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How do tell when my stylus is too much worn?

I have had my MC cartridge for about 5 years. I haven't kept a proper log but I would guess about 7-800 hrs. How can I tell BY LISTENING that it is worn enough to replace or retip? Does it get edgy or shrill or....?
I suspect that the change would be so gradual that it might be hard to tell, as the ear slowly accomodates.
Of course I should remove the cartridge and view under a microscope but un mounting and remounting is a perilous business that I would like to avoid.


rrm
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
Raul

All cartridge maunufacturers must love you!

500 hours of use then discard is total BS!
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Beogram turntables with moving coil are still around since 80's and sounding good. Most of decks with lost styluses had been mishandled by owner. Others perform like champions. Unfortunately for some reasons cartridges aren't made anymore for them, or worth the fortune. I hoarded at least several Beograms with needles and checked their styluses and noticed little to no gunk and no loss of suspension integrity that is including tip and cantilever mounts. 
To be sure I carefully applied CRC spray on each and every one of the vintage cartridges. The playback is exceptionally clean for outer and inner tracks. 
Diamond tip can serve forever, but suspension and cantilever is what wears out. In case of beograms with lightest arms, the suspension is never too stressed. 
boxer12
8,656 posts
 
Raul,
500 hours is certainly safe but may be a little extreme. I'm sure it depends on the manufacturer. I read somewhere that dynavectors are only supposed to be good for about 800 hours. I have an old karet with 3 times that on it & it still looks & sounds fine. Anyway, this is straight out of my current cartridge manual:
The normally lifetime of a Clearaudio HD Diamond is by careful treatment and correctly adjustment up to 8000 hours!
Notice the words "up to". However it also has a boron cantilever & I keep my records & cartridge clean so I'm hoping I'm set for a while. :-)  
pryso
1,936 posts
 
Not to muddy the waters but doesn't Van den Hul suggest 3,000 hours for his cartridges?
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

''to muddy the waters'' the Ortofon ''Replicant stylus'' can endure

2000 hours. I own 3 Ikeda's carts from the 80is (FR 7 fz, f and

8 c , the cantileverless kind) all of them still going strong. Strange

 btw that our ''highest carts authority'' has no idea about the lifeteme

 of styli.

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