How to tell if a stylus you bought, is made of diamond.

Whitebear15

Active Member
Not posted for a while.

Tried to find the answer to this question but no luck, bought a cartridge stylus from Thakker.EU paid treble for this stylus then I normally pay, now heres the question, How the hell do you know if your stylus is made of diamond and your not being ripped of?

Rob
 
Generally you can look at it with a good microscope or loupe. The diamond would be clear, generally. This is a super macro photo of a diamond on a used Ortofon VMS20E. Nude diamond mounted to the cantilever. This bent up cantilevered stylus was replaced with a new Thakker replacement stylus.

diamond.jpg

A bonded tip will have a line across the pyramid a third down from the point and the top will be diamond the rest a black stub. Depends on what you bought as to what you might expect to see.
 
This is new to me. I've never considered that the SAS stylus I purchased for a Shure V-15IV was not a diamond. I've never heard of replacement styli being tipped with fake diamonds.
 
Well I suppose being lab created they're all essentially fake, but I too had never considered something else being substituted for diamond. In the past we had sapphire which had far less longevity but I don't believe anyone has produced those for a very long time. It would seem a lot of work to produce and mount a stylus with something other than a lab diamond. I don't believe the cost is that great at all, mostly the tedious labor intensive production aspect.

Try to really shine some light on it. I have seen some in the past that were so clear that they often looked dark depending on the surrounding colors and what they might be reflecting. Also I believe a lab diamond can often be colored in all sorts of various ways so clear/white probably isn't really a real indicator of anything...
 
There are devices like this that are reasonably accurate. N/A

upload_2018-10-22_17-28-50.png

All though I do not believe it will test these...

upload_2018-10-22_17-42-54.png

So not all that useful to me...
 
The one you linked is a bonded tip diamond stylus. I think it would be damn hard to find a stylus that isn't diamond for that cartridge. Here is a pic of a bonded tip, like the one you got but a different stylus that makes the diamond look black. Not a problem, it would work just fine.

Click the link then click to get the pic to enlarge and take a look at the dark looking tip.
http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/assets/alt_1/VM610MONO.jpg
 
Thanks for all the replys, perhaps Im thinking back to the 70s when we could buy either sapphire or diamond tipped styluses.

I havn't tried the new stylus on my turntable yet, it will be intresting to see if theres a improvement in sound for the extra money paid, usally only pay £12 for a replacment stylus of ebay.

Rob
 
Me neither. Huh?
Its not that the stylus is made of a fake diamond but it could be made from saphire, which doesant last as long and is cheaper to buy.
My question was" how do you know that your getting what you paid for? Diamond tipped stylus.

Rob
 
Selling a stylus with a Sapphire tip instead of a Diamond comes under the category of "fake". All the styli I've ever investigated have been labeled as diamond.
I buy from reputable dealers. The cheapest deal is the deal I stay away from. Reputable dealers have their reputation at stake. LP Gear and Turntable Needles are businesses I've dealt with. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from either again.

In the last 20 years I've seen no advertising for Sapphire stylus replacements.
 
The one you linked is a bonded tip diamond stylus. I think it would be damn hard to find a stylus that isn't diamond for that cartridge. Here is a pic of a bonded tip, like the one you got but a different stylus that makes the diamond look black. Not a problem, it would work just fine.

Click the link then click to get the pic to enlarge and take a look at the dark looking tip.
http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/assets/alt_1/VM610MONO.jpg
Well if thats true, and they are all made of diamond, cant see any point in paying top dollar for one, might as well buy the cheap stylus.

Rob
 
Well if thats true, and they are all made of diamond, cant see any point in paying top dollar for one, might as well buy the cheap stylus.

Rob

Not all diamonds are created equally. Not all stylus using diamonds are created equally. You pays your money if you want to see the show.
 
Well if thats true, and they are all made of diamond, cant see any point in paying top dollar for one, might as well buy the cheap stylus.

There's a lot more to a stylus than just the material that it is made of--quality of cut and polish, type of cut (some are far more complex than others), and type of mounting (ie, nude vs bonded) are what you are paying a "premium" for with more expensive styli.
 
Well if thats true, and they are all made of diamond, cant see any point in paying top dollar for one, might as well buy the cheap stylus.

Rob

There is a lot of information on this site as well as over the interwebs about the various methods for mounting diamonds, cut of the stylus tip and type of material used for the cantilever. If you were to do a little investigation, you will find the potential characteristics that these options may offer.

In the end, some of the information can be both helpful and distracting, dependent upon how it fits into one's particular situation. Try googling "phono stylus image". That will provide a little starting point if you are interested.
 
Most of the sapphire needles I remember were on flip-over needle assemblies for ceramic cartridges. If I have seen a listing for a sapphire needle for a magnetic cartridge, I don't remember it. Of course, that doesn't mean there never were any.

If the needle looks black, perhaps it is dirty. Does the original poster have a stylus cleaning kit ( cleaning fluid and stylus brush with instructions for careful use ) ? I don't recommend any cleaning other than doing it properly. Knocking the needle off of the cantilever tip would make the question of its condition sadly moot.
 
Back
Top Bottom