Zero Dust Stylus Cleaner

Onzow has wreaked havoc with my record listening! I have a respectable system (Linn LP12 Akurate with Hercules II PSU, Linn Ittok arm and Linn Karma cartridge, running through a Linn Linto MC preamp giving line level to my Genelec 1032/7070 system in a sound-treated room), and following a work-enforced listening break I had a hankering to hear a 1979 single I'd ripped to digital years before on an earlier and simpler Linn. The ripped song sounded OK, but I wanted to hear it on the uprated Linn and I dug it out and played it, and - horrors! Crazy distortion! I couldn't understand it. The single had been stored with others in a record case in a slightly record-hostile loft, but even after careful application of the carbon fibre bush and Onzow stylus cleaner, there was no improvement. I even bought an example of the album from eBay, and that sounded worse! Now, before my break I'd been playing a few records and using the Onzow, thinking it was a smart idea, but it seems it did add residue to my Karma stylus that not only built-up, but then hardened into something truly terrible for music reproduction. After a few more informative You Tube videos I tried something I'd never done - using a short-bristle carbon fibre brush moistened with isopropyl alcohol, I carefully brush-cleaned my stylus. The result: instant improvement! Significantly less distortion. I did it again and got a further improvement. Jeez! Those who know such stuff understand that the Karma cartridge is very much a legacy model, but it's beautiful-sounding, and as mine hasn't had loads of use, it's still excellent. In the many years I've had it (including in the previous, simpler LP12) it's always been consistently wonderful, but the Onzow swiftly reduced it to sounding like a badly-mistracking heap - I am genuinely astounded. I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to suspect the Onzow had I not seen the You Tube video about the Onzow by 'The Vinyl Attack', so huge thanks go to him, and this is definitely a cautionary tale to all vinyl fans. It's entirely possible that residue build-up will happen so gradually that a progressively worsening listening experience may be barely noticeable until you suddenly think your cartridge has died a death, when all it needs is a stylus cleaning - or, preferably, not being exposed to contaminating residues in the first place. I cannot stress this enough - after 2 decades of joy from my Karma, within months I was thinking I'd need to replace it - and that wouldn't be cheap! I'm also greatly angered that an apparently innocuous stylus cleaning product can perniciously wreck listening pleasure and give the impression that a cartridge is dying. After all, we can't all stick our stylii under a microscope to check for residue build-up, nor should we even expect it. Onzow clearly hadn't done any long-term testing of the effects of protracted use of their gel, and shame on them for omitting this before releasing it to the market. In light of my experience of 20 years of perfect reproduction followed by a few months of rapid Onzow-induced decline, I would advise all record fans to AVOID GEL STYLUS CLEANERS like the plague! You'd be far better-off sticking to the tried-and-trusted method of blowing over the stylus before each record playing! Caveat emptor!

I spent a fair amount of time researching this amongst other stylus cleaners, some of which were half the price of this or less.£46 is no doubt a lot to pay for a small tub of tacky gel, but what made up my mind was a lot of great ratings on various sites and also a video review I found of a guy who said he's had the same tub for 10 years.I've had it 2 days and I'm impressed. It can sometimes take a few goes to get off stubborn bits, but it does get the stylus clean with a little patience.. I'm not talking hours of work, just a few minutes. I use a torch and the magnifier in the lid of the tub to have a good look.I've also used the magnifying glass to look at the gel, and I can see the tiny fibres and whatever the black specs are that have been sucked from the stylus. Apparently to clean it you just run it under water, so I'll be trying that soon.On my record player I'm using a Rega Exact cartridge, and it seems to find every bit of debris in the record groove, even on records that I've cleaned. I think I'm going to be using this gel a lot. My summary is it works, maybe not first time but after a few dunks it's gets the job done. I'm impressed.

Simple mechanism so easy to use. Appears to pull lots of gunk off the stylus tip leaving the stylus cleaner than other methods of cleaning. The magnifying glass is a handy accessory too

Does a Vary good clean, but expensive for what it is. that's why I only give it 2 stars for value but it will last you a long time and you can wash it to get most of the dirt out of it. BUT there are much cheaper things out that will do just as good a cleaning job.

It appears to remove most of the clingy gunk from the stylus but not quite all. Some wee hairy bits get left behind even after a couple of dunks. It’s probably THE most overpriced piece of soft grungy clear soft stuff in a box with a plastic magnifying plastic you’ll ever buy. There are, as I now know, significantly less expensive ones on the market.

I was ready to buy a new stylus as the sound quality of my old one was getting worse and worse. But I wanted to thoroughly clean my existing stylus just to check that that wasn't the problem. Reviews pointed me to this rather pricey product. It worked spectacularly. After using it a couple of times the old stylus sounded like new. Definitely recommended. Shame it's so expensive.

It’s not often that I write product reviews but I do have to say that this product deserves five stars. In short, this stylus cleaner is an easy to use product and it does an excellent job. I have just used this with my Rega RP10/Apheta 2 set up and the sound from my vinyl has been completely revamped. Until recently I was using a similar but cheaper product and I did not realise how much gunk was actually surrounding my Apheta 2 until I cleaned it with this. Very happy indeed.

This is an exceedingly difficult review to write because it does work extremely well in cleaning a stylus (5 stars) but like a lot of vinyl related products there is a hefty price to pay (3 stars).What is value for money? you decide, the choice is yours!