Jump to content

Diamonds are not forever !


Recommended Posts

Interesting article... courtesy Bill Hart the Vinyl press, apologises if been posted already,

 

nothing is forever I guess .... but gee these are finicky things diamonds :D  I'll certainly keep my ears pricked ! for tell tale signs... and heres hoping for a longer than usual life in the mean time *fingers crossed*

 

https://thevinylpress.com/the-finish-line-for-your-phonograph-stylus/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites



The last time I had my Troika refurbished, Expert Stylus said the diamond was fairly worn but still good for 500 sides or so. I guessed it had about 750 hours on it, but I could have been way off. They recommended their choice of the best diamond shape for the cartridge and I went with that. I can't remember what specifically it was.

 

Since then I've got a 'clicker' and an ultrasonic cleaner (which has made an amazing difference in the LP cleanliness (and hence lowered stylus wear) as judged by the clarity of LP sound). I will be sending it in again after 1000 hours.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, GregWormald said:

The last time I had my Troika refurbished, Expert Stylus said the diamond was fairly worn but still good for 500 sides or so. I guessed it had about 750 hours on it, but I could have been way off. They recommended their choice of the best diamond shape for the cartridge and I went with that. I can't remember what specifically it was.

 

Since then I've got a 'clicker' and an ultrasonic cleaner (which has made an amazing difference in the LP cleanliness (and hence lowered stylus wear) as judged by the clarity of LP sound). I will be sending it in again after 1000 hours.

 

I'm with you, Greg - 1000 hours (irrespective of what the cart mfrs say!).  :thumb:

 

Andy

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read through this today, quite a lot to digest for still relative (and very much budget/broke) newbie like me. Made me feel pretty bad to be honest; Seems like I really need to up my game in every aspect if I don't want to ruin the new and properly sourced records I've started buying this year.

Almost all of my records are second-hand,  most of those being from op-shops, my only 'cleaning' up until very recently was a carbon brush or in the worst cases tap water and a microfibre cloth.. My turntable was from gumtree with a 'realistic r700e' cart (apparently a Shure clone) and I simply bought a 'Pfansteihl?' elliptical replacement stylus from eBay, adjusted the tracking force with the markings on the counterweight (no scales) and just went for it the last 4-5 years.

No way I could possibly estimate the amount of play time on the stylus, especially since according to this article the wear would be heavily accelerated by the dirty conditions of the vinyl I have been playing with it..

I guess it's time to develop a way to record play hours on my TT, acquire proper tools needed and set up my arm/cart to spec and either get a new stylus or potentially an entirely new cart as I recall it being pretty difficult to find the replacement stylus for the Realistic r700e the first time around.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



On 29/10/2019 at 5:06 PM, SkipEsquire said:

I read through this today, quite a lot to digest for still relative (and very much budget/broke) newbie like me. Made me feel pretty bad to be honest; Seems like I really need to up my game in every aspect if I don't want to ruin the new and properly sourced records I've started buying this year.
 

No need to feel too bad.  After all most of the record buying public during the heyday of vinyl subjected their records to worse,  including poorly aligned worn conical styli tracking at high forces.  We now buy some of these records today second hand ?.

 

But as you say,  proper alignment and tracking force, vinyl cleaning, stylus cleaning and regular checks should help. 

 

Really great article btw @betty boop

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

On 29/10/2019 at 4:06 PM, SkipEsquire said:

I read through this today, quite a lot to digest for still relative (and very much budget/broke) newbie like me. Made me feel pretty bad to be honest; Seems like I really need to up my game in every aspect if I don't want to ruin the new and properly sourced records I've started buying this year.
 

23 hours ago, mkaramazov said:

No need to feel too bad....  After all most of the record buying public during the heyday of vinyl subjected their records to worse,  including poorly aligned worn conical styli tracking at high forces.  We now buy some of these records today second hand ?.

 

But as you say,  proper alignment and tracking force, vinyl cleaning, stylus cleaning and regular checks should help. 

 

 

being on a budget doesn't have to mean being hands off or not understanding the options available to you to max your enjoyment. 

 

you can get the well regarded AT-95e in the $60-70 area or less with a bit of research and timing (or the new model AT replaced it with)

around $20 for basic spray on vinyl cleaner    

its $10 for a stylus alignment protractor or print out the free stencil from vinylengine.com

keep an eye out on the forums for tips ( like fixing a length of pacer-pencil lead on your cart to help with alignment) or just ask questions yourself

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 30/10/2019 at 10:54 PM, mkaramazov said:

No need to feel too bad.  After all most of the record buying public during the heyday of vinyl subjected their records to worse,  including poorly aligned worn conical styli tracking at high forces.  We now buy some of these records today second hand ?.

 

But as you say,  proper alignment and tracking force, vinyl cleaning, stylus cleaning and regular checks should help. 

 

Really great article btw @betty boop

 

22 hours ago, wasabijim said:

 

 

being on a budget doesn't have to mean being hands off or not understanding the options available to you to max your enjoyment. 

 

you can get the well regarded AT-95e in the $60-70 area or less with a bit of research and timing (or the new model AT replaced it with)

around $20 for basic spray on vinyl cleaner    

its $10 for a stylus alignment protractor or print out the free stencil from vinylengine.com

keep an eye out on the forums for tips ( like fixing a length of pacer-pencil lead on your cart to help with alignment) or just ask questions yourself

 

Thanks both for the replies. I did recently buy one of the 'SpinClean' clones from AusPost when they were $20 and have been slowly working through my records cleaning, resleeving inner/outer and adding them to discogs but I don't think it's very thorough, certainly the older records still sound dirty even after double or triple cleaning. Very much considering a DIY ultrasonic but it's a considerable investment for me and would be the 2nd most expensive part of my entire hifi setup by far lol

I feel the damage has probably already been done to the stylus and that would still need replacing and the TT having a good once over and setup. I had a brief search for a replacement stylus after my previous post but they're still proving elusive and I have no idea what's a good brand or anything.

Gonna hit up officeworks this weel and attempt to print the alignment thing and see how close it is since that's practically a free step in the right direction.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...
To Top