Playing a dished record, OK or not?

Hi, is it safe for the stylus to track a slightly dished record? Im takling about 1-2mm gap when the record is on the platter, with the dish- side up.

 

I've played them without problems.

 

Ok, thanks! Because someone implied that it would change the vta - and not track properly. Causing that the stylus would wear more on one side, eventually cause damage to the stylus.

 

Some will claim that merely looking at a stylus will damage it. Don't worry, enjoy your records.

 

Welcome to the forum ;^)
What is meant by dished if I may ask? Warped?

 

I’ve had some taco’d records I was able to flatten pretty well by placing it (in sleeve) on a flat table and put 50lbs of books on it and let it sit for a few days.

Took more than half the shape out but left all the flavor.

 

Of course the VTA is affected. The record isn’t flat all the way through.

The only slightly dished records I have are difficult to replace: a first US pressing of Raw Power. And an RL Led Zeppelin II.

I will go on record as saying I hate looking at warped records spinning. I would look for replacements.

 

Yes. Record edge lifted off the platter all around when played. Usually a problem only on one side. The other side can be played perfect with a center weight.

 

I see, well it shouldnt be too much of a problem if its only a little on one record.

 

I wonder how that affects the anti-skate settings; I could see it getting to a point where you have to increase it above normal for the convex side, with at similar deviation in the opposite direction for the concave side. I wonder how much warp it would take to trigger that.

 

It would throw it off for both sides yeah. Just like SRA, VTA, VTF and Azimuth.

 

An even dish of 1-2 mm isn't anything to worry about! Any difference in VTA/VTF should be audibly insignificant to non existent.

 

To reiterate: "I wonder how much warp it would take to trigger that."

 

I've never had a problem playing a dished record, but I hate that! There is no risk of stylus damage. The skating force does change, but the normal anti-skate setting should be sufficient to prevent any skating issues. (anti skate errors normally occur in the real world anyway, even on a perfectly flat record) Technically, the azimuth will be off by cause of the defective record. This can degrade the stereo image, but the dish would have to be more extreme for this to be really noticeable. Also technically, the channel balance can be upset, and also maybe a very small amount of distortion. A shibata stylus would be a little more fussy in this regard, as the azimuth needs to be pretty much right on.

Bottom line, a dished record can be played and enjoyed without worry of the equipment.
It's also a good idea to replace the record, as the stylus alignment in the groove will be slightly off.

 

This.