bent stylus?

[azrockitman]

I just noticed that as I stare down at my cartridge, staring at the "business end" of my tonearm, the stylus appears ever so slightly bent towards the center of the record.  i've never noticed that before. It's a very slight amount off center, but off center indeed.   I would presume a correctly aligned stylus would be 100% squared up, at a 90 degree angle to the square edge of the cartridge head (as viewed from up top).  Am I correct in that presumption?

[KevO]

AZ, Are you playing a record and noticed this or is the arm on its rest?

Bent toward the center while playing a record might be too much anti-skate set on the arm.

Otherwise, it is a bent stylus.

-Kevin

[azrockitman]

Kevin, It doesn't seem to make a difference.  Both, when I'm playing a record and at rest.

So if it's bent, can a "novice" (me) safely nudge that back to center some way?  Or does this require a visit to the doctor?  (Like Andy at Needle Clinic that was previously recommend) 

[Hank Murrow]

Hey  Rockitman; Based upon two beautiful repairs to my BPS EVO lll cartridge, I would suggest sending it to Andy for analysis. If it can be fixed simply, Andy will do that. If it needs reconstruction, he is excellent___ and fair.

Cheers, Hank

[azrockitman]

sigh,  I was afraid that would be the answer. 
No LP listening now for a while.  carapp. 

[2wo]

How does it sound? Might be a decision you can defer for a bit...John

[azrockitman]

Great question. That's the thing;  I'm listening to everything from brand new 45RPM stellar discs to my original 40+ year old "normal" records and I hear no deterioration of sound.  But I'm just paranoid that if it's not "squared-up" as it should be, I might be doing some long term harm.  I've taken great care, literally since 1964 when I bought "Meet the Beatles" as a 9 year old punk kid, to keep my records spotless.  There's not one fingerprint on any album.  I guess I don't feel like pushing it.  (although, I am listening to an LP at this moment so I just told a little lie)

I emailed Andy at Needle Clinic to see if he had a good recommendation to sell me while I send mine off for "repair"  That way I could turn this "negative" into a positive and have a second possible cartridge for comparison and review while the Sumiko is being straightened. 

[Grainger49]

I would suggest that you adjust the cartridge such that the cantilever is parallel with the cartridge shell sides.  The coils are probably not aligned properly now. 

My concern is that the edges of the ellipse of the stylus are tracing oddly and might damage your vinyl.  If you cock the cartridge so that the stylus/cantilever is straight there should be no possibility of damage.

[pvannest]

I "Had" the exact same issue with my EVO III as well.   If you look at it straight on, it seemed to have been bent to one side.    However I convinced myself that I was seeing things.   I measured output from each side and it was dead on, so I didn't worry about it.   That was until yesterday.    On Halloween, my wife decided to help me and put the cover in the turn table.   In the process of doing so, she knocked off the belt.   No problem, she just put it back on.   In the process of doing so, she bumped the cartridge or so she thought.   I went to play a record after I got off of work yesterday and to my shock, she didn't just bump the cartridge, she destroyed it.   The stylus was bent vertically down and three out of 4 leads were Ripped Off...   
She is sorry of course, and feels really bad.    I have been very careful of the system and she always wondered why I would stop using the turn table after a few glasses of wine.   Now she knows and is officially banned from getting near it like the grand kits.  (Not really but it sounds good)    

The bright side if there is one, is I have pretty much permission to buy a new cartridge.   Maybe it is time to upgrade....

[caffeinator]

I'll just join the growing chorus of "Don't try that at home!" admonitions.

I have a Clearaudio Aurum Beta Mk II that I was running on an RB300 arm.  One day, I noticed the cantilever appeared slightly askew - not bent so much as entirely pointing in the wrong direction, slightly to one side.  In a moment of bad judgment (the kind that begets experience), I attempted to gently nudge it aright.  I nudged it so skillfully it came out of the cartridge body.

I ended up sending it to Soundsmith for repair, and ended up with a superior cartridge as a result.  So, the story has a happy ending, though it did take a few months and some bucks to get there.

[vetmed]

If it plays fine don't sweat it. You may want to consider aligning it along the axis of the cantilever, as opposed to the cartridge body. OTOH if the cartridge is a MC and has a fair number of hours it may be time to let an expert put a new stylus on it

Robert Lees

[pvannest]

OK
Here's an update.   After my dear wife trashed my Sumiko EVO III,  I was able to replace it at a reasonable price off of Ebay.   The replacement was brand new, and just took about 4 days from Hong Kong.   That said, I also decided to give Sound Smith a shot to see if they could repair the original.  I figured that if another accident happened maybe I could have a back up.  As it turned out they had no problem doing the repair which included the upgrade to level 2.  It took about a month, and it was well worth the wait.   I have now been using the upgraded cartridge for just about a month and pleased with the results.  The first thing I noticed were more pristine highs, and a little better resolution in the mid range.    The bottom end seems to me at least the same as the original and overall tracking is still excellent.  Overall, I feel that the ruby cantilever and stylus are indeed a step up from the original.   Can you say happy?   Now,  what next to replace in my system?   I think it is a pretty open question as long as my wife is responsible for any destruction that may occur....   Speakers maybe...... hmmmmmm....    How can I blow them up and make here think she did it?   

[Paul Birkeland]

  Speakers maybe...... hmmmmmm....    How can I blow them up and make here think she did it?   

Make some speaker stands out of 1/16" balsa wood.

[pvannest]

Great idea.    That couple with some small explosives..

[2wo]

The easiest way is to ram the handle of a vacuum cleaner thru a speaker on the back swing, don't ask how I know this. Probably work on tubes as well...John