@slaw, I'm not trying to pick an argument, but I have to ask--Is 5,000 hours a typo? I have trouble understanding how a cartridge could realistically last that long!
Vinyl Lovers-- Cartridges!!!! Do you have a daily driver?
About a decade ago, some kind soul told me that the phono preamp was ever so important and that I could keep spending here and there, but to get to Oz I'd need a good one. Since that time I've had a Manley Chinook and now Modwright's reference phono stage.
These pieces have allowed me to get deeper into vinyl. I have a lovely LTA Aero DAC (tubes and R2R), which I adore. Yet, nothing is the same as vinyl. Ok--maybe my reel-to-reel stuff but I only have about a half dozen albums.
At any rate, here's my dilemma. I'm finding cartridges just don't hold up that long. I keep a clean shop and my records are in very clean shape. I do not, however, have a laboratory clean room here. I run VTA generally at the middle of the spec. Still, cartridges are easy to run through--or so it seems to my ear.
I've had mixed results retipping moving coils. Sometimes it's fabulous!
I think I'm getting a little tired for buying cartridges only to wear them out. I've run through a Benz Micro LPS, Kiseki Purpleheart, Dynavector 20x something, Audio-Technica ART9, Ortofon 2M black, and a few others I cannot recall. The initial outlay doesn't bother me. What's getting me is they just seem to fade off. I doubt I'm getting more than 1000 hours before they sound raggedy. Yet, I've never counted.
I've noticed with a high quality phono preamp you can use a lower priced cartridge to amazing results. So, I just scooped up an $800 Nagaoka MP-500, hoping I could use it as a daily driver to spare my Goldring Ethos (fantastic cart by the way). I don't have the Nag yet to evaluate.
What are others doing? If you're someone who plows through lots of vinyl in their listening sessions, do you just pony up ever year for a new $2k, $5k cartridge? Do you run lower priced, value carts?
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I'll second the comments of @billstevenson and @willy-t. I've used Stylast on my carts, and my last cart still sounded good after 1200 hrs., but it was a '90s cart so I thought I'd try something more current. Bought a broken-in Lyra Kleos, and that's all I'm using. It's not the greatest tracker with my tonearm, but that's only been evident on a couple LPs. I think with scrupulous cleaning of records, proper cartridge setup and stylus care, a stylus can easily last 1200 hrs. |
What are others doing? Do you just pony up ever year for a new $2k, $5k cartridge? Do you run lower priced, value carts? My 2 MC Ortofon Cadenza’s (Mono and Stereo) are running just fine up to 2500 hrs (around 1600$ each) My 2 MM’s to about 300 hrs (around 400$ each) I did not have to buy any cartridges during the last 3 years. On average, I am listening to about 4 complete records daily. The tubes from one of my preamp will probably the first to be changed, not the cartridges.
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This is a meaningless conversation because none of us has defined what is meant when you say a cartridge is “lasting” or has reached the state of being “worn out”.. In previous threads 500 hours or thereabouts was often quoted as the typical lifespan. These numbers are way higher but without specifics. At 2500 hours, what do you see under a microscope? Or even how do you keep track of hours? |
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