Need Advice on Checking Stylus

I think it is worth, it is great seeing the different stylus designs at 800x. Plus with experience you might be able to detect wear. You can get a cheap digital microscope, like mine, for around $60, but you get what you page for. Getting it focused is painful, because the base is poor quality, also the software is not that great. USB interface that does stills and video. Also great for seeing how clean your stylus is and the results of cleaning it, also results after playing a dirty record. At 800x you can also look at the grooves of a record before and after cleaning to see the results. Great fun. I actually suggest you get one, but it should be a minimum of 400x and if you can splurge for the ones with a better base, it will be much easier to use.

Fremer in his review of the Anna cartridge wrote that a worn-out [extreme contact] stylus should do no damage to the vinyl unless it's chipped. His logic was that a typical wear of the stylus simply makes it duller, not sharper. I've always wondered about this. Has there actually been a study to show this damage we audiophiles are taught to fear so much?

I use a USB digital scope which magnifies up to 750x. I took a picture of my stylus when new and now I take a picture every 6 months and compare it to the "new reference". If you are patient, you can overlay the two images for comparison purposes.

I do not replace a cartridge until I notice the high frequencies start to "droop" and details in the music diminish .

A worn out stylus has rounded edges, and does not damage the groove, like a new misaligned cartridge would. Michail Fremer is right.