Fascinating article on stylus life and record damage. Link.

Keep a small digital kitchen timer near my rig. Start a side, turn on the timer, side ends, stop it. Counts up to 25 hours. I usually reset it at 20 hours.
Coming up on 174 hours on the stylus I'm using now, in fact.
And while it's a hard and fast rule that no used records get played here unless they've been cleaned and resleeved first, I generally don't clean new sealed pressings.
I don't think I'd use a stylus past 500 hours.

The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.

George, you are a better man than I. nt, posted on May 25, 2020 at 10:30:38
viridian	Nt

RE: Fascinating article on stylus life and record damage. Link., posted on May 25, 2020 at 10:31:04

PAR
Audiophile

Posts: 1732
Location: South London, UK
Joined: June 4, 2019

Excellent article, thanks for posting.

The article reports the existing confused and opposing opinions as to judging wear exclusively by time very well. Wear can really only be correctly judged visually by an experienced inspector.

However, many of the lower time figures given for sufficient wear to warrant replacement are worrying. Take an enthusiast whose main leisure interest is listening to LPs. He listens for 5 hours each evening during the week and expands this to 8 hours a day over the weekend (and I know a few that do this including me when I was a young man). That is 31 hours weekly. He has a top end vinyl rig using a top end MC cart with Shibata stylus which is non-user replaceable. It is from the lower price end of such true top end cartridges; $3000 a pop.

Using the lowest figure cited for Shibata stylus wear time (500 hours) he is thereby expected to spend,say, <$6000 a year on trade ins against replacement cartridges using the original manufacturer's discounted new for old stylus replacement scheme ( the normal situation for fixed stylus MCs).

Makes you think!

"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

Paranoia strikes deep. nt, posted on May 25, 2020 at 10:35:14
ghost of olddude55 Audiophile Posts: 32546 Joined: July 14, 2017	nt The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.

I too keep track of use..., posted on May 25, 2020 at 10:38:42

PAR
Audiophile

Posts: 1732
Location: South London, UK
Joined: June 4, 2019

...by using a click tally counter, one press for each side. Many years ago someone posted here that the average LP side is 23 minutes long. I checked this with a sample of my discs and would agree with the figure for most popular music titles. I did find that classical music LPs tended to have slightly longer sides averaging 25 minutes.

So is is easy to calculate a use figure that is adequate enough to judge when the stylus should be properly inspected for wear. BTW, I keep a separate tally counter for each of my cartridges.

"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

RE: I too keep track of use..., posted on May 25, 2020 at 11:08:00
rivervalley817	that's both innovative and far more sophisticated than my method I just mark IIII on the wall of the asylum then strike it through to start over with regards,

I remember someone doing this in the Tower of London, but , posted on May 25, 2020 at 11:31:51

alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7503
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
Since: November 1, 2005

I wouldn't lose my head over it.

The link below is the one I use by the turntable, and it has a convenient base. I plan to use 20 minutes per side as an average.

Clicker Counter

RE: Fascinating article on stylus life and record damage. Link., posted on May 25, 2020 at 14:27:23

jrtrent
Audiophile

Posts: 826
Joined: September 1, 2001

As the article points out, finding an "experienced inspector" is becoming more difficult, so it's little wonder so many of us have to depend on time estimates when it comes to stylus replacement.

I used 500 hours as my usual replacement interval for several years. It was the minimum stylus life hours suggested by Shure, and it matches the recommendation made by Harry Weisfeld for those who like to run their cartridges without anti-skate.

The nice thing about this hobby is that a person can engage in it at a variety of price levels. Those N97xE styli only cost $59, and now that they are out of production I'm finding great satisfaction in the $21 replacement styli I pop into an AT VM95C cartridge every 400 hours.

RE: Fascinating article on stylus life and record damage. Link., posted on May 25, 2020 at 17:21:33

flood2
Audiophile

Posts: 2558
Joined: January 11, 2011

The article is a good precis of the articles and papers I have quoted on here for some time and is a sobering reminder of the running costs.

