While clearing out a few loft boxes I was delighted to find my old Audio Technica AT-637 this morning, which I thought I’d sold with my LP12 many moons ago. Plastic cover in place and still working, but the liquid cleaner had evaporated. Long shot I know, but if anyone is still using one of these, what cleaning fluid are you using? Audio Technica AT607 possibly?
Any suggestions gratefully received.
I use it without fluid.
Agreed. No fluid used here.
Ah great, many thanks Richard and Ian - couldn’t remember if the liquid was an essential ingredient or not. Will use it without then!
Same here, I didn’t bother with the fluid. If anything it seemed to encourge little bits of dust to accumulate in the brush, which didn’t seem to happen when using it dry.
I use mine dry as well
Yep. Another dry here. Tried it once with fluid but never repeated the experiment…
I use mine with Lyra SPT fluid. I put a small drop on the pad, switch it on, give it a little shake, and wait until the pad is shiny but with no visible excess fluid. Of all the cleaning methods I’ve tried this is undoubtedly the best. I also put a small amount of SPT on the stylus, per the directions.
Note that some cartridges (most notoriously the Linn Krystal) should not have any fluid of any kind near them.
I have an AT-637 it is good. But never seem to use it just a stylus brush after every side so no build up. I just use Meths Everywhere as a cleaner since the year dot never a problem but use Isophrol (you spell it) on cassette decks if i can get it.
Thanks for all of the info everyone - very much appreciated.
A little bit of experimentation today - after viewing the stylus with one of those small hand held microscopes I could see that the stylus tip still had correct profile & shape etc, but it was all black / dark in colour with a thin layer of baked on grime which would not come off with the small Ortofon brush I use after each LP side. Tried the AT-637 without cleaning fluid, and the grime was removed entirely, revealing a now very shiny diamond. Not sure what benefit the liquid would actually bring, as it cleaned so well on its own?
@Corry , I’ve heard of Lyra STP - thought it was some sort of lubrication for the stylus tip travelling through the grooves?
I started using SPT many years ago after reading some positive reviews. My understanding was that its primary purpose was to improve sound not by conventional cleaning action, but by improving the stylus/record interface. However that worked, I found it beneficial and I’ve been using regularly since.
More recently I came across a recommendation to use it as a cleaning fluid on a vibration-type cleaner, and I found it effective in that role as well. Given that it’s (supposedly) 99%+ distilled water, I have no idea why it should work especially well in either capacity, but my ears are persuaded.
Afterthought: in the context of record cleaning, I’ve found that the exact type of distilled water you use makes a difference to the quality of cleaning. This seems strange, given that distilled water is surely very close to pure H₂O, so one brand of distilled water should be virtually identical to another? This seems similar to the familiar “bits are bits” argument in the digital arena. Maybe there are factors other than “mere” chemical formulation in play?
STP was a oil enhancing additive for cars. SPT i dont know? applied to a stylus every side? (as if we want more hassle) as surely it would burn off, to me it could just as easily spoil the sound by rounding it off! I think this is just Snake oil. As a cleaner any form of liquid beats cleaning your hands dry. Record cleaning machines have a detergent additive to mix with Distilled water even excluding that i am not sure how you go about the process of comparing said water.
Dynavector do not recommend using ultra sonic cleaners with their styli.
I would not contradict Dynavector but i doubt it would affect the actual diamond. There is the issue of attachment to the Cantilever but with most non budget MC this is pretty secure simply as a required design factor. The other issue is and this is more relevant with Cartridges with short lead out wires from coil to cartridge pin that the High Freq vibrations may fatigue the wire. Sensible use should be ok -
Never heard that… Ultra sonic cleaners…? Do you have a link for this…?
Not sure the AT-637 is ultra sonic …? I have used it for many years with DV10X series carts…
I’m just repeating and passing on what I read when I owned both the AT Stylus cleaner and a 20X2L but of course it’s entirely down to personal choice and experience.
Just a quick search shows many posts on different forums that concur with me but of course it could all be ‘Chinese Whispers’.
I most often use my 637 dry, but do have a couple of bottles of AT607 to hand.
From the Dynavector XX2 manual
The “ultra sonic” bit is how some folks have described vibrating cleaners, and some may even have been sold under that moniker.
Of course, it’s pretty silly as they don’t go anywhere near ultrasonic frequencies (notice that you can hear them in use! 
).
