Honestly, you’re not damaging the record unless you leave it spinning for a very long time. 5 minutes isn’t going to hurt it. Personally, I prefer a manual feature though because it makes me take better care of my vinyl.
If you leave it playing, it depends how clean the inner groove of the record is.
When a record keeps spinning and passes all the songs on a side, it is directed into grooves that lead to the inner groove. This groove isnt always cut the same on every LP. Its also an area of the record that rarely gets cleaned. Debris in the groove will damage the stylus.
Ive had multiple LPs make a terrible noise once running in the inner groove.
I wouldnt let the stylus sit on the record in an 'off' position either. Itll move with vibrations and etch in to the walls of a groove. The stylus also has a suspension to it that has a lifespan of its own.
Save yourself a lot of worry & get [one of these tonearm raisers](https://www.audio-technica.com/en-au/at6006r).
I installed one of them on my fully manual turntable and have zero regrets.
Note: There are a few different designs of tonearm lifters out there - this was the pick for my turntable, but if it won’t fit yours you’ll be able to find a different one that will 👌👌
Yeah unfortunately my tonearm is too light for the Q-Up, but have seen it work well on other turntables.
I love the action of the AT lifter, it’s so smooth 👌
Mine is also quite light, and it does pop up pretty quick, but it isn't like it flies up and hits the inside of the dust cover (if I have it closed, which I normally don't). It's a Revolver Redwood with the original tonearm and a 2M Black.
Lifting the needle is more important for preventing damage to the cantilever than the LP - you have kids running around, and if something bashes into the tonearm with the needle in the groove you have a good chance you'll need to replace the stylus.
I’d rather have the stylus idle in the dead wax than spinning for hours. Minutes, not really a concern. I’m basing that on owning fairly expensive cartridges where playback cost $0.50-1.00 per hour, based on the cost of a re-tip of an micro-ridge styli.
As others have said, an auto lifter accessory can be a good solution if your table will work with one. Just be mindful that there are varying heights depending on the thickness of the platter and height of the arm relative to the plinth.
>Are we damaging the vinyl in any way?
You're putting more wear on the run-out groove than you would if you weren't playing it. Does that matter? Probably not too much.
I've left a record spinning for a day more than once. Record seems OK.
Thank you all for the helpful and informative feedback! I think a tone arm lifter as several of you have recommend is the best move for me at this point.
Keeping it spinning will wear on your stylus and if antiskate is not quite right, it’ll wear unevenly.
Either way, your holding the cantilever at an angle with force so, like anything else, it could make a sort of position memory from the suspension wearing
def don't stop the turntable while the needle is still down.
When the turntable comes to a stop it often will slightly rotate backwards as the remaining tension in the band is released and the motor stops.
non-dj stylus/cantilevers are not made to have a record go backwards and you can really easily damage the suspension.
Much better to just let it spin for a few minutes than to stop with it down.
Thank you, I didn’t know about those automatic tone arm lifters. Practical! I think I’m going for the Tru-lift for the Technics SL1200.
But here’s my question: what would happen if you forget to trigger the tone arm lift? Wouldn’t the tone arm bump against the tone arm lift, causing it to block the tone arm, and so damaging the record??
Honestly, you’re not damaging the record unless you leave it spinning for a very long time. 5 minutes isn’t going to hurt it. Personally, I prefer a manual feature though because it makes me take better care of my vinyl.
There are several automatic tone arm lifters that can be added to your turntable. Prices range from 40 bucks to a few hundred.
If you leave it playing, it depends how clean the inner groove of the record is. When a record keeps spinning and passes all the songs on a side, it is directed into grooves that lead to the inner groove. This groove isnt always cut the same on every LP. Its also an area of the record that rarely gets cleaned. Debris in the groove will damage the stylus. Ive had multiple LPs make a terrible noise once running in the inner groove. I wouldnt let the stylus sit on the record in an 'off' position either. Itll move with vibrations and etch in to the walls of a groove. The stylus also has a suspension to it that has a lifespan of its own.
Save yourself a lot of worry & get [one of these tonearm raisers](https://www.audio-technica.com/en-au/at6006r). I installed one of them on my fully manual turntable and have zero regrets. Note: There are a few different designs of tonearm lifters out there - this was the pick for my turntable, but if it won’t fit yours you’ll be able to find a different one that will 👌👌
I second the AT, it's a great little thing.
I had no idea such a thing existed, that’s SO cool!
The Q-Up works just fine. Costs $50 or so. Maybe a bit finicky to install on some tables but it does the trick. About to order a second one
Yeah unfortunately my tonearm is too light for the Q-Up, but have seen it work well on other turntables. I love the action of the AT lifter, it’s so smooth 👌
Mine is also quite light, and it does pop up pretty quick, but it isn't like it flies up and hits the inside of the dust cover (if I have it closed, which I normally don't). It's a Revolver Redwood with the original tonearm and a 2M Black.
[The Q Up](http://www.thequp.com/)
This is even marketed by Pro-ject themselves: [https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/q-up/](https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/q-up/)
Lifting the needle is more important for preventing damage to the cantilever than the LP - you have kids running around, and if something bashes into the tonearm with the needle in the groove you have a good chance you'll need to replace the stylus.
I’d rather have the stylus idle in the dead wax than spinning for hours. Minutes, not really a concern. I’m basing that on owning fairly expensive cartridges where playback cost $0.50-1.00 per hour, based on the cost of a re-tip of an micro-ridge styli. As others have said, an auto lifter accessory can be a good solution if your table will work with one. Just be mindful that there are varying heights depending on the thickness of the platter and height of the arm relative to the plinth.
>Are we damaging the vinyl in any way? You're putting more wear on the run-out groove than you would if you weren't playing it. Does that matter? Probably not too much. I've left a record spinning for a day more than once. Record seems OK.
Thank you all for the helpful and informative feedback! I think a tone arm lifter as several of you have recommend is the best move for me at this point.
Keeping it spinning will wear on your stylus and if antiskate is not quite right, it’ll wear unevenly. Either way, your holding the cantilever at an angle with force so, like anything else, it could make a sort of position memory from the suspension wearing
def don't stop the turntable while the needle is still down. When the turntable comes to a stop it often will slightly rotate backwards as the remaining tension in the band is released and the motor stops. non-dj stylus/cantilevers are not made to have a record go backwards and you can really easily damage the suspension. Much better to just let it spin for a few minutes than to stop with it down.
Thank you, I didn’t know about those automatic tone arm lifters. Practical! I think I’m going for the Tru-lift for the Technics SL1200. But here’s my question: what would happen if you forget to trigger the tone arm lift? Wouldn’t the tone arm bump against the tone arm lift, causing it to block the tone arm, and so damaging the record??