In 40+ years of playing vinyl I have never dropped the stylus onto the record anywhere other than at the start of the record i.e. never at a favourite track. This is because my grandad once saw me do it and told me I’d put pops and clicks onto the record by doing so. I have no idea if that’s true or not. Is it?
I kind of think not, but it’s kind of how I play records now. It’s a double edged sword though. The good is that I learned to appreciate everything on the album. The bad is the impulse buy with one song on that I like quickly never gets played again.
I think it can create a permanent pop when rushing and the arm whizzes out of your hand and bashes into the vinyl. But I’ve never noticed anything like that when manually queuing normally.
I’m more prone to losing the Ittok than the Ekos SE. The SE feels heavier on the finger tip.
Still, it’s obviously worked for you and created a good listening habit.
Being an Aro owner, cueing anywhere other than at the start of a 12” disc is a nightmare. I have a few 10” EP albums, which scarcely ever get played because of the cueing challenge.
Being a relative noob in the world of vinyl my response should also be taken as such.
I cannot imagine that it would cause any damage unless extra force is applied to the tone arm. Especially sideways.
I always use the lever to raise and lower te tone arm to avoid me hamfisting and doing exactly that. But in doing that in over a year I have not noticed anything happening on my records.
Hey Clive, I’m new to the Aro as you know, but I find “lightly” resting the bottom side of my hand on the plinth and using wrist and finger movement to cue the Aro to the track seems to work for me. I have my shortsighted glasses on of course. Probably bad form…
Rarely pick tracks. But when I have never had problem but always used the lift/lower lever on a quality tone arm that lowers slowly.
Conversely I often place the stylus into the run in groove of an LP by hand as with some records ( that have a slightly raised/curved outer edge) using the lift/lower the stylus can skid into the playing groove. Even then with high quality tonearms/carts it’s never been a problem in terms of groove damage.
Funnily enough, some time ago, never found out why, my Dynavector 17D3/Ekos whilst playing a record fine suddenly took off and skated alarmingly across the record and label until it reached the spindle. Bent the stylus but absolutely no damage to the record. Phew!
Thing is, my vinyl doesn’t have many pops. I have a few on LP’s I wasn’t keen on at purchase so didn’t return but certainly none I feel are my fault.
We’re all different though.
I’m happy with how I listen and pretty much set in my ways. 'Twas just a question borne out of boredom …
I actually think it’s a very good question, never mind the p*ss takers, if you dont ask you wont know.
The type of old groovegrinder turntable your grandad may have used might have caused the damage described, but with the kind of TT/Carts being used by members of this forum, highly unlikely.
Play on and enjoy
One more thought, if you havent already, consider getting a record cleaning machine.
I used to be sceptical, but since trying and buying a basic Project VCS2 ALU I wouldnt be without it, surprising how much “quieter” a record, especially new ones, sound after a spin through the cleaner.
I’ve used the Moth RCM for the best part of 20 years. When it’s toes finally curl up I’ll consider something more fancy perhaps. It’s done sterling work over the years without ever missing a beat. Indeed, my toes may curl up first lol.
Spin clean for this cheap skate. But I do have access to a very expensive if not over priced Audio desk pro via a friend. Like I said some vinyl (older) do have pops simply because of the vinyl recipe. You will never be rid of it no matter what.
I see on flea bay a reasonably well priced Ultrasonic 5x lp spinner made by a retired engineer. A little bit tempted to tell you the truth.
LP records are a curious combination of robustness and fraility. All perhaps obvious but dampness leading to mould, wrong sort of heat, like the rear parcel shelf of a car and the wrong sort of pressure. I.E. stacked in a pile.
Inner sleeve, good quality, not paper, classical a bit more fussy on defects due to the quiet passages. Not a lot to do for a precision product.
“Dropping” the stylus on any disc would not be a good idea for all the components involved. You probably meant “placing” SteveO. Whether you do this using the arm lift/lower device or carefully by hand, and anywhere on the disc makes no difference. As I have acsended the cartridge quality and cost ladder I am 100% on the arm lift/lower and never by hand.
The better the record player the less surface noise.
Like you I’ve been buying records for about 45 years or so. I’ve always been very obsessive about looking after them, my oldest records are in great nick. Hence I was sceptical about RCM’s, however even my well looked after collection has benefitted since.
The Moth is a well regarded machine, I doubt the Project will do anything better but for anyone wanting a reasonable RCM in today’s market it’s good vfm.
@Douglas - Dropping was just a loose term. I always use the cueing lever to drop/place the stylus on the record. There is no finger life installed on my arm …
@Dreadatthecontrols - same here. Every LP gets a new anti-static sleeve after cleaning, a carbon fibre brush used on every side before playing and an Onzow Zerodust on the stylus after every listening session, regardless of length. My 40 year old copy of Back In Black is still free of pops.
There are a bunch of Chinese ones on eBay I am not allowed to link to. A regular larger ultrasonic cleaner (take the one with temp control and a drain valve, there are some others), a lift with motorized spindle on top. 550 Euro, works like a charm. Also faster (6 records in 20 minutes) and a bit less noisy though the ultrasonic sound is annoying. Caution, it emits aerosols (necessarily) and they triggered an oversensitive smoke detector in my apartment, fixed by changing detector and opening a window while cleaning