Hi ARSC-listers!

I'm curious about the idea of cartridge demagnetization for turntable
cartridges. On the Analogue Productions "Ultimate Test LP" there are
lateral and vertical pink noise tracks that one should play "5-10 times
after every 300 hours of normal LP playback." I'm having trouble finding
any credible information on this topic by searching online - just finding
opinions and the usual forum chatter.

Does the cartridge actually become magnetized during playback? I understand
that there already is a magnet in the cartridge, but is using the cartridge
to play back discs causing a harmful increase in magnetization or
magnetizing other parts of the assembly?

If the cartridge is gaining magnetization, does changing out styli on a
routine basis reduce that magnetization? Does playing pink noise from the
test LP actually demagnetize the cartridge?

I should really have done some test transfers before and after running the
pink noise tracks 5 times, but alas, I did not. The anecdotal comments on
cartridge demag are that high frequency response is improved after
demagnetizing. Does anyone have recorded examples of this, or commentary or
reference material on the matter?

Thanks!

Melissa Widzinski
Audio Preservation Engineer
Media Digitization and Preservation Initiative
Indiana University