[dsavitsk]

I went to fire up my turntable tonight for the first time in months, and found this:

It still plays, and in fact seems to sound okay, but I am sure it can't be good. Suggestions?

 

[Garbz]

That does not look good. I'd be worried about the stylus not hitting the record squarely and damaging one or both sides of the groove. Regardless of how it sounds I wouldn't use it.

 

[skysaxon]

I had an Aurum Beta and the same thing happened. I used needle-nosed pliers to slowly bend the stylus back to very close to its original position. Sounded fine after that and no unusual wear was detected in the grooves.

Caveat alert. I did the same thing with another cartridge years before and it broke during the "straightening." It's obviously a delicate and iffy operation. So, you may want to contact Clearaudio to determine your best approach.

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skysaxon Caveat alert. I did the same thing with another cartridge years before and it broke during the "straightening."

Yup, a gentle attempt at straightening has broken it in two. A little bit of searching reveals that this problem is endemic to these cartridges, and that Clearaudio's promise that they can be easily repaired (the main reason i bought this over other similarly priced cartridges) is not quite true. That is, they can be repaired, but CA won't supply the materials to do it. Very frustrating.

 

[studeb]

Hi,

i suggest you go over to the Vinyl Asylum and look up CA over there. i think you will find that the low level carts they sell are OEM Audio Technica (same as the Linn K-9) and you may be able to replace the cantilever with another one yourself.

Bending a cantilever is not limited to Clearaudio, just about any exposed cantilever can be bent, and Garbz is right, do not play a cart with a bent cantilever on any record you care about.

here is the thread:
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?...nn&r=&session=

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by studeb here is the thread: http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?...nn&r=&session=

That's my thread -- I am drsx over there.

 

[studeb]

i just realised that thread is brand new!!! i was thinking of an older one with the same subject matter and mosin's pics.
But it seems you should be well on your way to finding a replacement stylus.

s