridge with the stylus gunk I mentioned earlier played and sounded just fine, as all the debris was above the stylus/record interface.
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