No one is claiming that AS is not needed. And no one is claiming that stylus shape makes no difference to reading the groove. But I don’t think stylus shape affects the skating force. The varying angle that the vector of the friction force makes with respect to an imaginary straight line back to the pivot does make a difference to skating force. If magnetic AS is not fail safe, that makes a good case in favor of the good old weight on a string AS. My Reed 2A avoids the string in favor of tiny metal rods, I am not crazy about that apparatus, because the two metal pieces that must rub together as the stylus traverses the LP are a potential source of noise. (Noise I don’t hear but which troubles anyone with audiophilia nervosa.)

