Can you tell a worn out stylus from sight?

[The Black Adder]

Hi.

As we see carts for sale is there a way of seeing (through a magnifying glass) if the tip is worn out or is it pot luck and down to trust?

Apart from hearing it in action what is it that we need to look for, if anything?

Cheers
Joe

[DSJR]

You really do need a microscope, a jeweller's loupe not enough other than to tell if the diamond os clean or not. Some styli supposedly worn can be 'given' a good few more hours use by thoroughly cleaning the accumulated crud off them, especially Shibata and other 'profiled' diamonds. Not a permanent cure, since slight wear can make debris collection worse, but a little bottle of AT607 stylus cleaner can work wonders sometimes :)

[Oldpinkman]

I thought you meant me - can I tell a worn stylus from sight?

I can't tell if the stylus is still there with my sight! :lol:

[Clive197]

A bloody good question. In over 50 years of playing vinyl I have never been able to tell from looking at the diamond.

[Reffc]

Generally, yes, providing a jeweller's loupe or microscope is used. I use a 60x loupe wih biult in LED light. It needs setting up on a helping hands bracket to keep it steady but under magnification if the set up (eg bias) is wrong, stylii often develop a hook shape, or the wear on the tip is quite visible. You do need between 30 and 60x to see this effectively though. Some camera lenses such as macro lenses can focus very close and with a high enough resolution you can get some decent digital photos using a ring flash and tripod. This all pre-supposes that you know what the new stylus profile and shape were...

[Johnnie7]

yea a good quality microscope helps see whats built up on the stylis and see any wear on the very tip of the diamond

[The Black Adder]

Hey Johnnie.

Great photo's... many thanks. Is the first photo a very worn tip?

[RobbieGong]

Hey Johnnie.

Great photo's... many thanks. Is the first photo a very worn tip?

Oi!! That's a bit personal !! :eek: :lol:

[kor952]

This is how you can see if a stylus is worn, use a microscope 10 x 10 (100x) or 10 x 20 (200x). Illumination from both sides.
The bigger the cat-eyes the more it is worn. Pic is of a (my) 103R sferical stylus wich is almost ready to be replaced.

http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k544/kor952/FriSep2015-20-14.jpg (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/kor952/media/FriSep2015-20-14.jpg.html)

For a full story how to create your own stylus-check-microscope look here http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=225960

[Tarzan]

Yes l could tell the stylus was worn out on one of my old Stanton 500, then it resemble a railway sleeper:lol:


Ah happy days.:)

[walpurgis]

Yes a microscope is essential to see wear properly and a stylus showing ANY wear should not be used!

[Johnnie7]

Hey Johnnie.

Great photo's... many thanks. Is the first photo a very worn tip?

the 1st pic slipped in i only meant to post the 4 showing the DIRT on stylis and you can see it getting cleaned

[Barry]

A jewellers loup of at least 30x is sufficient. Any greater magnification than that, and you will have difficulty in keeping it all in focus.

All you need to see is if the wear is symmetrical, and deviates from a 'cone'. If the stylus/cartridge is your own, so you have some idea of the amount of time it has been used, then you need to examine the stylus after 200 hours if the stylus has a fine line profile. That's 300 sides of an LP, or 150 plays of a complete LP. A lot quicker than you think!