Heat Generated During LP Playback - Does it matter?

I read something a while back and it had been bouncing around in my head for quite some time.  The subject was heat generated during playback on the record surface and the stylus could damage LP grooves if a record is played more than once a day.  A blog post I read asserted that this person would not ever play an LP a second time within 24 hours.  The theory put forth was that the vinyl was heated by the stylus and the stylus was also hot and it would act as a hot knife through butter, so to speak, if the LP was played back too soon and both surfaces were still hot.   It could cause undo damage to our records and promote premature record wear. 

I have some thoughts on this.  First off, I have verified that the record, indeed is warm after playing.  I have also verified that the stylus is also warm after playing.  My thoughts are this theory may have some credibility.  I have even gone so far as to think that possibly even using the stylus on a second LP, or even a second side may have negative effects on the grooves of a vinyl record. 

If anyone has any sophisticated heat measuring devices and can determine the temperature of the vinyl surface and the temperature of the stylus after playback, we may be able to calculate whether this is an actual risk to the longevity of our precious record collections.

For now, I am not playing the same LP side twice within 24 hours.  I am also changing the stylus out on my turntable after each LP.  I am considering in the future playing a single side with each stylus.  I know this is impractical for most people, I am fortunate to have a turntable that allows for switching out and re-balancing of head shells pretty darn easy.

I would be appreciative of any opinions out there, ranging from I am full of shit to full agreement.  I am very careful with my collection and record wear is never welcome in my house!!!  If I am full of shit, I am full of shit erring toward the lofty goal of minimal record wear.


What do you think?


Listening keeps the day just a little bit better.

Jeff

Denon DL-110 experience

     I am sitting in the man-cave and feeling that I have been neglecting my collection of vintage stereo phono cartridges.  I pull out a discussions in percussion LP which has some finger prints and other dirt on the surface.  I spend some time doing my cleaning ritual.  I spin dry these as I use an alcohol-based cleaner which evaporates without leaving residue.

     I look on the shelf and decide that I am going to play the JVC straight-arm turntable with a Shure M91ED cartridge.  I can hear you now, "that's not a fair comparison, what are you thinking..." and I agree.  It's not necessarily the comparison of the cartridges that this post is about, it is actually entirely different.

     I remove the Shure M97xE, which I use as the daily driver on the JVC straight-arm turntable, and inserted the head-shell containing the M91ED.  I ensured that the LP was dry and appeared clean, so I lowered the needle into the groove and what do I hear?  Snaps and pops.  I am tracking at .75gm with this cart, which is its recommended force on a clean LP.  I think to myself, darn, this LP is noisy, that is a very cool sounding song so I continued listening to it.  I could hear the promise of some awesome piano that seems to be shrouded behind other instruments on this record.  The LP was AWESOME sounding!

     I started thinking that maybe there might be a way to get better sound out of this LP so I got up.  I walked over and dismounted my Grado Mono cartridge from the Technics 'table while the JVC was still playing the LP and grabbed the Denon DL-110 cartridge and installed, balanced and set the VTF and the anti-skating.  I moved the LP from the other turntable and started it up.  What did I hear after the initial touchdown?  Quite a bit of silence, just the tiniest amount of background noise, but the pops and clicks were GONE!  I actually mean gone.  Oh, I could hear that little bit of background noise here and there between tracks, but it was amazing how much better the LP sounded.  This record was amazing, it was a jazzy-Spanish percussion-based stew of awesome sounds great rhythms and cool stereo imaging.  I could hear the piano that I faintly heard on the Shure loud and clear with the Denon, along with other instruments and percussive instruments that I cannot even guess.  It sure was cool sounding though!

    Nothing against the M91ED, Shure fans. This was not intended to slight that awesome cartridge maker and those fine stylus.  As a matter of fact I have M97xE, M91E, M91ED, M95ED, V15RS cartridges that are currently mounted on head-shells that I use every now and then.  Some of them even have the original stylus, and I love to listen to these on perfect or warped records in the case of the M97xE.  On not perfect but excellent records (unscratched but noisy) the Denon does wonders to eliminate those little pops and clicks! (SAS Aftermarket Styli are available, which should elevate performance of these carts! - edited 031614).

What did I learn, as I have mentioned before, is to use different needles for different things.  As it turns out, this needle was the perfect addition to my collection.  The largest bonus was this is exactly what I purchased this needle for!  Playing not so perfect on the surface but clean deep-down records that just need some deeper penetration into the grooves to extract the information.

Mission Accomplished!

Listen to some music today.

Jeff


Update 03/23/13:
This cartridge has become my daily driver for the most part.  I have put a couple hundred listening hours on this cartridge and I am watching eBay for a good price on one so I can have a backup.  The sound of this cartridge is very nice, I have compared it to a V-15 RS that I have, which is basically a V-15 III.  I have no problem using the cartridge on the MM setting on my preamp, it is quite loud enough for most phono inputs.

Update 03/16/14:
This cartridge is the finest that I have.  It is true to the music and has an ability to play records that other cartridges will reveal surface noise much quieter than expected sometimes.  If the record is damaged, you will hear it, but that nice stylus goes very deep into the grooves and bypasses much of the damage caused by earlier plays.  This would be an awesome combination for vinyl archiving.

Mono Cartridge Affordability?

I currently have a Grado MC+ Mono Phono Cartridge.  I was looking on ebay and found several mono cartridges for over $200 each, some were over $1000.  I want to step up to a better mono cartridge, but I cannot see paying that much for one.

Mono recordins sound sweet and are less noisy.  I have over 100 of them currently and expect that number to expand as I continue to collect older recordings of Jazz and continue to find mono versions of early rock and roll records.  I have found no loss of enjoyment listening to mono recordings, and seldom miss the stereo effect of records.  I found the mono releases of the Beatles to be more satisfying than the stereo versions because of the musical information that is lost in the stereo mix.  I have quite a few old Jazz recordings that are mono and I absolutely refuse to play a mono recording with a stereo needle!

The Grado is a good cartridge, but I am thinking that like the MC cartridge that I finally purchased, there must be more sound in the grooves that can be extracted with a better mono cartridge.  I have no beef with the sound of the Grado, but as always, I am looking for more!

I was on ebay and saw a Denon, which I have the DL-110 MC stereo cartridge, which I got for around $160, but the mono Denon cartridge was over $200.  Is it worth it?  Does it sound good?  Will it be a vast improvement in the listening experience of my mono recordings?  I wish I knew!

I read a review of a mono cartridge made by Ortofon and it costs over $900, I am not ever going to have the disposable cash to spring for one of those puppies, so I am hoping to find a reasonable mono cartridge that is better than my Grado for around $150 or so. 
Is it possible?

I HOPE SO!

Keep listening!

Jeff