Stylus wear - what to look for?

I recently bought a vintage Shure v15 type III cartridge, complete with its original stylus. Is there any way of checking that the stylus is in good condition without playing (and potentially damaging) records with it?

Luke

 

Take it to a shop that has a stereomicroscope - Shure made a unit specifically designed for inspecting styli. It's really the only way.

I'm sorry to say, I would expect a stylus that old to be shot; either the diamond itself or the cantilever suspension having dried out.

Unfortunately if the diamond is shot it will damage your records. Remember: If you can hear the stylus wear, it's already doing damage.

 

Steve, what's your take on improving the longevity of the suspension with a drop of Stylast or Rubber Renue? I've heard that these can keep the rubber compound from drying out. In fact, Sumiko actually recommended a drop of Stylast on the Blue Point to break in the suspension.

 

Thanks Steve. I think I'll bite the bullet and buy a new stylus just to be on the safe side.

Out of interest - how does a stylus get damaged - isn't diamond the hardest substance known to man??

Luke

 

In the vast majority of cases, the diamond is fine -- it's the suspension that gives out.

It's why I'd be wary of any older cartridge/stylus that isn't stored properly -- even new ones.

 

For the record (no pun intended) when I worked at a stereo shop, in the 1970's (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth) I saw *lots* of diamonds that were very far from fine. Some were really sharpened into chisels. The diamonds on all of the stylus types I looked at, including Stanton 681 and Shure V-15 models, would wear out. In those days they were mostly eliptical or even spherical. I have less experience examining fine line styli (Shibata - they were new then -, MicroRidge, Pramanik (sp?), etc.), which should last longer. But nothing lasts forever.

I'm not sure if the exact mechanism by which a diamond stylus gets worn by playing soft vinyl disks is completely understood, but the fact that it happens is just plain indisputable to anyone who has examined styli with the aforementioned stereomicroscope. One theory is that the contact area is so small, and the groove velocities so high, that heat carbonizes the diamond.

I have no experience using Stylast or Rubber Renue on suspensions, sorry.

 

Indeed. But read the following stuff (from a post on Google Groups -- emphasis mine)

(The 'dry' part is because it was a post on wet playing). Also, from http://jaye76.tripod.com/rcmeng.htm (turned up in a search)