Hi All,
The OP'er here. I thought I would try to summarize what I have gained from this discussion, and from the most excellent links provided by a couple of folks. It is been great reading, aside for the need of marital counseling. Though growing up I learned you only give a hard time to those you like.
(1) Yes, a stylus even though made of the hardest naturally occurring substance on earth does indeed wear. "Flats" occur.
(2) The stylus can wear out to the point it has a negative impact on the sound quality and the vinyl..
(3) The point at which a stylus reaches and unacceptable point in life is based on so many individual human, component, source and mechanical factors that it is very difficult to have a universal threshold (hours) that we can all reliable use, but frankly it is the most accessible to most of us.
(4) The status of your stylus is difficult to determine unless you put it under a high powered scope (which nearly none of us has) and given that many of us do not have removable cartridge heads it is a chore to do.
(5) Yes, indeed, water has the power to erode. Having floated the Colorado through the Grand Canyon last year I can say that is is astonishing what Mother Nature can do, but my stylus will not last millennia so it is a moot point here.
So, where does this leave me? In the same place I started but just more educated. Thank goodness for a good audio dealer.
Thanks for participating and keep your eyes out for the next Analog post which puts out there my latest pondering.
The OP'er here. I thought I would try to summarize what I have gained from this discussion, and from the most excellent links provided by a couple of folks. It is been great reading, aside for the need of marital counseling. Though growing up I learned you only give a hard time to those you like.
(1) Yes, a stylus even though made of the hardest naturally occurring substance on earth does indeed wear. "Flats" occur.
(2) The stylus can wear out to the point it has a negative impact on the sound quality and the vinyl..
(3) The point at which a stylus reaches and unacceptable point in life is based on so many individual human, component, source and mechanical factors that it is very difficult to have a universal threshold (hours) that we can all reliable use, but frankly it is the most accessible to most of us.
(4) The status of your stylus is difficult to determine unless you put it under a high powered scope (which nearly none of us has) and given that many of us do not have removable cartridge heads it is a chore to do.
(5) Yes, indeed, water has the power to erode. Having floated the Colorado through the Grand Canyon last year I can say that is is astonishing what Mother Nature can do, but my stylus will not last millennia so it is a moot point here.
So, where does this leave me? In the same place I started but just more educated. Thank goodness for a good audio dealer.
Thanks for participating and keep your eyes out for the next Analog post which puts out there my latest pondering.