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Stylus wear question...

On more than one occasion, I've fallen asleep late at night listening to an LP and woke to the sound of the stylus tracking the inner lead out groove of the LP...perhaps for several hours. Does the time the stylus spends here cause greater wear than time spent on the music tracks? Thanks in advance. I did search posts under "stylus wear" - didn't find anything pertinent. (by the way, things still sound great...no audible evidence of any damage).
128x128ghosthouse
9 responses Add your response
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse OP
4,306 posts
 
Thanks to all... I can rest easier now and some of those responses (Viridian!) made me laugh.

Rshak - I will check into "The Lift"

Gosh, "Audiogon" what a great country!!!
starcon
98 posts
 
The only damage likely is the wear on the cantilever which is more of an issue than stylus wear. I have actually broken a cantilever when the the stylus went on to the paper............(I was also asleep and had several nice cocktails etc.)
the stupid shall be punished.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Other than the need to clean it more frequently/thoroughly, I would say no harm done.
Post removed 
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
I've done the same thing many times...

I don't worry about it. I buy a new cartridge every 3 years or so, on average.

There are so many better things to worry about. War, the economy, how much life is left in my NOS tubes...

Cheers.
musicslug
430 posts
 
the only way to tell is to look at the stylus under a microscope - wear that may be damaging your LPs could easily be inaudible.
aptquark
99 posts
 
I would also add that the wear is minimal. You have more chance to cut through the LP than actually damage the stylus.
rshak
417 posts
 
I am not sure if The Lift is still made, but if it is, it may be of interest to you:

http://www.soundscapehifi.com/expressimo.htm

Robert
mcfarland
356 posts
 
I really don't think you hurt anything. That used to happen to myself and my friends frequently during college. It take a long time to erode a diamond by rubbing it against vinyl. Relax. Maybe think about getting a TT with auto shut off.
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