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Stylus lifespan

As tonearm effective mass is so much greater than tip effective mass (grammes v. milligrammes - a factor of 1000), the cantilever assembly is always going to work far harder than the tonearm, so the stylus follows the groove, the tonearm does not.

I would hope the arm doesn't follow the groove and it is just the cantilever otherwise the coils/magnets won't generate a signal.
 
Exactly so, or at least ever more of the information from the groove would translate to arm movement, as the effectives masses approached one another.
 
It is often overlooked that high compliance and low tip mass *also* mean that lower levels of vibration get applied to the arm by the cartridge as it tracks the groove. This means that arm 'ringing' resonances matter less because they aren't being excited so much.
 
I find it depressing that some feel they have to ration their vinyl listening owing to the expense of the carts they have chosen.
 
Well it seems I play vinyl tonnes more than many people on here, so once a year is may'be even too infrequent to change styli. After replacing my Nag it now sounds divine straight out of the box. Wonder is the MP500 worth triple the price? Although replacment styli are only double the price, so that's £400 for a bit of plastic! (MP500 new cart = around £600 direct from Japan, new styli = around £200 direct from Japan).
 
I find it depressing that some feel they have to ration their vinyl listening owing to the expense of the carts they have chosen.
For me it's the inconvenience of vinyl as a medium that accounts for the low number of hours I've clocked up on my cart, not the financial implications, but I can sympathise with those who spin daily and have pricier carts to up-keep. First world problems of the afflicted audiophile... :)
 
If the stylus, made from a very, very hard material, wears like that, think about the fine grooves in the soft vinyl...
 
If the stylus, made from a very, very hard material, wears like that, think about the fine grooves in the soft vinyl...
The difference is time at stress. Each 5 um spot in the groove sees a milisecond of stress, while the diamond sees 1200 seconds per side.
 
The difference is time at stress. Each 5 um spot in the groove sees a milisecond of stress, while the diamond sees 1200 seconds per side.

If I scratch the paint of a car with a rusty nail, each 5 um spot of paint sees a milisecond of stress, while the nail sees 12 seconds per side... :)
 
The main reason that I now rarely play an LP is that for years I made a decent digital capture of each one when I fancied playing it. That done, I keep the LP safe and play the capture. Less faff, less stylus wear, etc. :) When I occasionally buy a new LP I go though the same process.
 
Stylus life is a bit of a difficult one. For example, I use several turntables, so the cartridges (Dynavector XX2MkII, Dynavector DV20XL, Goldring rebuilt Troika) get fairly even use between them , so their life is extended somewhat. It's a good way to run a vinyl system if you can accommodate more than one record player. Also, in my case life-style (work) means I don't get as much time with the system as I would like. But given that I had more time, I doubt that I would ration the cartridge use; one reason not to use a cartridge that you can't afford to replace when it wears out!
 
'How often do I change my stylus?

Dunno.

I have a spare stylus (100 anni. cheaper option) but the original is still sounding okay, and looks okay via USB microscope. Can't remember when I got the cart. but approx. a year and a bit???

(ortofon 2m black)

I will find out one day.

Any tips on a USB microscope to use? I see one on Amazon at £13.99 will that do?
 
Well it seems I play vinyl tonnes more than many people on here, so once a year is may'be even too infrequent to change styli. After replacing my Nag it now sounds divine straight out of the box. Wonder is the MP500 worth triple the price? Although replacment styli are only double the price, so that's £400 for a bit of plastic! (MP500 new cart = around £600 direct from Japan, new styli = around £200 direct from Japan).

I think the MP500 is more like £250, and that's before import duty, it will be more like £300 before you've done.
 


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