I have noticed that the stylus or cartridge on my Dual 510 is slightly canted.
It plays very well. Should I try to align this?
The upper part is aligned with the head but the stylus and cover appear crooked.
Here is a pic.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/fj40/DSC02661.jpg

It looks like your cartridge is mounted just a little crooked in the headshell. That should be fixable, should you decide it bothers you.

I took a brand new Shure M97xE out of the box and mounted it on my Technics tonight. I haven't yet tried to align the cartridge, but I was disappointed to notice the cantilever appears to be crooked with relation to the rest of the stylus. Is this typical for the M97xE? Is it going to straighten out with use, or should I start seeking warranty support?

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i43/Ty_Bower/SL3200/th_Shure1a.jpg (http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i43/Ty_Bower/SL3200/Shure1a.jpg) http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i43/Ty_Bower/SL3200/th_Shure2.jpg (http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i43/Ty_Bower/SL3200/Shure2.jpg)

I would sent the 97 back for another one.

I would sent the 97 back for another one.

I agree, you should talk to wherever you got it about a replacement.

Does the stylus just pull straight off the cartridge?
The cartridge seems aligned in the headshell, so maybe the stylus is mounted crooked?

I have noticed a lot of stylii are bent out of proper alignment, and a lot of cartridges are not properly aligned in the shell.

This includes one of mine I examined two nights ago. I essentially destroyed the stylus trying to straighten it.
And it includes a misaligned cartridge AND a bent stylus on a TT I bought today. (Technics SL-Q303). That one may not be salvageable either. Don't know.

My recent thinking has been:

1. These stylii are highly compliant and perhaps the groove and tracking force make the stay where they belong. (I was certainly getting nice sound out of the one discovered two days ago.)

2. BUT that likely--almost inevitably-- degrades my records. SO I do not like it.

It is true that properly installing a cartridge is not so easily--nor so commonly done.

I'D LIKE SOME ADVICE AND COMMENTS FROM OTHERS WITH MORE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE.

I that the stylus in first post is bent.

If I'd just bought it brand new I'd demand another.

If that was mine I'd strip it, clean it up and carefully reinstall. Did you install it originally?

Ricohman, it looks like the cartridge is not properly seated in the headshell and should be remounted. The stylus should pull straight out of the cartridge at a slight downward angle. See the brass shaft in Ty's pictures, this is the stylus in the cartridge. Your Shure should be similar

Ty-send that cartridge back for a new one that is straight.

Mike-The needle will not be put into the proper alignment by the compliance of the stylus or the record. The cartridge needs to be properly mounted and balanced and the stylus needs to be straight to get the most out of a record. It is not hard to properly mount a cartridge in a headshell. The tricky part is getting it aligned exactly where the stylus should be based on the alignment method of choice, whether using the gauge like Technics and other headshells use, the overhang method as shown on some 45 rpm adapters (overhang is the distance past the center spindle a stylus is adjusted to) or using one of the many protractors on the web for this.

A stylus should be straight with the tip vertically aligned on the shaft hitting the record perpendicularly when viewed from the front of the cartridge. Any bend or twist will affect the sound to some degree. From the side there is the Vertical Tracking Angle to adjust and worry about. This topic is beyond the scope of this discussion since there are many here on AK about VTA.

Ricohman, it looks like the cartridge is not properly seated in the headshell and should be remounted. The stylus should pull straight out of the cartridge at a slight downward angle. See the brass shaft in Ty's pictures, this is the stylus in the cartridge. Your Shure should be similar

Ty-send that cartridge back for a new one that is straight.

Mike-The needle will not be put into the proper alignment by the compliance of the stylus or the record. The cartridge needs to be properly mounted and balanced and the stylus needs to be straight to get the most out of a record. It is not hard to properly mount a cartridge in a headshell. The tricky part is getting it aligned exactly where the stylus should be based on the alignment method of choice, whether using the gauge like Technics and other headshells use, the overhang method as shown on some 45 rpm adapters (overhang is the distance past the center spindle a stylus is adjusted to) or using one of the many protractors on the web for this.

A stylus should be straight with the tip vertically aligned on the shaft hitting the record perpendicularly when viewed from the front of the cartridge. Any bend or twist will affect the sound to some degree. From the side there is the Vertical Tracking Angle to adjust and worry about. This topic is beyond the scope of this discussion since there are many here on AK about VTA.

I agree with Blue Shadow, and will only add that I've noticed that cantilevers skewed off midline seem to be more common these days than in days of yore - poor QC? Anyway, for those who don't have the option to return a cartridge, this points up the importance of using a protractor with a grid for alignment, and aligning the cantilever itself with the grid, and not the body of the cartridge, in order to ensure proper offset angle.

Ty-send that cartridge back for a new one that is straight.

I did. They sent a replacement within the week. The new one looks good and sounds fine. Their QC could use a little improvement, but I have no complaints about their customer service.

ricohman it definitely looks like the stylus isn't seated properly on the cartridge. Try removing it and seeing if you can get it to seat square with the cartridge.

Is this a new stylus? And to answer your question yes you should fix this problem as it may wear out your records prematurely. It can't be the best for the life of the stylus either.

I'm sure you will hear an improvement in the sound once everything is aligned correctly.