How long should vinyl last?

As noted in earlier responses, vinyl can and does last a long time. One thing to be wary of is vinyl's "memory" effect. Dragging a diamond thru the vinyl grooves distorts them slightly during playback. You need to allow enough time between plays for the grooves to "reset" back to their original configuration. Instant replays of a track are not good for the grooves. Your proposal to play the record only once a week more than satisifes that condition.

One manufacturer whose products are extremely gentle on vinyl, Bang & Olufsen, gets slammed regularly in these forums. Too bad, because B&O tonearms have been optimized for their cartridges and present the lowest effective tip mass to the vinyl of *any* turntables out there. It is virtually impossible to scratch a record with a B&O turntable, can you say that about any other rig?

-RW-

I have vinyl in my collection dating back to the 40's. Cleaning the album before playing and keeping it in a clean flat sleeve
has been my secret. I manually cleaned, then later began using a wet, vaccum record cleaning machine. All of my favorites have both been played many, many times they all still sound great. Take care of the records and they will always take care of your listening needs and wants.

RW: Have you used and measured all the "other" rigs out there to make such a bold statement re: the B&O tables/arms?

In my experience records only deteriorate as a result of dirt accumulation (which you can control) and accidental scratches during handling, which is your own fault.

The best assurance of long life is to use a fully automatic turntable/arm so as to minimize those accidents.

RH posts
"It is virtually impossible to scratch a record with a B&O turntable, can you say that about any other rig?"

I agree having owned one for 8 years; the problem is that even their top of the line cartridges ( I owned the MMC-1 mounted in a TX-2 turntable) are inferior to almost any quality cartridge and tonearm combination at the "audiophile" level. My MusicHall MMF-9 with the "stock" Goldring Eroica cartridge is infinitely better than anything B&O ever offered. So in fact is the MusicHall MMF-7, a "bargain" around $1000.
If you handle the turntable and vinyl gently the chance of scratching is remote. All of course IMO.