In spite of the legend, the needle doesn't get hot enough to melt the groove. But repeated pressure does deform it slightly. And the HF detail in the groove is

In spite of the legend, the needle doesn't get hot enough to melt the groove. But repeated pressure does deform it slightly. And the HF detail in the groove is already so tiny that it doesn't take much to wear/deform it away. Vinyl really is the most ridiculous medium for music. I get the appeal of a large collectible object wrapped in stunning sleeve art, but in terms of audio quality it's the equivalent of a cheap plastic LOMO lens.