Are 500 hours too many for a used hi-end cartridge?
Great information Chakster on stylus life and I love the toothbrush analogy. I agree. A new ART 9 would be a much better choice than a used cartridge. 1st off we are terrible at estimating usage and there is a tendency to minimize this. If you asked me how much time I have on any one cartridge the honest answer would be, "I have no idea." It would be better to go by the original sale date. But still this does not indicate the condition of the stylus as it depends entirely on record hygiene and tonearm setup. Buying a used cartridge is a crap shoot. If the cartridge were less than 6 months old and had not been damaged I might consider it otherwise it is better to stick with a new cartridge. A note on re tipping. This is best done by the original manufacturer. A top of the line cartridge will cost more to re tip than a middle of the line cartridge costs new excepting perhaps Soundsmith. Last "preservative" does absolutely nothing. It is 100% Freon ( a type of chlorofluorocarbon) think brake cleaning fluid. It is a great solvent with a very low vapor pressure (evaporates almost immediately) It's best use in audio is to clean tape heads. Very minor changes in the shape of a stylus are extremely hard to see under a microscope. I examine mine all the time at my office. Once wear is visible you are certainly at the point where you are chiseling your records. Is wear before this occurs audible? I sort of doubt it as the distortion occurs at very high frequencies. People my age certainly could not hear it. So I do believe watching for flat spots is useful. Once you detect this it is time for a new cartridge or stylus. I have been meaning to try a USB microscope as I hear they are useful for this and they are quite inexpensive. |
If cartridge aging is an issue, then y'all need to know of this guy, who does phono cartridge repair and retipping. http://www.phonocartridgeretipping.com/index.html |
One thing to consider when buying a used cartridge, and I know that the folks trying to sell them will NOT like this! That is, it is fairly well known that just one (1) play of a record with a damaged stylus is going to ruin that record! So, if you want to sacrifice a record to see what the condition is like after that one play, no issue. Here's the question, is your record collection that valuable to you that you will risk the next record, or the next, if the stylus is considerably worn and the result is a gradual destruction of your groove wall due to a 500+ hour stylus? Some may say that every time you play a record, you slightly damage the groove wall which is very possible, but why increase the likelihood of that happening with a known 500 hour+ stylus? |
