LP's by styli because I noticed they were washing the test LP's fairly
frequently with an alcohol solution, and (probably) with inadequate
rest
between playings."


G. Alexandrovich, “Disk recording and playback”,chapter 25 in
“Handbook for sound engineers” by G. Ballou, 2nd edition 1991

“Because of the small contact area that exists between the stylus tip
and the groove, the pressure against the groove wall can rise up to
many thousands of psi. For instance, if each wall receives 0.7 gram of
force applied through the contact area equal to 2 ten millionth of an
inch, the pressure is 7726 psi. It has been experimentally shown that
with such high pressures and force of friction between the stylus and
the vinyl, that the outer skin layer of the record material melts as
the tip slides over the plastic and then refreezes almost as fast as
it melted.”


Looks as if the audio myth of "rest-between-playings" has been laid to
rest many moons ago.


Klaus