[analognut]

Here is a link to a vid on YouTube that I came across a while back, which many may find intriguing, as I did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TkJ_wwkbNA
It describes how to de-mag a phono cart using no external equipment.

I have approx. 160 hours on my AT-OC9ML/II and am tempted to try it.

I already have a Sumiko Flux Buster model FB-1 which came with the Sota TT I purchased last January. I haven't used the FB-1 because there are conflicting opinions regarding possible long-term detrimental effects of de-magging.

Any comments or opinions?   

[orthobiz]

A newbie style question:
do all cartridges need to be demagnetized or just moving coil?

Paul

[analognut]

I've been researching this and came across this link. Any vinylphool could, I believe spend several hours reading all of this. It's on van den Hul's website, titled "Frequently asked questions about phono cartridges", or "Everything you always wanted to know about phono replay but were afraid to ask... ?
http://www.vandenhul.com/userfiles/docs/Phono_FAQ.pdf

Question 20 on page 16 of the PDF addresses the question of cart demagnetization. The short story: van den Hul states that de-magging a MM cart wil destroy it. Furthermore, he is against using de-maggers at all. He claims you end up being victimized and need to do it after every LP you play. He's also against it for several other reasons too.

I would still like to hear from anyone who has done it. Is it as addictive as van den Hul suggests? Anyone have any long-term experiences with de-magging they'd like to share? 

[andyr]

Yes, de-magging a MM cartridge will destroy it ... but de-magging an MC is another kettle'o'fish.  However, I believe VdH recommends against de-magging MC cartridges. 

As I understand it, what you are doing with a Fluxbuster or similar is removing the magnetism that has built up over time, in the iron former that the coils are wound round.  I used my Fluxbuster on my Benz Ruby2 several times ... and couldn't hear any difference in sound.    Then the dealer told me a "Ruby/Ruby2" is so named because the former is made of ruby - not iron!  So it doesn't build up any magnetism!! 

Regards,

Andy

[analognut]

Andy I hear that! I have learned that some carts have their coils wound around non-magnetic core material. Here is something else:

A quote from the van den Hul PDF file, page 16, question 20, referenced at the top of this thread:
"...the current through the 20 micron thin coil wire is so small that there is no chance to build up any serious magnetic field to cancel the existing residual magnetism".

Anybody else? Would like to hear more personal experiences regarding de-magging MC carts. Thanks, 

[Hap]

Hey All,

FWIW, been a vinyl junkie since the 1980's and have owned many MC and MM cartridges through the years....Here's my 2cents on demag techniques.
The Sumiko Fluxbuster works well on all the MC cartridges I've owned; for MM cargridge, you need to remove the stylus from the body before using it.
If you have a MM cargridge that has a fixed stylus, then the shorting of the outputs for 30-45 seconds while playing a record works pretty good.

A dealer told me that the BM Ruby cargridge incorporates a small ruby inside the body that emits something (probably negative ions) that helps with the detail of sound...I never opened up my Ruby to confirm this, so don't quote me on this.
He also shared a trick is to place a small magnet, like the size of a rice grain to the front face of the cartridge body (assuming the cart has a flat face); this trick really helps bring out the details and works for both MC and MM cartridges; but that's getting a bit off topic here.

Cheers