The Finish Line for your Phono Cartridge- Stylus Wear by Mike Bodell

You post a very good description of stylus wear and why it is most times undetectable unless the album is listened to. On other forums, I have made a point of saying that even with just one play of a worn out stylus, the record can and will be irreparably damaged. Lots of less shall we say 'experienced' listeners do NOT believe this fact, but unfortunately the results always speak for themselves. One of the tricky aspects of collecting vinyl, you never really know the true condition until it is on the table and being listened to!IMHO.

 

This weekend I heard distortion that indicates that my Nagaoka MP-500 wore out after 26-27 months.

Considering maybe a record per day (this is conservative, I probably played lass than that since I travel a lot), it has arount about 500 hours at most, probably less.

I'm right now wondering what to do. I put my VM540ML back in the tonearm and after playing with VTA and mat thickness the last two days I'm enjoying how it sounds. So one option is staying with the VM540ML. Another option is buying a new stylus for the MP-500. And the third would be to try a different cartridge, maybe a MC now, that will probably last for other two years...

 

Another option may be to inspect and clean the MP-500 if you are pretty confident in that play time. Could be it's just dirty.

There's a guy in another thread shooting for 3500 hours on his Lyra, already has 2500+.

 

Styli can wear out a lot faster than people think, even advanced profiles. You can get that stylus inspected under a microscope if you want. Odds are it will show wear.

FWIW AT has a "trade in" program for their MC cartridges where you get a discount on a new one if you trade in your old one. Not sure how that would work in your part of the world though.

 

This is the first thing I thought, that the stylus should be dirty. I tried to clean it the best I could, but only with a stylus brush (I don't have any product), and inspected it with lens, can't really see any dirt.

 

If you are feeling adventurous, you can put a couple of drops of 90%+ rubbing alcohol on your stylus brush and try cleaning it that way. That said, you do this at your own risk since not every cartridge manufacturer recommends we cleaning styli. Matter of fact, many warn against it.

I have AT stylus cleaner here which is a strong solvent type cleaner, but I don't use it that often, and then only on my AT cartridges/styli. I would not use it on other brands that don't recommend liquid cleaners.

 

Nagaoka recommends its own cleaner but I don't have it. Never seen for sale around here.

 

Gotcha, if that is the case it is probably some kind of solvent like the AT cleaner. Up to you if you want to try alcohol at your risk or not. With any liquid cleaner, you only want to clean the diamond, not anything else.

 

Do you use the At607a cleaner?

 

My bottle from a few years ago, says 607 on it. Probably close to the same thing. I use it maybe once a month since it's strong mojo. Rest of the time just a stylus brush or gel-type cleaner.

 

I think the idea that a record played on a modern/high-end setup with a properly aligned cartridge tracking at say 2 grams or less will be damaged by a worn stylus immediately is somewhat overstated. Yes a worn stylus will have degraded performance, but I have tried this and damage from at least a single such play is not noticable IMO. Not scientific, but I have definitely played reocrds on a much less than new stylus, and then played the same record on either a different tt or with a much newer cartridge, and nothing was amiss. Of course the majority of used records out there have not been played on a "modern/high-end setup with a properly aligned cartridge tracking at say 2 grams or less"

 

Unfortunately that is not my experience. If one is concerned with keeping their records in pristine condition without grove damage, then any significant wear to the groove will be heard as distortion and/or noise. To some this groove damage and noise is acceptable as back ground hash...
OTOH, if you think that a damaged stylus isn't going to damage the groove in the first place......

 

I'm just saying it takes more than just a play or two on a properly set up good quality system with a *normally* worn stylus to cause audible damage. in my experience.

 

just remember many/most records from the 60s and 70s were played with ceramic cartridges on arms that might not even have had a counter balance, at many grams tracking force. yes that will damage a record.

 

or today, a crossley which doesn't have the offset angle even close to correct etc.

 

Play a pristine record one time with a severely worn out stylus and you will cut/damage the groove, thereby causing damage. That has been my experience, YMMV.

 

You cant have such a specific experience. You dont know how worn the stylus is or how much the grooves degrade unless you compare scientifically. Theres no point in trying to convince anyone with that.
I have records I bought new that are demonstrably worn from my Rega and conical stylus.

 

This morning I decided to go crazy and try to clean my MP-500 with a bit of alcohol. Turns out it was pretty dirty. Comparing before and after with some lens, I removed a bit of muck that was glued to the diamond, something I couldn't even see with lens Friday night. I briefly tried it with a record I heard the weekend and it seems like the distortion is gone. If I have some time I'll test it more carefully tonight but it seems like it's not worn out yet after all.

 

Dirt can definitely build up on a stylus over time, and get "baked on" where it's hard to remove without some kind of liquid cleaner. Thst said, you may want to get the diamond inspected under a 200X lab microscope when you have the chance.

I used to run styli for 1,000 hours or a little more but I don't do that anymore. Mainly because I have better data and photos to go by now. Currently I replace every 500-700 hours and track hours with a phone app.

 

I'll buy it, thanks.

 

I work in a big university, I'm sure some lab will have something I can use, if lockdown allows me to.

 

I keep a 20x loupe near my TT's for the times to really see how dirty my cart is or isn't.... a low power magnifier is not enough to really inspect. If just looking for signs of stubborn gunk or dirt that's enough power to see it.

There have been times that some small piece of matter / gunk got stuck on the stylus in just the right spot, and it really was visible when you put 10 or 20x on it. "Baked on" is a good way to put as mentioned above, realize it gets fused on there because the stylus does heat up a bit when playing, then it cools and the gunk hardens and adheres. Sometimes very stubbornly.

Once in a while you get a stubborn / sticky substance that adheres to the stylus, and it takes a good cleaning to get it off.

 

I wonder if the Zerodust works well for this? I’ve read good things about it.

 

All of the "gel" type cleaners work the same way. I have a Zerodust and also the VP Dustbuster. Other than one being firmer than the other and possibly not a good idea for some delicate carts (the VP that is), neither can clean off "baked on" gunk. For that I need liquid stylus cleaner or alcohol. Again, not all cart manufacturers recommend liquid cleaners. If that is your cart, use a liquid cleaner at your own risk.

 

One could try using stuff like Green Paper, it should be strong enough and is not a liquid.