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Off center (not bent!) stylus?

Relative newbie here - just looking for some thoughts / experiences from all you resident experts. 

I have been buying used carts for my vintage setup exclusively. It certainly seems like every stylus is not perfectly parallel with the cantilever and always seems to lean ever so slightly to one side or another. Seems like new ones can be like this too. So I assume a bit of a lean is normal / not an issue.

My question is, is there a limit to this? Can a more extremely off center stylus cause problems in sound quality / record damage? Could it be a sign that the stylus / cantilever assembly is about to fail? Or is it more a matter of if you don’t hear anything wrong don’t sweat it.

Here are some pics of what I’m talking about:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/m2m9FhU9VumD6uss6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kMLyfhba4pFxKMGJ7

Again I don’t see any visible bend or kink in the stylus. The stylus itself is straight but i comes out of the cantilever at an angle. 

Any experiences (positive, negative or neutral) with this? 

Thanks in advance!

Hauie
hauie88

Showing 6 responses by mijostyn

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
the skewed cantilever will not significantly increase record wear but the azimuth error sure will. The diamond is pointed in the wrong direction!!
I explained the damage this will cause above. The cartridge will sound fine with a replacement stylus. So, go here https://www.lpgear.com/ and see if they have a replacement for it. Check out the cost and tell us what you find.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
1+ Thom, Hauie, you are wasting your money sending it for inspection and I doubt Peter would touch it. Even if he could repair it he would tell you that it was not worth spending that kind of money on. For perhaps $100 you may be able to get a new stylus at LP Gear. There is no way to know how close it will sound to the original as we do not have an original to compare it to. I might even sound better! 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Millercabon you are doing a great job of demonstrating your own ignorance. You are making yourself the laughing stock of this web site.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
@petg60, not at all. I saw a Shure cartridge that was misaligned in an AR XA that was just as bad as this. The constant pressure deforms the suspension padding. With too much overhang the pressure can get pretty severe. 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
millercarbon, you are really showing your ignorance. The skating force is pulling the tonearm towards the the center not the stylus. The stylus and cantilever are forced into the left channel deflecting the cantilever toward the right or outside channel. The damage you see, cantilever deflected to the outside and stylus spun counter clock wise are due to long term use without anti skating and probably way too much overhang. Yes, that stylus is garbage and should be thrown away.
Hauie88, that stylus will dig a trench in the right channel and shave the top of the left channel away. You need a new stylus and any expert will tell you that. If you hang on others will show up and give you that opinion.
I would never play a record with a cartridge in that condition. It needs a new stylus. If you can't find one then ditch the cartridge and start over.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Hauie88, that cantilever is way off and the azimuth is off. The cartridge was damage by using it in an arm without anti skating. It is garbage and should not be used. It will damage your records.  You might be able to get a replacement stylus at LP Gear. Great Pics.
Sometimes the cantilever will be a little off and you just align the cantilever correctly and you will be fine but this is too extreme with the azimuth way off indicating damage.
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