Needles and clean rooms

We take a look at record washing machines this issue, but that’s not the only part of the vinyl chain which requires TLC. And when it comes to your stylus, you’re in delicate territory.

Japanese optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio has a new option for this task in its first ever audio accessory, the ST-50 stylus cleaner, which sells for $115 in Australia. Not your typical stylus cleaner, the ST-50 comprises a cleaning pad made of the same urethrane resin that’s used to filter air in high-tech clean rooms. To use the cleaner, you simply tape your turntable’s platter in place so it can’t rotate, then pop the ST-50 onto the platter and lower the tonearm (preferably using a tonearm lifter) so the phono stylus sinks into the gel pad. Do this three times and DS Audio claims your stylus will be completely free of dirt and dust.

“Compared to using brushes and solvents, it is extremely gentle and safe,” says Boris Granovsky of Absolute Hi End, distributor of DS Audio in Australia. “No force is being applied to the stylus tip and there is no risk to cartridges that use cement-bonded styli, where bonding can sometimes be dissolved by certain solvent-based cleaning liquids.”

The ST-50 stylus cleaner presents with a sleek aluminium casing with a nickel-plated finish, with an underside padded with leather so as to present a soft surface for the turntable’s platter.

“Best of all, the ST-50’s urethrane gel pad is washable and re-usable,” says Granovsky. “So to maintain optimal cleaning power, you simply remove the pad from the casing and rinse it in tap water, then allow it to dry at room temperature for around 30 minutes.”

More information: www.absolutehighend.com