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Off center (not bent!) stylus?

Relative newbie here - just looking for some thoughts / experiences from all you resident experts. 

I have been buying used carts for my vintage setup exclusively. It certainly seems like every stylus is not perfectly parallel with the cantilever and always seems to lean ever so slightly to one side or another. Seems like new ones can be like this too. So I assume a bit of a lean is normal / not an issue.

My question is, is there a limit to this? Can a more extremely off center stylus cause problems in sound quality / record damage? Could it be a sign that the stylus / cantilever assembly is about to fail? Or is it more a matter of if you don’t hear anything wrong don’t sweat it.

Here are some pics of what I’m talking about:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/m2m9FhU9VumD6uss6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kMLyfhba4pFxKMGJ7

Again I don’t see any visible bend or kink in the stylus. The stylus itself is straight but i comes out of the cantilever at an angle. 

Any experiences (positive, negative or neutral) with this? 

Thanks in advance!

Hauie
hauie88
geof3
1,122 posts
 
So, as previously mentioned, with the multitudes of excellent carts out there, is there a reason you want THAT cart? Seems like the cost to ship it to the UK, fix, time, etc it would be a better solution to get a new cart? 
hauie88 OP
23 posts
 
@chakster Thanks - I just sent a note off to Expert Stylus so we'll see what they say.

@geof3 So I hesitate to say this because I know it's silly on some levels but I am basically trying to reproduce an all-vintage system. All my components are from the same / similar era (I do have all new / modern components for my home theater setup). And beyond the strong recommendation of @chakster I've also read up further on this cart and it seems like a one of a kind - especially for MM carts (I am limiting myself to a MM setup for now). I do have a Grace F8 in really good shape that I am generally happy with too so don't really mind waiting if it comes to that.
hauie88 OP
23 posts
 
Hey @chakster so I heard back from Expert Stylus and unfortunately they say they can't help repair or replace the stylus. 

Assuming I can't find the exact D5000 replacement would you recommend the other models in the line? The D3000 or D4000 or even D4500 stylus assemblies? 

Thanks!
Hauie
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Wow, things changed since  2016. When I asked them about Stanton (or even Technics MM) the answer was positive all the time, but it was 4 years ago.
Did they explain why they can’t now? 

I have one spare D4000 stylus in the box, but never tried D4000 on XSV/5000 cartridge.
hauie88 OP
23 posts
 
@chakster ah, too bad. Yeah Julia said the cantilever was too far gone to repair (damaged suspension) and said they didn't have any originals or replacements in stock.

What about the designs of the D3000 / D4000 / D4500? Based on what you know about them are any of them more or less similar to the D5000? Seems like someone has a D4500-Q NOS for sale but from what I can see is that is a "quadrahedron" rather than "stereohedron" but I have no idea what that means or if it matters.

Assume the D4000 is stereohedron? I guess maybe the best I can do is put the D5000 brush on different stylus model. 
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