Help identifying damage to Cartridge/Cantilever/Stylus

[TheRedMantra]

Hello friends. I recently purchased a cartridge that was advertised as lightly used (12hrs). I got a really reasonable deal. The guy threw in a cleaning brush, extra counterweight and a new belt. Unfortunately when it arrived the cartridge had detached from the stylus guard in transit; allowing it to roll around in the clamshell case it was shipped in.

I contacted the seller and he agreed to wait to decide what to do until I could get my hands on a microscope. I tried to get some good images of the stylus but the microscope wasn't the best. I'm concerned that something inside could be damaged. The canti looks straight and the diamond doesn't look damaged. But I would love some more insight. Like maybe there is a crack on the diamond I can't see that will shear when I try to use it? The seller offered a partial refund but I don't know if I want to risk even trying it.

Thoughts? Comments? I appreciate you.

 

[kvetcha]

It looks okay to me. As long as the cantilever is straight and intact it seems worth giving it a spin.

Diamond is very, very hard. It's unlikely anything that happened during transit would have cracked it.

Test it for a few hours with some of your less valuable records, and if it sounds good, take the partial refund.

 

[dbarila]

What did you take those pictures with? I've tried so many times to take good pictures of my stylus and can never get anything that clear.

 

[TheRedMantra]

Veho vms-005 model. 300x optical zoom coupled with 4x digital zoom for the finer magnification. Borrowed from a friend. Has a built in camera that saves to microSD. To be honest I want to invest in something nicer with a better optical zoom.

 

[kvetcha]

I wish there were a Nerd reaction.

 

[dansomeone]

I wish there were a Nerd reaction.

Oh, that's pretty much every reaction around these parts,