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life of stylus

Sultan swing

Sultan swing

Active Member
hi!

about a year ago i got a philips turntable made in '74. first i bought a sapphire needle which lasted na bit less than 3 months. after that, i ordered an original philips cartridge with a diamond stylus (i konw many of you are now laughing, you'll laugh even more when you hear the price) which i payed app. 17$.

i heard that diamond needles should/could last 10 times more than sapphire ones, and i, after a 4 months of listening (app. 1/1.5 hours a day) hear some noise in my right channel at certain tones. is it possible that i "spent" a diamond needle so quickly?

one gentleman, who is in the gramophone/stylus business told me when he examined it, that he can see that it has been used, but it is still "healthy" and not broken, and that i could use it.

p.s. i'm from croatia, so i appologize on my english/spelling.

thanks
 
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Your English and spelling is far better than many posters.

The answers to these questions that would be helpful to determine your problem:

What is the turntable model?
Does it have anti-skate?
What is the cartridge?
What is the stylus number?
What did you use to align the cartridge?
What tracking force are you using?
 
1. philips, model 22GF66104R
2. i'm still new, so i'm not sure if it has anti-skate. if you could explain it to me, i would check.
3. cartridge is original philips, model GP215, diamond stlyus
4. i'm not sure, on cartirge stands only "215" and "KH KS". on package stands only GP215, diamond stlyus. when i was buying it, i found out that if "GP" is written in capital letters-it is a diamond stylus, and if it's "gp" then it is sapphire.
5. i'm not sure what are you asking me, all i did was: plug it in, leveled the arm in a horizontal state and adjusted the weight on 3g. i hope i answered your question, if not, please try to explain it to me and i'll try to answer it.
6. i've put 3grams on it (i saw on a philips brochure on a danish web, for my cartridge/needle it was reccomended 3 grams)

i hope i gave you enough information and that you will be able to help me. if not, please contact me again.

thank you!
 
thank you iguise. so i heard that a diamond stylus should be used at least 10 times more than sapphire. so my problem is somewhere else. i hope it's not too serious(expensive).
 
a very soft paintbrush, just to clean the dust. once i used a drop of medicine alcohol on the same paintbrush.

i also cleaned my records once with a mix of alcohol(1/3) and distilled water(2/3). i know i haven't been cleaning them often enough and with a right preparate.

but i have one record that i bought 4 months ago (new,sealed) and it also produces noise on some tones (some electric guitar distorsion tones, not every, and on violin). how often should one clean records and with what? and do i have to clean the records that i'm playing very very rare?

thank you,as you see, i'm still a beginner with a lot of questions, but i want to learn
 
i clean every album every time i play it! i use an old discwasher d3.

another possibility is that the cartridge/stylus is not the cause of the noise you here.

it's also possible that the stylus is not the correct one for the cartridge, especially if you purchased a used cartridge/stylus.

it is also possible that that the dealer who examined your stylus was incorrect. a visual inspection is not always sufficient.

first, isolate the problem. did you hear the noise before you replaced the cartridge? if yes, then the cartridge/stylus is not the problem. if no, then does the problem only occur when using the phono? if no, then the problem lies elsewhere.

your problem could also be cartridge alignment. the experts could give you better instructions, but i'll try. there are 3 adjustments that need to be made when installing a cartridge. these 3 are prior to setting tracking force or anti-skate.

first, the cartridge has to be parallel to the headshell. if it is not quite parallel, the stylus will not make proper contact with the record grooves, resulting in poor sound.

second is the stylus overhang, which refers to the overall distance from the stylus tip to the tone-arm pivot point. this setting varies from turntable to turntable and the proper setting has to be obtained from the manufacturer. the setting is usually included in the owner's manual.

the third setting is the tracking angle. the cantilever of your stylus has to be at a certain angle in relation to horizontal. this specification usually comes from the cartridge manufacturer.

from what you described, you set the tracking force properly. for a more accurate setting, you could use a stylus force gauge, but most cartridges will operate properly using only the gauge on the tonearm.

you didn't mention setting the anti-skate. the anti-skate counteracts the centrifugal force caused by the turning record. the force tends to pull the stylus towards the center of the record. the result is that the stylus makes better contact with the inner groove wall than it does with the outer. this also leads to bad sound. typically, the anti-skating should be set at the same force as the stylus force.

there is a thread i have seen here on AK that gives a much better explanation than i have given. if you do a search for turntable setup, you should be able to find it.

good luck!
 
