Can slightly warped LPs hurt your Cartridge?

hello I’m 30 and have been enjoying vinyl my entire life. I don’t post much but have been reading posts here for years before even being a member.

I have a Stanton With an S Shaped tonearm Cost me like $700 retail can’t remember model.

My main model in living room is an audio technical LP120-USB. (I have 3 mats to make up for the high tone arm flaw.)

Everything is fully calibrated so just getting that out of the way. Ortofon Red with the red ortofon shell.

Like many have said, a lot of newer records come with all kinds of flaws due to lack of quality control.

Anyway I know common sense stuff about warps. I don’t have fancy shelves but sturdy wooden shelves. I always make sure everything is even and never leans, which means switching and adding junk LPs constantly to make sure it’s JUST RIGHT.

In other words I store my albums properly.

I bought 3 of each of the 2014 Beatles In mono LPs (4 Mono masters and 4 Please Please Me’s.) The ones taken from the analogue tapes. I’ve spent well over a few grand this month. I broke the seals to each and ever one. (I never leave anything sealed that’s pressed after 1988, year I was born.)

One of my Sgt Peppers has two slight edge warps. I see my cartridge slightly going up and down but nothing crazy. My please please me (first playing copy) has a slight edge warp doesn’t affect sound. Listening to magical mystery tour and that also has a slight edge warp. The rest I deep cleaned and put them right into anti static sleeves. Some I played once to make sure no clicks skips whatever but never thought to look at warps.

Christ my 2016 Blondie reissues mostly have slight edge warps. I’m not doing all that sending back like I read about... I buy 50-100 records a year also cuz I buy in multiples for certain artists.

I bought two of the same cartridges for each record player, costing me $130 each. I had to replace my beloved Shure M97Xes.... those tracked like a surfboard.

Will these new 2014 Beatles albums ruin my cartridge? I play a lot of modern vinyl and don’t have the money to be buying a high end mono cartridge just to go spend MORE money buying mint original mono pressings which makes my wallet tremble.

Being a Beatles fan is expensive...

 

It sure sounds expensive , but you are probably enjoying every second of it!

I’ve been playing records since the last 25 years and a lot of them have little imperfections such as warps or spindle holes that are slightly of centre. I’ve never experienced any negative effects to cartridge or stylus. As long as it’s playable and it sounds right I wouldn’t worry to much about it.

 

I can’t imagine a warped record breaking anything unless it is so warped that the arm is catching air like Evel Knievel every revolution and coming down hard on the cantilever. I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

That's what "tracking" (more properly termed "tracing") is about - to follow the shape of the record, be it flat, or a bit warped. Needn't worry.

 

If you can't hear anything, I wouldn't worry about it. If it jumps the groove, the suspension can be damaged. I'd worry about that.

 

True that, but if it does that - those warps are anything but "slight" then.

 

I've been playing records since 1974, and have never had a cartridge damaged by it. There will be slight acceleration of the stylus as it traces up the ramp, then down, but these slight differences in pitch have never been audible to me, and I'm a musician very sensitive to pitch.

 

I've read the entire OP and it sounds to me, and maybe it's the wrong impression I'm getting, like you're stressing out about this hobby.

Firstly, there's no need to buy original mono Beatles albums regardless of the cart being used. Secondly, slight warps won't damage anything. Few LPs are perfectly flat. It's expected that there will be some vertical movement. That's why carts of today have suspension. Big warps are a concern but slight ones aren't anything to be nervous about.

Also, there are devices you can use to flatten them if it bothers you this much. Personally, I don't think it's necessary but some are truly bothered by this stuff. Alternatively, you can place something quite heavy on the jacket of the LP for months when lying flat on a flat hard surface and the warp should be diminished naturally. Some do this.

Lastly, IMHO, there's no need to buy multiple copies of the same LP. Buy a single one and if it's not wildly warped or is defective in any way, you're good. Save the money to instead buy over time even better gear to which will surely enhance your listening enjoyment. My 2 cents.

 

To Strat,

Woah I’m not overstressing, this is far from my biggest hobby. I think you’re taking my concerns too seriously. When you spend a lot on something there is a saying called “better safe then sorry.”

I’m fully aware vinyl isn’t perfect, it’s until now that I have thought about this seriously. I just bought new cartridges and out of print albums, asking to be sure isn’t obsessing.

I buy multiple copies in case something happens to one or to trade/sell later. This is not unheard of and is done by many on here.

I don’t buy multiple JUST in case something is wrong with it, I’ve NEVER done that. Just back ups. And only very few artists I do that with, just my favorites. Carpenters are my favorite, so of course I’m gonna have more then 1 of theirs.

Thanks for constructive positive replies everyone minus the negative Nancy.

Btw nothing makes my needle jump, just slightly bobs up and down on the edge. Now that I know I’m good I feel much better and glad I asked advice!

