Demagnatizing a ZYX Cartridge

Dear Slowhand: Who told you that your ZYX or any other today cartridges needs the: demagnatizing sevice?

What do you want to demagnatize? why?

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Hey Doug: Can you give an answer to my questions about ? I ask you because you support this exercise and if you did I suppose that you know the demagnetizing: Why's.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul,

I suppose I first heard about demagnetizing here. It does seem ridiculous at first: how could copper/silver coils become magnetized in the first place?

Paul (PhD in metallurgy) theorizes that impurities in the coils become magnetized. He hasn't attempted to verify this in a metallurgical lab, but if he's correct the same could happen in the voice coils of speakers.

Albert Porter and others reported positive results from demagnetizing their Koetsus several years ago. While reluctant to risk active demagnetizing, we decided to try the Cardas record two years ago on our Shelter 901. At worst we figured it could do no harm.

In fact, the improvement was substantial. As with Albert's Koetsu we found weekly sweeps beneficial for the Shelter. ZYX's also benefit, though they don't seem to need it quite as often. OTOH, friends using Denon 103's and Benz's reported no change at all. One imagines that different coils have different impurities, which react differently (or not at all) to magnetic fields.

Regards,
Doug

Rauliruegas,

I used to own a Sumiko Blue point years ago, and a Benz Glider after that. Both of those cartridges benefited from using a demagnatizer. The cartridges seem to lose some of the top end of the music and after demagnatazation the highs seemed to be restored.

Dear Doug/slowhand: For I can demagnatizing a phono cartridge first I need that some of the critical cartridges parts/build were magnatized and in today cartridges there is no single part that " suffer " the magnatized effect.
So, why have I to demagnatizing something that are not magnatized?

I already ask to some cartridge builders like: Ortofon, Dynavector, Van denhul, Allaerts, Koetsu and Clearaudio. The answers was the same: their cartridges doe not needs demagnatizing, because there are no parts to demagnatizing.

All these similar answers confirm my statement/question.

Now, all of you " hear improvements " after the demagnatizing ( I believe you ) but I think that you are doing more harm to your cartridge that helping it.

Maybe what is happen is the same that happen when you clean/polish a gold metal chain that is dusty: after the clean/polish the gold metal chain really " shine " again but that gold metal chain loose a little of the gold metal ( with each and again clean/polish )and is loosening its original value ( price. less gold content ).

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.