How long do phono cartridges last

Most moving coil cartridges can have a new stylus and even a new cantilever installed of the suspension components and motor are still operational. I will continue to use that cartridge with rebuilds when necessary. That will continue until there is a more massive failure of the suspension or motor.

Bpoletti is exactly right. The stylus is what wears out. Stylus profile has a lot to do with stylus lifespan, because of the size of the contact area. Depending on how frequently you play records, you might need to replace the stylus because the bushings become dry and brittle from age before the stylus tip wears out.

Interestingly, to me, there must be numerous folks who are destroying their precious vinyl, precisely because they are altering the groove with their worn out stylus One side benefit in the design of Decca and London cartridges is they contain no rubber dampers to dry out, if such a thing actually happens in those that do.

When a stylus is worn, or the suspension has begun to fail, it will not track as cleanly as before. This is first evident on more difficult to track passages, such as when a female vocalist its a not really hard or gets a bit too close to the microphone.

When you start to notice this sort of change, and cleaning the stylus does not cure the problem, it is time for a replacement. It is NOT the case that slight, occasional mis-tracking from wear will ruin the record; records are not as delicate as some would make them out to be. There is no really good way to determine the extent of wear other than listening for it. Visual inspection is nearly impossible to do right; often a visual check will not show wear or other problems that are quite evident from just listening.

It depends on the stylus profile: Conical has very short life up to hrs, MicroRidge has the longes life up to hrs! I see ads for used cartridges stating that its barely broken in at hours This is not true, even for Elliptical stylus is almost half life!

Some of his vintage carts are already worn out and inspection by SoundSmith or any other Re-tipper is a must have! Especially if one particular sample does not sound as good as another newer sample of the same cart.

The elliptical and conical styluses were so worn that after just one play the damage was done. He only recently discovered what he had done by listening to a new Clearaudio Goldfinger and then hearing the damage! Shame that somebody had strongly recommended the older cartridges and he followed their adviceblindly. Agree with chakster. Different stylus profiles have different lifespans. Also, the construction quality of a stylus can impact lifespan crystal structure alignment.

This increases lifespan. A conical cartridge profile has a very small contact area, actually just a point of contact. These wear very quickly. Just because some damage might be done to a record due to a worn conical stylus does NOT mean that your records are totally ruined and unplayable.

A new cartridge using a very small line contact stylus or a cart rebuilt by Soundsmith or others using a very small line contact stylus will be tracing the record groove in a different area, typically tracking MUCH DEEPER in the groove.

This area may not have been damaged. I like this product. It works very well at cleaning residue of the stylus tip itself. The magnified top is so that you can close-up inspect your stylus and tip after cleaning to verify that it is clean. It is a soft, convex piece of specially-formulated plastic set in a little square tray. The general idea is to let the stylus tip rest on the surface of the ZeroDust for a couple of seconds and then lift the tonearm clear of the product and then set it down again for a couple more seconds.

I could not for the life of me figure out how this was going to work until mine arrived. To use the device I simply take the top off of the box and set it on my plinth. Then unlock the tonearm and gently dip the needle onto the top of the ZeroDust for a couple of seconds. This first dunking showed up as a gray dot on the ZeroDust plastic. I then do that again and maybe even a third time to make sure that when I pull the tonearm up the point of contact between needle and plastic is un-colored.

I repeat the process after my listening session is done as well probably because I am a little obsessive about it. When the plastic surface of your ZeroDust is all marked up from cleanings simply wash the surface with warm water and a tiny bit of neutral dish soap as this will set it right back to new.

ZeroDust claims the product can be used over and over again. I will let you know when mine needs to be replaced. The fact remains that needles are the first parts to suffer the effects of repeated listening since they are estimated to have a few hundred, even thousands of hours their optimal life expectancy.

The part being exposed to dust and friction, it is logical that it deteriorates quickly; however changing only the needle may not be interesting, especially on older models where the spare parts park is no longer available. I don't know if the cart was OK, I couldn't find a replacement stylus. Location: Stay Thirsty My Friend. Sounds as good as anything else I've heard recently.

BigE , Oct 4, Location: Colorado. Keep in mind That an original stylus from 20 - 30 years ago, even if it is new in the box or new old stock, will still have a very good chance of haveing the rubber gromet dry or aged.

Then again, I have a 25 year old cartridge that still plays like a charm. TimB , Oct 4, The cartridge itself will not degrade no matter how old it is unless it was kept in severe conditions. The only thing that could happen is the insulation on the windings deteriorating to the point of shorts developing between the wires. I suppose glue used in the construction of the interior could let loose too but both these problems would be immediately apparent.

I also don't agree with the previous statement that any new cartridge will almost automatically be better than some of the old ones.

That doesn't really make any sense. It's all in the design and the seventies weren't exactly the dark ages when it comes to vinyl. Or the sixties, for that matter. Doug G. The TT has been in the storage area at my house. This specific Stanton cartridge does not have any rubber parts.