Testing the new Bruce Diamond Edison Disc Stylus.

[Valecnik]

Well my take on this new Bruce DD stylus is
this:

It is a brand new, "just released" product
which has not been tested yet. There are a few samples in the hands of competent fellows such as Larry H., who will be testing them.

Only by playing a few thousand Diamond Disc
Recreations, will the true, actual, real results be known. After those several thousand plays, then I will be very curious to
know what it does in a runoff test, and also
what it looks like under very high magnification.

In addition to this very stringent field-testing, my own personal take on it is that
all of the technical documentation and
engineering information should be released
for public review by Bruce and by those who
have been working on it.

I want to see all of the technical details
of this, along with engineering drawings
of the profile, and a complete explanation
of how the diamond is mounted, how the grain
is oriented, how it is polished, what the
surface finish is in microns, etc.

Only by releasing this info for public review
can anyone make a fair comparison with the
"brand X" ones which are now out there.

It would be great to have comparitive technical documentation of "Brand X's"
methods versus Bruce's methods.

Because, as I see it, if this new deal
is really any good, then the makers will be
so proud of it, that they will be more than
happy to release their data to show off
and brag about how fantastically great it actually is.

Consider for a bit, how the Shure company
provides such technical data. They put it
all out there to show people what they do,
and how they do it. Because, unsurpassed
quality is worth talking about.

Chuck

Chuck your expectations are not realistic. The amount of sales "Bruce Diamond" gets out of this Edison stylus enterprise will be a tiny tiny part of their business. They won't bother. I'm confident in relying on Larryh and SteveM here. Everybody knows brand X sucks. If Steve and Larryh say "ok" I'll buy a dozen of these.

[FloridaClay]

Chuck your expectations are not realistic. The amount of sales "Bruce Diamond" gets out of this Edison stylus enterprise will be a tiny tiny part of their business. They won't bother. I'm confident in relying on Larryh and SteveM here. Everybody knows brand X sucks. If Steve and Larryh say "ok" I'll buy a dozen of these.

Ditto.

Clay

[De Soto Frank]

Apparently, the "Brand X" stylii currently available have not required 1000's of plays to evidence their flaws...

I remember reading a science textbook back in high-school with illustrations of raw diamonds being cut.

The picture showed a raw diamond being "cleaved" with a metal blade and a mallet.

Faceting and polishing and all the other finishing operations are performed with wheels coated in diamond dust.


Thought they are hard, diamonds are not indestructible.

[JerryVan]

I want to see all of the technical details
of this, along with engineering drawings
of the profile, and a complete explanation
of how the diamond is mounted, how the grain
is oriented, how it is polished, what the
surface finish is in microns, etc.

Only by releasing this info for public review
can anyone make a fair comparison with the
"brand X" ones which are now out there.


Chuck

If someone tells you what time it is, do you ask them how they built their clock? ;>)

[phonojim]

Shure gives you technical specifications as do AKG and most other professional equipment manufacturers but they don't give out their engineering drawings. Some of their methods may be proprietary, thus they are not about to disclose them.

It seems to me that someone will need to order a certain quantity in order to make it worthwhile to do a production run. How many new Edison styli are actually needed in a given year? Enough to justify the design, material and production costs and still sell at an affordable price? So far, I have not heard any reference to the possible cost of these and am wondering if they can be marketed at a cost that we can (or want to) afford. All the more reason to hold onto the small stash of NOS diamonds I have.
Another question I have is: how many plays can on expect to get from an original Edison stylus? Has anyone researched that yet? I do seem to recall discussion of that on the old board, maybe someone can remember. That information would seem to indicate what we should be able to expect to get from a properly made new one.

Jim

[BusyBeeCylinder]

I'm assuming they used the original Edison blue prints for the specs.

I don't know if they are available elsewhere online, but I've had them on my websites for the past 13 years or so....here are links to them if anyone is interested.

http://edisonia.com/stylus/DDStylus.gif

http://edisonia.com/stylus/DiamondA.gif

Anyone have blue prints for the Doorknob 2 minute stylus or recorders?

Thanks,
Rob

[Chuck]

Ok then guys...I see that yet again I have
gone and done it. I have shared some of my
ideas with this group, only to be told that
my "expectations" are not realistic.

Jerry Van, you really crack me up with your
"what time it is" analogy. That is not even
close to what this situation is.

Jerry, how about this one: If someone tells you to go jump in the lake, do you jump, or
do you first wonder how cold the water might
be, and if perhaps there might be dangerous
rocks below, where you can't see them...
before you jump?

My idea there is in the interest of science
and engineering, subjects which I always
want to see the results of, as applied to things which I work with. If someone else
wishes to be just a consumer and simply use
the stuff, without wondering how it was made
and by what process and methods, then fine.

However, I do still think that in this
special case of a tiny diamond which is
subjected to extreme pressure and wear,
that having some good solid engineering data
on the product is perfectly well to want
to have. Especially since there has been
a dicey product in use now, for so long.

Time for some changes. Real data is a start.

Thanks Rob for posting the links to the
dwgs. PM me or email for info on 2 minute
cutters. I have those dwgs. Several of them.

Chuck

[larryh]

I have received magnified photos which show that the surface of the Bruce is quite smooth.. The actual diamond is a bit smaller but welded to the stainless mount which is said to create a stronger stylus than Edisons and the competitor.

I have been trying to document each play so as to know how well it holds up. But sometimes I get confused and forget to mark a side played. So far I am at around 200 sides. With no issues showing. At the moment I have having some other concerns which are taking up considerable time so I am not playing as many as I would have. Still its nice to see that run off with no evidence of the diamond being there. ( I can't say that couldn't or won't ever happen but the design seems pretty sound at this point).

Larry

[ImperialGuardsman]

As Larry said, the welding with stainless steel is much stronger than even Edison's electroplating method, at least that is what Steve M. said. My diamonds should arrive very soon (tomorrow, if the post office estimate is to be believed).

[Victrolacollector]

I have a question? After everything is said and done, will these Diamonds cost more than the "other brand" which is running around $ 150.00 each.

Ultimately, the important part is that we want to make sure we are playing our records with a stylus that will not damage them.