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What is the life of a Grado Wood cartridge?

I spoke with John Chapis,chief engineer of Grado and I asked him how long does a wooden cartridge last.He stated well you've got 2 minutes to talk to me.How does 5,000 hours sound to you.It all depends on the care of your vinyl
and the use of a stylus cleaner.If you use clean records
it should last you a very long time.
I spoke with other dealers who stated it should be changed before 1,000 hours due to the inward parts detereating over time even if the cartridge is not being used.
What is the coorect answer? Was John just trying to sell me his top of the line cartridge,or was he just giving me an answer I wanted to hear?
128x12876doublebass
vinowino
53 posts
 
I am constantly amazed at the ridiculous low hours quoted by many.
I had a Grado Wood Reference on my last turntable. I spent a lot of time searching about it before I bought.
The grado website said I can expect 5000 hours. I do not see any reason why this should not be the case.
If the record has been cleaned properly (I mean wet and vacuum, not wiped with cloth) and the tracking weight is accurate why would it wear? Diamond is hard.
I would not buy a cartridge if I was told to expect 500-1000 hours only.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Impossible to say. Too many variables. Mine lasted 15 years. You either use it until it sounds bad, breaks or you see stylus wear under magnification.
zavato's avatar
zavato
1,405 posts
 
Cartridge life can be considerable- my Linn Arkiv B, which I bought in the early 2000's, and gets maybe an hour or 2 playing time a week, is still going strong. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@vinowino

The grado website said I can expect 5000 hours. I do not see any reason why this should not be the case.

Really? What stylus type then ? Secret weapon ?


If the record has been cleaned properly (I mean wet and vacuum, not wiped with cloth) and the tracking weight is accurate why would it wear? Diamond is hard. I would not buy a cartridge if I was told to expect 500-1000 hours only.

The longest life span of the most advanced diamonds is 2000 hrs max. Look for profiles like Replicant 100, Gyger, Van Den Hul, Micro Ridge, Micro Line, Jico SAS ... just to name a few.

I’ve never heard of any stylus profile with 5000 hrs life span, could you name it ?

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