Playing a record 50 times in a row with no pause will definitely cause audible distortion. I have a couple LP records that I loaned out years ago. In both cases the borrowers played certain tracks over and over again - and the records were basically ruined. Another time I was working with some housemates to dig a garden and clean up our house, and we played one of my favorite LP's repeatedly on my Garrard equipped KLH Model 11. That record was ruined as well (my fault that time). After that I never loaned out another record, and I don't play anything over and over without giving it a rest as described above.
Having collected more than a few used 78's it's not hard to tell which ones were favorites and played repeatedly without pause. In some cases it might have been failure to change the Victrola needle to have a new one for each play. In other cases it might have been just too much playing with a good needle on an electronic machine but without giving the track a rest. So far I have two 78's of Ella Fitzgerald singing "Cow Cow Boogie" and it's obvious that both have been damaged by bad needles and/or too much continuous play. It's such a great rendition I tend to think the latter.
I can understand the aversion to the somewhat meticulous and dictatorial approach some collectors take towards their audio recording hobby. Hey, that's their choice and they can do what they like with their stuff, just as you can with your stuff. I think I tend to fall somewhere in between, since most of my old 78's are used and already worn/damaged, but I most certainly would not dismiss out of hand the experience and wisdom of those who know how to get the best sound out of old records and how to keep them in the best possible condition.