I would suspect that Ortofon and the like quote extended hours of "2000 hours" in order to make the cost of their elite cartridges more palatable. In the past when I had quoted figures of around 500 hours to 750 hours for some line contact designs, the comment was met with outrage from owners who thought such a short service life was unreasonable for their preferred expensive cartridge. Allaerts quotes figures in excess of 2000 hours - specifically he claims that his models with a boron cantilever and FGS tip will last 5000 hours!!! That is simply unverifiable and I question the repeatability of his test method.....if indeed the claim has been verified and validated. Given that the measurement of stylus life is so inexact due to the variation in setup and record condition, I would never trust a figure of >1000 hours.

If one were to think in terms of "cost per side" of an LP, that would certainly make someone reconsider whether they want to use a cartridge costing thousands of pounds for a casual playback situation of background music or whether a more modest cartridge is more appropriate given that the service life is similar.

Perhaps we should view vinyl playback as a vice in the same way that a smoker/drug addict will justify (literally) burning cash to satisfy their addiction!
Regards Anthony

"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats

It's really hard to criticize any hobbyist, even though I catch myself, posted on May 25, 2020 at 18:16:41

alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7503
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
Since: November 1, 2005

doing it sometimes. Here in Alaska, people spend $30,000 US + for a fishing boat, when grocery store salmon is a whole lot cheaper than that.

I really like jrtrent's statement though when he says " . . . I'm finding great satisfaction in the $21 replacement styli I pop into an AT VM95C cartridge every 400 hours." Lots of great music and sound without hurting the savings account, especially after experiencing the budget woes during covid-19

RE: It's really hard to criticize any hobbyist, even though I catch myself, posted on May 25, 2020 at 19:12:49

flood2
Audiophile

Posts: 2558
Joined: January 11, 2011

I agree! When it comes to a hobby one enjoys, the logic of cost is irrelevant unless it is well beyond one's means and is causing harm or deprivation - which is the definition used to indicate an addiction! The concept of "value" is very much determined by the individual and what is "insanity" to one person would be money well spent by another.

Regards Anthony

"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats

RE: It's really hard to criticize any hobbyist, even though I catch myself, posted on May 25, 2020 at 19:49:48
pictureguy Audiophile Posts: 22597 Location: SoCal Joined: October 19, 2008	Not only is cost 'off limits', as a function of perceived value, but Tweaks as well, even those which leave you scratching your mellon. You can come up with your OWN head scratcher or $$$ limit. Too much is never enough

RE: It's really hard to criticize any hobbyist, even though I catch myself, posted on May 25, 2020 at 22:43:50
flood2 Audiophile Posts: 2558 Joined: January 11, 2011	Indeed! Tweaking is a rabbit hole we all go down, but it is what makes our hobby so much fun - seeing what might lie "just around the corner.....". Regards Anthony "Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats

This is where a Shure SEK-2 microscope eliminates any doubt., posted on May 26, 2020 at 00:16:48
alaskahiatt Audiophile Posts: 7503 Joined: December 9, 2000 Contributor Since: November 1, 2005	I paid three figures for mine, but I have since seen two SEKs on eBay go for less than $100 US. These scopes are easy to use; have the correct magnification; have the correct side lighting; and the informative owners manual is available on line. Of course, the supply is very limited, so the link in the OP's post is a good guide for expected stylus life.

"...burning cash to satisfy their addiction...", posted on May 26, 2020 at 04:22:06
ghost of olddude55 Audiophile Posts: 32546 Joined: July 14, 2017	Truer words were never spoken. The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.

"Perhaps we should view vinyl playback as a vice" - Perhaps? [nt] ;-), posted on May 26, 2020 at 10:37:21
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26437 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

I use a clicker......, posted on May 26, 2020 at 12:37:26
StephenJK Audiophile Posts: 178 Location: ON Joined: October 14, 2019	The audiophile version, of course - also known as a people counter. The super deluxe model on eBay was around $5. I disagree with the article where they state that wear is when you hear "gritty sound". I think by that time it's too late. If your stylus shape is good for 500 hours, then run it 500 hours.

RE: Or use Stylast Last treatment, posted on May 26, 2020 at 23:32:41
Johno Audiophile Posts: 388 Joined: June 9, 2002	Said to increase stylus life by 10x !? Cheers Johno

RE: I'm with you, Anthony! nt, posted on June 3, 2020 at 17:43:56
andyr Manufacturer Posts: 12548 Location: Melbourne Joined: September 2, 2000	.

Vinyl Asylum

Fascinating article on stylus life and record damage. Link.

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