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The ever lasting diamond stylus...is it a myth or??

We all believe that a stylus has a certain life...perhaps on the order of several thousand hours. However, it occurs to me that if a stylus is used exclusively on new and/or pristine and clean vinyl and that the various parameters of set up are always maintained correctly; that it would/could be reasonable to expect the diamond to last almost indefinitely! The wear and tear of the groove against the diamond, particularly if the friction on the stone is minimized should allow an immense life. The other components of the cartridge can- and will, age far before the diamond shape is lost....due to the aging of the rubber and other soft components in the motor...BUT the diamond....I think perhaps not....thoughts???
128x128daveyf
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
I've seen diamond tip worn out to the base of the cantilever.
They wear out just like pensil
quincy
350 posts
 
One side of one average album is ~one mile distance.  Yes, diamond is harder than vinyl, but if you have gunk in the grooves; like dust and dirt it will wear down (grind) the diamond over time.  We are taking 3000 - 5,000 miles use.  The record groove will also wear down.  The first 'loss' you will notice is at the high end; treble.  Don't forget the groove is shaped like a 'V' and at a specific angle.  The sound waves are pressed along the side walls of the 'V' almost to the bottom.  The diamond will travel along the sides of the 'V' until it hits bottom or the sound grooves are worn away.  Good record cleaning and stylus cleaning procedures are mandatory!  

You hit upon an important item.  Many different diamond grinds exist for a stylus. One type may last longer than another, but one may capture the sound waves better than another.  I do not know which shape is the 'best'.  

My Lyra has a 'line contact' diamond.  It is manufactured by a company in Japan that makes the pure Tungsten needles for scanning electron microscopes.  I believe a company that can make devices for a SEM certainly could handle attaching a diamond to a single Pure Boron Whisker.   It's been my experience (over 40 years) that I become bored of a cartridge prior to it ever wearing out.......
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,858 posts
 
There is absolutely no doubt that if the groove is very dirty and has hard deposits...that through time the diamond can become a little worn or possibly damaged.( as to the shape). However, as in my OP, I am thinking that today there really is no need to have a dirty and dusty LP. Plus there are several lubricants that can be applied both to the LP and to the diamond stylus to reduce friction,,,,,,leading to my OP.
czarivey......a ’diamond tip worn out to the base of the cantilever, they just wear like a pensil ( sic) ’ I really would like to know what kind of use this cartridge was put to????
uberdine
100 posts
 
They don't last indefinitely but, yes, way longer than people think if you keep your records clean. The rubber on the cantilever will perish before your stylus. (Five years or so, although a couple years back I used a vintage Stanton from the eighties that honestly sounded great so, who knows...)
fleib
1,124 posts
 

They wear at different rates depending on a variety of factors, but no doubt about it, they wear.

You ask what a worn diamond tip looks like. When examining for wear you do not look at the tip as such. You look at the light reflected off the sides. This requires a special set-up with high intensity lamps. The difference between a new and worn tip is obvious. When new, the reflection is a dot of light. As the tip wears the dot gets larger and defines an area worn flat.

Examining a tip at low magnification is for revealing general condition.  You can see if the diamond is chipped or cracked. It happens.

When most tip shapes wear, the edges of the worn flat contact area become sharp and can tear up a soft vinyl groove just like a chipped diamond.

The synthetic rubber used in the suspension does not normally wear out. Suspensions usually collapse due to mechanical failure.

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