"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message


I note your opinion but do not share it. I'd recommend
you re-read what the OP actually wrote, and note the
details. Looks to me like basic mistracking due to a poor
cartridge, misalignment, or normal wear.

Agreed.

The symptoms
don't seem like a 'chipped stylus' to me.

There was a local audio store that invested in a very sensitive stylus
inspection microscope. If there were any areas of a stylus that weren't
highly polished and rounded, it made them look almost like craters on the
moon. Probably paid for itself the first year!

They collected pictures of the worn stylii and put them in a looseleaf book
for public review. Very, very few were of a stylus suffering from other than
normal wear.

Actually chipping a diamond that small seems like something that would
rarely if ever happen casually or often. Diamonds are both very hard and
tough at that size. Not like the iceburgs that people put in rings.