How long should vinyl last?

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.

For some reason, my musings on the longevity of vinyl in this thread have disappeared. Not to be too cute, but what exactly is meant by the word "last"? It seems that vinyl has been recast into a medium without fault, better yet; its faults are now seen as virtue. I'm struggling mightily to get with the program, but still have but a handful of black discs that are quiet enough to satisfy. Vinyl does have a subtle character that is great at times. Too often though poor pressings take away a great part of the enjoyment. I still find that hard driving music comes across the best, and that anything with a lot of soft passages or silence fares the worst. From many decades of experience, I still think that I can safely say that vinyl records, unfortunately, get noisier with wear, and that I have never had a tt/arm/cart that did not contact the record’s surface and make it noisier with every play.

I sold hi-end hi-fi back in the late 70s and early 80s. I became quite familiar with the offerings from Denon, Revox, B&O, Yamaha, NAD, AR, Thorens, and several others that escape my memory right now.

No, I have not measured all the rigs out there, who has? But I can state, unequivocally, the the B&Os were the most gentle to the vinyl. Did they sound the best? No. But, for most folks, they sound plenty good enough, and their ease of use is a major bonus.

And, I'll bet ya a dollar that *nobody* has approached the low effective tip mass that B&Os come by naturally - it's hard to beat a tonearm and cartridge that have been designed from the get-go to work together. No alignment issues to deal with whatsoever.

As a demo, I used to grab the tonearm on a B&O and literally scrape the needle back and forth across a record's surface, after turning the volume down, of course. Subsequent replay of the record showed no aural indication of damage. Sold a lot of B&O turntables with that demo [smile]...

-rw-

Did they sound the best? No
RIGHT

*nobody* has approached the low effective tip mass that B&Os come by naturally
SO WHAT? MADE NO SONIC DIFFERENCE

As a demo, I used to grab the tonearm on a B&O and literally scrape the needle back and forth across a record's surface
JUST LIKE YOU WOULD EXPECT THE BUYER TO DO AT HOME........

It's no wonder they are no longer a factor