Nagaoka MP 300 Cartridge

I am on my second MP 300 stylus replacement. I have been very happy with the sound quality of this cartridge. After the last stylus change, I neglected to keep track of the hours that I used it, so I wanted to be on top of this change.

@pooch2 just curious what are the indicators that a cartridge needs to be replaced? Are you just using hours to determine that or have you actually heard a cartridge sound worse after 300hrs - 350hrs? Cause that sounds kind of low.
I never ran a cartridge into the ground but I was hoping that my my Hana ML gets me at least 1500-2000hrs. May be I’m way too optimistic about it…

I think the rule of thumb is around 1,500  hours. Van den Hull advertised some of his cartridges (at least the Frog) was good for 3,000 or more (twice the average). Mine had well over 2,000 when I sold the turntable… it sounded perfect.

I think the sound degradation is so slight as the stylus ages it may be difficult to determine if I am actually losing much from one session to another. That was the situation with the previous stylus, I didn't actually notice any significant reduction in sound quality, I am thinking more about the vinyl,  which makes me want to be a little more on top of what others consider a reasonable cartridge or stylus use.

I did notice a difference when the new stylus was installed, and the turntable set-up redone.

I try to consider all the input from others and consider their experience. I am currently considering the Hana ML as my next cartridge so that would give me some additional longevity, based on what audiophile 1 has mentioned, compared to the Nagaoka. I will be keeping the MP300 as my backup cartridge once replaced.