Thank you

 

I think it's all a question of degree and your tolerance (and gear's tolerance) for the variable quality of records. My main arm is a linear tracker so there is no pivot and it arguably puts some stress on the cantilever assembly. If a record is off center, I can watch the back of the arm (where the bearing is) 'seeking' as it tracks. It kind of freaks me out because I use expensive cartridges and don't want to torque the cantilever on one.
I have one of those fancy flatteners and it does a great job, but edge warps are tricky and it will do nothing for out of round pressings.
I'm in the process of setting up a second arm-- which is taking a long time for reasons not worth explaining here- which will enable me to change out cartridges and also give me the ability to play some records that may not track well on my main set up (which is somewhat intolerant of warps).
I think the best you can do is eyeball the record as it playing and see what behavior it exhibits. Any extreme roller coaster type edge warp bothers me, even if it is tracking. But, that's me. And I'll admit to being a little compulsive.
Not sure there is a good answer-- one thing I did find was that a cheap cartridge I was using as a stop gap tracked better than almost any of the uber cartridges I've used. Unfortunately, it didn't sound as good... I'm still in search of the cheap gem that has the mojo, sonically.

 

My opinion is that even if the record is so warped that the cartridge "jumps the groove", it is still not going to damage the cartridge. You would really have to drop a cartridge onto the record from a cued height, to start thinking that damage to the cartridge could be a problem.

 

Realistically, buying multiple copies of the mono box set at retail price would have turned out to be a decent investment, seeing the prices they go for now...

And yes, your cartridge is going to be fine with what you are describing. It was a reasonable question, though!

 

Negative Nancy? I stated there's nothing to worry about and I even told you about a device and method to fix warps. How you got a negative tone from my post is anybody's guess but if that's the amount of class I can expect from someone I tried to help out with reassurance and solutions, then I won't waste my time with your threads in the future.

 

Yeah, I missed that line, but that’s no way to address someone who put some thought into answering a post.

 

I apologize, I think some emotions and intentions were misinterpreted.

Here is how I saw it:

You tell someone they are “obsessed” when asking for help. I found that to be unclassy myself. You told me having multiple copies of an album I like is unnecessary, so to me it came off a bit brash.... telling someone what they don’t need in their collection.

I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.

I seemed to have made you feel a certain bad way, but I’m explaining why I responded the way I did. I can be a bit eccentric at times but I was rubbed off a certain way based on how you worded things, that simple. We’re all human.

If someone asked me if they weren’t sure how much laundry soap to use on new types of clothes I wouldn’t call them obsessed.

I thanked everyone else and all advice is appreciated. And thank you for advice on the flattener!

 

Again,

 

Apology accepted. The written word can occasionally be misinterpreted. That's OK. It was the immediate assumption that was the attitude behind my words that bothered me. Reading it again, I'm guessing my use of the words "firstly" and "secondly" gave you the impression I was finger-wagging. I can see why that could've been interpreted that way so I'll try to remember to phrase things differently in future similar instances.

To clarify, I did write that it was only an impression and that it could be the wrong one. Glad I was wrong!

Duplicates are fine but cost extra money and in my experience, better gear tends to elevate the quality of sound you end up with, so it was merely a suggestion to forego the purchase of further duplicates if they're not needed at that time and consider upgrading this or that and end up with a potentially even more satisfying listening experience. If you'd rather keep the status quo, there's nothing wrong with that. Certainly wasn't my intention to tell you what to do. Only offering a different perspective.

For flattening LPs, there's a the Vinyl Flat which should be bought with the pouch.

Vinyl Flat Record Flattener

Ironically, I have a set for sale but due to the weight, the shipping fees would be ridiculous so I suggest you instead buy it directly from them.

There's also a long thread about it if you're interested in reading it or ask questions about the products.

Vinyl Flat & Groovy Pouch

 

I wouldn’t think so but may be a good way to break one in quick

 

I once put a high compliance cartridge on a higher mass arm. The suspension eventually collapsed, leaving me grief stricken. A mismatch like this is the only case I can envision where warps can damage a cartridge, but this isn't a concern in your case.

Enjoy the records.

 

That's why I never listen to the Beatles.

 

I have a second hand Thriller, that is so badly warped that the arm bottoms out near the pivot and lifts the stylus clear of the grooves once every revolution.

Now that is a warp! But am I concerned about the cartridge/stylus? Not at all.

 

Unless an LP is so warped that it actually flings the stylus out of the groove it won't do any damage and even then the damage is more likely to be to the LP rather than to the stylus or cartridge.

My advice is don't sweat the small stuff my friend. Slight warps are dirt common and usually present a minor irritation at worst. An irritation that can easily solved by using a record clamp.

 

Here's a question: Lately I've noticed several records that have what I'd describe as ripple warps. In some cases, the warpage consists of several short, sharp ripples rather than broad warps, and in other cases, the record itself isn't actually warped, but the surface has these ripple-like formations on it, like speed bumps. In both cases, it causes the tonearm to constantly jiggle up and down, sometimes quite violently. These ripples aren't enough to bump the needle out of the grooves, and the up and down motion is slight, but the needle is traversing several ripples with each revolution, which makes the tonearm jiggle constantly while the LP plays. I feel like this has to add to the wear and tear of the cart's suspension - more so than a broad warp that has the needle going gently up and down once per revolution - and might be affecting sound quality.

Has anyone else noticed something like this?

 

Yeah, I’ve had records like that, which I have returned for new copies because of the very concern you have (though my concern is more for the extra wear/damage it will do to the record, I would also think it could accelerate cart suspension wear).