Cartridge Demagnetisers

[Shuggie]

A few years ago I bought a Gryphon Black Exorcist cartridge demagnetiser, as it seemed a good idea. The trouble is that every time I use it on the Kontrapunkt B, the sound becomes congested for a few hours before reverting to normal, eg enjoyable and musical. So, I don't use it any more. Does my experience tally with anyone else's? Maybe it is a Good Thing, but the Ortofon just hates it? I'd be interested to hear of any experiences with the Gryphon or other demag devices.

 

[lordsummit]

Mr V D Hul says no!

Have a read through here:
http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/phono_faq.htm#20

 

[tones]

I'm not a great enthusiast for vinyl, and cannot therefore claim to be knowledgeable on the subject, but this seems a crazy idea. As I understand it, all cartriges rely on the principle of there being a permanent magnet in the cartridge, and the movement of the stylus causes relative movement in a coil paired with the magnet, thus generating an electrical signal, which is then amplified. Thus, if you demagnetise, you have something that works less effectively. Or am I not understanding something?

 

[Shuggie]

To be fair, the general claims for this device, taken from Gryphon's website are easily understandable:

The Problem
Residual magnetism from the powerful permanent magnets in phono cartridges can spread and magnetize adjacent metal parts, with serious consequences for sound quality.
MM (Moving Magnet) cartridges accumulate residual magnetism on the pole pieces. In MC (Moving Coil) cartridges, the iron core around which the coils are wound gradually becomes magnetized. In both cases, sonic performance is seriously degraded.


The Solution
By generating a pure sinewave sweep of decreasing amplitude into the cartridge, the Gryphon Black Exorcist quickly and effectively dispels harmful magnetic build-up in the iron core or other metal parts of any MM or MC phono cartridge. Periodic demagnetizing focuses the magnet's flux and keeps your cartridge fine-tuned.

ââ'¬Å"It's a tonic, a device which restores the magnetic properties of your cartridge to a near-new state.ââ'¬Â Hi-Fi News, UK.

The trouble is that the device, in my system, causes a deterioration in sound quality, although a temporary one.

 

[tones]

To be fair, the general claims for this device, taken from Gryphon's website are easily understandable:

But are they? They sound like classic snake oil.

The Problem
Residual magnetism from the powerful permanent magnets in phono cartridges can spread and magnetize adjacent metal parts, with serious consequences for sound quality.

You are asked, first of all, to swallow the existence of these "serious consequences". Notice that they aren't named.

In both cases, sonic performance is seriously degraded.

Here again, you are expected to swallow this.

By generating a pure sinewave sweep of decreasing amplitude into the cartridge, the Gryphon Black Exorcist quickly and effectively dispels harmful magnetic build-up in the iron core or other metal parts of any MM or MC phono cartridge.

I don't know enough to argue this, but it sounds distinctly suspicious. We are presumably passing an electrical signal. Why should it take away a magnetic field that has been acquired by the passing of an electrical current?

Periodic demagnetizing focuses the magnet's flux and keeps your cartridge fine-tuned.

This seems to me to be sheer, unadulterated piffle, a classic snake-oil example of using fancy wording to impress and convince. How can periodic demagnetising "focus the magnetic flux"? It seems to me that these people are humbugs and can be trusted roughly as far as I can throw the "Queen Mary".

 

[titian]

Well I use the demagnetizer of Aesthetix and it works fine for me.

 

[Basil]

More serpent lubricant!

The Aesthetix Cartridge Demagnetizer

The first American designed and manufactured cartridge demagnetizer, the ABCD-1, keeps your analog front-end sounding its best. Once a week, simply plug in your turntable leads to the ABCD-1, then activate the gently ramped, up-and-down cycle of the ultra-pure demagnetizing signal.
The Aesthetix ABCD-1 was designed to meet a specific need in today's marketplace: an affordable MC cartridge demagnetizer which restores your cartridge's potential without residual sonic signature. Periodically demagnetizing a moving coil cartridge removes the "veils" which creep up as you enjoy your record collection. Simply put, these veils are the result of compromised electromagnetic performance of your phono cartridge. The Aesthetix ABCD-1 eliminates these veils, recovering the dynamics, nuance and emotion of your favorite LPs.


The Aesthetix ABCD-1 is battery powered for ease of use and worldwide operation. To better understand how the ABCD-1 works, remember that a moving coil phono cartridge is basically a coil of wire wound around a piece of iron (or ferrous material) suspended within a magnetic field. This electrical generator is activated by the phono stylus in the record groove, moving the wire coil and thus generating a signal to be amplified and reproduced by your loudspeakers. Think back to a simple science experiment placing a pin against a strong magnet for a few minutes. Afterwards, the pin, which is made of ferrous material, becomes magnetized enough to actract another pin.

Today's best moving coil phono cartridges use very strong magnets such as neodymium and samarium cobalt. When the moving coil absorbs some of the magnet's charge, the sound becomes murky and less defined. This is because the magnetized coil does not generate as great a variation as it moves within the magnetic field of the phono cartridge.

The ABCD-1 neutralizes the unwanted magnetic charge of the moving coil, restoring full performance in a matter of minutes. Demagnetizing your moving coil cartridge with the Aesthetix ABCD-1 every 1 - 2 weeks will prolong the life of your phono cartridge, increasing your enjoyment and appreciation of the music.

 

[tones]

It has the unmistakable whiff of oleaginous liquid of reptilian origin.