Both Timo and Bomarc are right. Friction "grinds" both the stylus and the record. As a general rule though, diamonds are harder than vinyl, so most of the damage will be on the vinyl end of things. Ticks and pops are bad for your amp and speakers whereas "groove grunge" is bad for your groove walls first and then your stylus. As such, cleaner records will reduce the chance for damage to your amp, speakers, records and stylus. I'd worry more about cleaning the records and stylus properly more-so than damaging either of them. If the records are bad enough that you are experiencing high levels of transient energy bursts ( HUGE ticks and pops ), you might want to think about replacing the record or not playing it. Then again, there are a few threads in the archive about how to remove or at least reduce the effects of ticks, pops and scratches. It might be worth some occasional surface noise to enjoy irreplaceable tunes. Sean
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