Some time I’ll have to examine the mounts of my various (low to mid range) cartridges under the microscope. I’ve got several dating back to the early ‘80’s also, so that should be interesting.
Cartridge new or used ?
How do I know if a cartridge is new or used and number of hours played ? 1- If it is bought from an individual or 2- Could it be that a HiFi store sells used or a "Demo" without anyone knowing it? 3- Is a cartridge that remains on the shelf of the store for 3 or 4 years, retains its same performance or its internal parts, can harden and lose their flexibility of reading? 4- Is it easy with a magnifying glass to see the wear of a cartridge, if so what would be the best magnification to use?
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https://losslesssound.wordpress.com/2018/12/24/using-macro-photography-to-check-stylus-wear/ This article explains how to check your stylus. |
Almost no one keeps real records of stylus usage. I use golf counters.. Every side I play, I click one click. I have one marked for the Benz Glider, One marked for the Dynavector. I calculate 20 minutes per click, then calculate with 25 minutes per click, to get an averaged estimate of time in groove and wear. Unless one is actually keeping track it is kind of foolish to believe ’200 hours’ or whatever.. On the other hand some folks who swap a LOT of cartridges may say 200 and have actually only used it 50. So... My suggestion is GET A GOLF COUNTER CLICKER and KEEP TRACK. They cost like $7 for TWO! https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Held-Metal-Tally-Counter/dp/B077JLLJ2C/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=154681...For all you multi cartridge users... Here are a six pack of clickers: https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Counter-Handheld-Horsky-Clicker/dp/B075Q4SYPB/ref=pd_sbs_200_32?_e... |
Hi @chakster, Damaged or worn diamond looks different, but to inspect them we need a powerfull microscope, this is an image from the internet, the diamond is worn accodring to the poster.Great photos in your earlier post, and I agree with you about the resolution level necessary to learn anything meaningful about stylus condition. I would estimate you need something on the order of 1000x to perform a meaningful stylus inspection. The linked photo was taken at 240x, using the microscope I use for setups and it’s clearly too low magnification for inspecting styli. https://galibierdesign.com/stylus-01/ @stevecham - your estimate off 40x is off by just a wee bit ;-) Cheers, Thom @ Galibier Design |
@thom_mackris What can you tell us is the actual shape of the various facets of the diamond, before and after damage? Because, IME, without knowing exactly what you are looking for in this regard, all else is just a guess. So even with a 1000x microscope, the knowledge of the shape is crucial...which is why I suspect Raul and I state that only the manufacturer of the particular cartridge knows this for sure. i noticed you recommend Magik eraser as the stylus cleaner, very interesting. |
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