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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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Showing 2 responses by thom_at_galibier_design

thom_at_galibier_design's avatar
thom_at_galibier_design
729 posts
 
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_at_galibier_design's avatar
thom_at_galibier_design
729 posts
 
Hi @daveyf
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 didn’t mean imply otherwise, and I’m in agreement with you, @lewm and @Raul.
High magnification is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to verify stylus health.

Of course, you can possibly see catastrophic damage, but (at a minimum) having a known good sample of the stylus profile in question is necessary.

Cheers,
Thom @ Gaibier Design
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