How to tell if my stylus is going bad?

RamblinE

RamblinE

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I've got an Orotfon OMP10 P-mount on a Denon DP7F that I picked up the other week for a pittance. All in all I'm pleasantly surprised by such a cheap LOOKING table. Speed is steady, motor is quiet, weird-as-hell-looking 'Electronic Servo Tonearm' works well enough. I'm getting a little distortion in the highs though, especially with vocals. This is all over the record, not just in the inner grooves. I was inspecting the stylus, a Stylus 10 with a little hand lens I've got and it LOOKS fine. How can I tell exactly if the stylus is on it's way out and needs to be replaced?
 
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How to tell if a stylus is bad or not is something that not everybody knows and could be very useful information.
 
In my way of thinking, I *think* a stylus is going bad either when it starts sounding dull, or when (in full auto mode) the stylus lands on the lead in groove - and skips forward a few grooves. Almost as if it is getting too dull to stay in the groove it first lands in.
 
In most cases, it's very hard to visually see wear on a stylus. The first thing I'd do is make sure there's no crud built up on the tip. Being a P-mount, it should be easy enough to remove the whole cartridge and re-seat it, just in case it wasn't perfectly aligned. Then I'd try to find a scope with a bit more magnification - I use a little 30x hand held, which is difficult to use, but should reveal any gross goop built up.

If none of this helps, it might be time to invest in a new stylus; 10s aren't all that expensive, and you can step up to a 20 for a bit better performance.

As always, just my opinion, YMMV.
 
No issue with tracking, I just thought distorted highs from a $90 (current retail) cartridge seems a bit off. The table is T4P so there's very little I can adjust to compensate...

My lens is only 10x. I'll have to see if I have anything better. While I've been using a small old paintbrush to clean off the stylus it might also be time I bought some dedicated stylus cleaner?
 
I've been using Last Stylus Cleaner (#4) for years, although not often because my styli rarely get to the point that it's necessary. I use it mostly when I pick up a used cartridge that needs some cleaning help. I also use the Treatment (#5) all the time with no ill effects. I'm aware there's some controversy over using the Last products, but they've worked for me.
 
RamblinE said:
BUMP

How to tell if a stylus is bad or not is something that not everybody knows and could be very useful information.
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I dont' think there's any way to tell, especially with a model that's been around so long. A dealer with an appropriate microscope could see if the stylus is worn, but styli also go bad from the suspension getting hard over time (Shure recommends replacing after 10 years even if it's had little or no use).

There's no point in taking chances with my records, so my procedure would be to just assume that a used stylus needs to be replaced.

Another possible problem with the OMP-10 is that its recommended tracking force is 1.75 grams (1.5-2.0 range). Your turntable is fixed at 1.25 grams, though it did come with subweights of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.25 grams, and it would appear you can use more than one at a time. If you don't have these installed, putting them in might make a difference. If it were me, I'd just get a brand new Shure M92E. 1.25 grams is listed as optimum for this model, so you don't need to fuss with subweights, and to my ears it's a great-sounding cartridge for the typical $40 asking price.
 
The short answer to know if a stylus is too worn-a good quality scope with proper lighting, and experience. I have not been able to locate such a combination yet. A magnifier of 20-30x will allow one to see whether the stylus tip is dirty, and not much more.

As a result, it's important to have a spare stylus or cartridge of known condition, and listen to both. Distortion, whether because of wear or damage to the stylus or cart, would be reason to retire it. It's also useful to use a recording that you are intimately familiar with, so you can make a meaningful comparison.

Even a modest cartridge should be able to track most of an lp without distortion, if set up reasonably well.

I have a used table with an OM20, and I believe it to be worn out. The only way to be sure is one of the above methods, and method 2 is the only feasible method available to me. As I have other tables, it sits, waiting for me to get a known good stylus to compare it to.

At least, this is how I will answer my (is the stylus worn out?) question.
 
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I agree with oldvinyldude: Assuming the VTF is correct and the stylus is clean (often a bigger assumption than we think, which is why a cheap 30 or 60x hand magnifier is one of the smartest investments you can make), if you hear distortion of sibilants and other high-energy treble sounds that played perfectly before, it's a good bet that the diamond is worn, or possibly damaged. Check for a bent cantilever too.

As OVD suggested, try swapping in a known-good cartridge/stylus to see if the distortion goes away. Or put the Ortofon in a different table.
 
Not much I can do about swapping cartridges around. Only other cartridge and table I have is 1/2 mount. This is the only p-mount table/cartridge I've got.

The cantilever is completely straight as it should be.

The Shure M92 is a good suggestion as my girlfriend's linear tracker has one and I think it sounds fine. If I wanted to dabble around with other cartidges what do you guys think of the Audio Technica P-mounts that are currently for sale over at Needledoctor?
 
Well, you can get a half-inch adapter for your OMP and try it in your other table.

If a bit of dabble is what you crave, A-T made three mutually-incompatible generations of p-mounts, and they're all capable, but first-gen is preferred.

1G is the ATN1#2 family, and you can also fit the ATN440MLa and ATN120E half-inch styli, assuming the stylus you fancy can track well at 1.5g. These are technically advanced bodies; the best ones have laminated pole pieces and inner shielding to max the separation figures.

2G is the short-lived and rare-ish ATN2## lineup. These are similar to the final-gen bodies and styli but mechanically incompatible. The better styli have become hard to get.

The final-gen bodies are represented by the styli Needle Doctor sells as ATN3472xxx and many sub-brand names, although some advanced styli ("Linear Contacts") were made for this series. Good sound, though technically not as advanced.

Which generation were you interested in?
 
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I probably should have gone to bed after work tonight but instead I just pulled the trigger on an AT92ECD D:

Only $20 on Amazon. It'll be here on Thursday...
 
Pio1980 said:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Celt

Quote:

How to tell if my stylus is going bad?

When it starts holding up banks?
Click to expand...

It starts hanging around pool parlors wearing pinch-back suits, smoking cigarettes, and using expressions like "swell" and "so's your old man".

Posted from Audiokarma.org App for Android
 
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I can usually tell a stylus is going wrong when the highs get sibilant or sound distorted.
The way I found out was by replacing the stylus on my 680ee. It started sounding distorted - I replaced the stylus and voila'; All good.
 
RamblinE said:
Grinder? D:
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It's a decent cart with a light-tracing elliptical tip for playing pretty much all records without worrying about harming good records, ruining a costly stylus with a bad record, or handling goof.
 
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Pio1980 said:
It starts hanging around pool parlors wearing pinch-back suits, smoking cigarettes, and using expressions like "swell" and "so's your old man".
Click to expand...

Thank you, Prof. Harold Hill.

OT, the AT92E is a fantastic cartridge for the price, and a great match for the Technics linear trackers.
 
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