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hi Iguise!

ok, i will buy something for cleaning my records and will take better care of them.

the same noise i heard after listening my old sapphire stylus, after about 2and a half months (cca 150h). when i purchased a brand new sealed philips cartridge no noise was produced. the sound was clear, i was even listening a brand new record on my headphones and there wasn't any noise or sth like that. now that same record sounds great, but on some tones it does produce background noise in my right channel. maybe it is dirty, i really cant tell and have nothing yet to clean it.

yes, the problem in my right channel is only present when i'm listening to phono.

my cartirdge is a plug-in so i can't make any changes with the headshell-cartridge alignment.
also the stylus overhang (if i understood you right) is not adjustable on my cartridge, i think.
third thing is also not adjustable on my cartridge, or it is set by a manufacturer and i didn't change anything.

a lot of people asked me about anti-skateing, but i think my TT doesn't have this. i only have a weight which i adjust manually and tracking-force-setting on which i set my tracking force.
 
New Info

i've got new information:

1. i found out what anti-skating is, and unfortunalely i don't have the option to set it. my TT does not have anti-skating wheel.

2. the noise is hearable only on the last few cm of the record, only on the last song(s). i've listened to a dozen records and i only hear it on the last 3,4 cm of the record.

i hope theese information will help us solve my problem.
thanks
 
Considering that there are no other adjustments to be made to your turntable, I think it is the stylus itself. Typically diamond styli last longer, but we don't really know the quality of this particular stylus. And it could be doing damage to your vinyl.

Also, as you're probably becoming aware, this isn't the best turntable for serious listening. Are there thrift stores in Croatia? If so, maybe keep a lookout for separate components--a turntable like a Technics and a receiver or amp--you should be able to get them cheap. Along with a decent inexpensive cartridge it would be a huge improvement over what you have now. And you'll be able to use lighter tracking force with less wear on your records.
 
oh, i know this isn't the best turntable, but i'm still a student so a better one is still out of the picture. maybe if sth very cheap comes. and also, don't let that my pictures fool you, i'm had it made that the amp integrated in TT isn't working and i'm getting a clear signal to my external amp (not the best one, but better than this integrated). thank you for your help, i'll get my TT checked and examined at this guy in my town and then decide what to do. i'll make a post when i find out what's wrong
 
Sultan swing said:
oh, i know this isn't the best turntable, but i'm still a student so a better one is still out of the picture. maybe if sth very cheap comes. and also, don't let that my pictures fool you, i'm had it made that the amp integrated in TT isn't working and i'm getting a clear signal to my external amp (not the best one, but better than this integrated). thank you for your help, i'll get my TT checked and examined at this guy in my town and then decide what to do. i'll make a post when i find out what's wrong
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That's fine, but still keep any eye out for a cheap turntable. People here find them in thrift shops for $5 sometimes. Even the cheapest, plastic turntable has more adjustment capability than what you have now.
 
What you are describing is often called "inner groove distortion". It is common on turntables that cannot control arm side loading.

The issue can be addressed in two ways. The first way is to re-align the cartridge so it has the best average track possible. Once aligned for best average track, you can then slightly rotate the cartridge in the head on way or the other to try to tune out the last of the distortion.

Tuning by ear with headphones on is the best way to get to final alignment with an older simple table. If your turntable (TT) has anti-skate (which yours does not), you can change the value until you minimize it. But, alignment comes before all.

My guess is that alignment is not optimized and is causing excess wear on one side of the stylus. If aligned for the most even sound and tracking, it should wear more evenly and last longer. The worn diamond or sapphire will slowly damage your records. Keep working with it to minimize the sounds. That will be your sweet spot. Then get another diamond stylus when you can to stop the possible excess wear. And keep your eye out for a better TT when you can :)
 
OK, since it is a molded unit, maybe we're looking in the wrong place?

Still inner groove so maybe it's his gimbal and autolift/return loading the arm? Something is side loading the arm near the end of play? Until he can get a better table maybe he can solve the problem, maybe not?

I'd lube the linkages and look for the function sensors starting to engage near the end of play. Maybe disconnect them and play it manually? Reconnect if he wants to sell?
 
it also crossed my mind to disconnect the automatic lifting system because maybe it, trying to figure out when to lift the arm at the end of the side, disturbes the arm to slide and pushes it onto one side of the groove.
first, i'll try to lube it, as you said, but if it doesn't work, i hope i'll find out how to shut the automatic system down.

thanks for the tips guys.
 
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