Stylus ran on outer edge of record for 10 mins. Chances of damage?

My computer decided to have a well-timed Blue Screen of Death just as I lowered the turntable stylus. About ten minutes later, I realised the stylus ran off the outer edge of the record, and was making contact that I could hear a 'sssssss' sound even without the amp (I had switched it to the PC output then).

Perhaps it's a placebo, but playing a copy of The Stylistics feels like the music is a bit further away, and almost more muffled and subdued in sound. What are the chances that the stylus could be damaged?

 

All kinds of chances depending on where it was hitting it, how hard, type of stylus etc, good chance the cantilever got bent as well.

 

I presume you mean the run out grooves, when stoned I have listened to and enjoyed them for hours but never had a problem.

 

If you mean going round in the dead wax for ten minutes, it would be no different than playing half a side of the album. I’ve got distracted and left it doing that for a couple of hours with no I’ll effects.

 

Sounds like you may have damaged the stylus with it riding the outside edge. I personally have bent the cantilever on a Dyna10x5 when it happened to me.
Cheers, Doug

 

I wish it was the runout grooves! Alas, it’s the outside edge where it must have slipped off and stayed there.

 

Unfortunately not the dead wax, but dropping it on the lead-in groove, the stylus slipping off the record but still touching the edge as it’s spinning.

Quite a bummer as I got the turntable only about six months ago, but lesson learned. I don’t have a stylus magnifier to see the damage - but will it be visible and diagnosable if I bring it into a hi-fi store?

 

Oh, yes. That's a different matter entirely. It takes quite a bit of abuse to damage the diamond tip of a stylus, but as a couple of other posters have mentioned, it may have knocked the cantilever off centre. That should be quite obvious if you look at the cartridge straight on from the front. Good luck.

 

I still don't quite understand how this happened in the first place. You lowered the stylus and then walked away immediately and didn't notice it wasn't playing anything?

 

I would replace it immediately. I wouldn't want to risk a possibly chipped stylus or bent cantilever on any of my records. Get a decent low cost replacement and have the original inspected and if damaged, rebuilt or retipped if it's valuable.

 

Can you magnify and view the stylus for obvious signs of wear? I realize you may not visually be able to see the extent of all damage that could lead to sound deterioration but you may be able to see obvious damage and have your answer.

 

was it playing the mat or was the actual stylus proper (the tip) off any surface?
if it was just rubbing the inboard side of the cantilever you may be OK
nagging psychological things always will bother one after things like this happen
I'd give it a good visual inspection and if all looks well leave it alone for a day and then play a record and hear how things sound

 

Unfortunately there is a good chance that your cantilever is bent as a result. If you look at it closely it should be pretty apparent.

 

OP, can you post a picture?

 

I once did that all night and didn't notice any issues. I guess it depends on a lot of factors.

 

Let me guess+clarify that the stylus was off the record and the side of the cantilever was riding or banging against the actual edge of the record, for 10 minutes or so.
If that is the case, I don't think any significant damage was done. But the cantilever might have picked up grunge from the edge of the record.
To be more sure, you could get a magnifier, and I see this one listed in AU shipped fast from within AU. I have a couple of this exact type, and this is very useful to see what grunge is on the stylus - or whether there is damage to the cantilever. It is not sufficient magnification to see wear on the stylus, but you can see the stylus point.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/60X-Magnifier-UV-LED-Loupe-Jeweller-Silver-Counterfeit-Currency-Detection-Tool/163731490328

 

This same issue's happened to me several times, even when sober. I'm extremely bad at hitting the run-in groove manually (hence my switching to a fully auto in the mid 90s) Not ten mins at a time, mind you, but if the cantilever is straight and the stylus sounds good, there'no chance in hell vinyl has worn the stylus in any way in that amount of time. Dislodgment is another possibility, but believe me OP; you'd have noticed.

 

Almost no chance stylus is damaged

 

At that point, I had the audio source switched from the turntable to my PC, and was focused on solving the computer issue. A costly distraction!

 

Sure thing! I've posted a couple of Imgur links below, hope it helps.

 

Taking close pictures have revealed a buildup of grunge. I took a couple of photos with my phone camera, but managed to track down a magnifier. Can't say it's 60X magnified, but it does look closer than the phone.

Here's what happened to the stylus that fateful night, just imagine the tonearm shifted a couple of millimeters to the left:
Imgur

Magnified photos of stylus:
Magnified Stylus

Phone photos of stylus and cantilever
Imgur
Stylus

 

Thankfully not the mat, but it did fall off the edge of the record and might have made some contact there.
Here's a picture of what happened, just imagine the tonearm moved a couple mm to the left to make contact:
Imgur

 

I'm still quite new to detecting stylus damage and wear. Here are some magnified photos (Magnified Stylus ). To me, it seems like I could probably clean the stylus a bit but it still looks like it retained its pointed tip. However, do you see anything different?

 

From your photos I do not think there is any damage. But I see a fiber hanging off the stylus mount and I bet there is even more grunge your photos can't show. The little magnifier I listed will let you see, by eye, something like this. Imagine seeing this at all angles by eye as you move around it. It is extremely difficult to photograph through this little magnifier, but there would be a way. You could be shocked at what tiny fibers are on the whole stylus and shank which the normal ways of dry stylus cleaning do not remove.

 

you are fine
walk away as I suggested, come back and all will be good again
and clean your stylus
Michael