advertisement


Is ten years too old for a cartridge?

MVV

MVV

pfm Member
I happened on the box for my Ortofon Cadenza Blue and thought I'd had it for four or five years. Turns out I bought it in 2010! I work away a lot (c120 hotel nights a year) but use it a fair bit when I'm home.
I'm vinyl only so don't have a comparator, but it sounds great to me. Can it still be ok really?
 
Most of my cartridges are over 10 years old. I have an Ortofon 530 that I bought in 1991 for £79.95. Sounds like new.
I more regularly use a AT OC9 which I bought secondhand. Dates back to the late eighties. Sounds great.
 
If it doesn't sound worn, then fill your boots. I just replaced an 11 year old at33ptg that was still sounding good enough to keep as a spare.
 
MVV said:
I happened on the box for my Ortofon Cadenza Blue and thought I'd had it for four or five years. Turns out I bought it in 2010! I work away a lot (c120 hotel nights a year) but use it a fair bit when I'm home.
I'm vinyl only so don't have a comparator, but it sounds great to me. Can it still be ok really?
Click to expand...
It will be fine.
 
Phew! Thanks all, skint too so a bit of a relief.
It's been in a WT suspended unipivot and I vaguely remember that tends to extend the life a bit.
 
Assuming that you play records for an average amount of time per day, 120 x 10 = 1200 / 400 = 3. So you've still got at least 3 years before you need to start worrying about it, probably quite a lot more, give or take :)
 
MVV said:
Phew! Thanks all, skint too so a bit of a relief.
It's been in a WT suspended unipivot and I vaguely remember that tends to extend the life a bit.
Click to expand...
I miss my Cadenza blue, pound for pound, the best cartridge I’ve owned... and it’s quite a lot of pounds. I’d love another one (I sold it with my LP12), I’m a bit skint too so it’ll have to wait.
 
My current is a Decca London Gold from the late 1970s (mine is probably 1981) on it's original stylus, that looks and sounds fine.
 
Certainly not, as long as the suspension /rubber has not dried up. I only listen to vintage carts and have a small collection :)
 
Many 20-30 year old cartridges...all good. There are some high end Technics models from the 80s that used "special" rubber that was prone to disintegration, but 95% of old carts are good for a very long time.
 
It's interesting to note that people's experience and opinion are consistent with mine that old cartridges are fine as long as they are not worn.

However, I thought that the conventional 'wisdom' from so-called experts (hifi critics and/or manufacturers) is that cartridges, even if unused, have a limited shelf life primarily because the suspension will deteriorate over time.
 
hockman said:
It's interesting to note that people's experience and opinion are consistent with mine that old cartridges are fine as long as they are not worn.

However, I thought that the conventional 'wisdom' from so-called experts (hifi critics and/or manufacturers) is that cartridges, even if unused, have a limited shelf life primarily because the suspension will deteriorate over time.
Click to expand...
I think deterioration is possible, if the cartridge is stored at temperature extremes, or sees diurnal thermal cycling or perhaps humidity cycling.

For a cartridge stored in a room temperature environment with relatively constant moderate humidity, they seem to do really well. Maybe the get out of spec some, but nothing obvious.

This allows aficionados to buy cartridges from the time that had available technology - such as boron PIPE cantilevers - now unavailable at any price.
 
hockman said:
However, I thought that the conventional 'wisdom' from so-called experts (hifi critics and/or manufacturers) is that cartridges, even if unused, have a limited shelf life primarily because the suspension will deteriorate over time.
Click to expand...

That's what I was told on a recent thread. My DV20X2L is 6 years old and has done about 600 hours and I'd been limiting play a bit so as not to wear it out. Then got told that about 6 years is maximum suspension life, so I'm now playing vinyl much more.

Confused.
 
I think it depends to some extent on the cartridge. Most Ortofon's seem very good with regard to longevity of the suspension. I had my last Cadenza Blue for about 9 years, the suspension still seemed fine. You can usually tell in that the cartridge visually starts to ride lower for the same tracking weight. I only replaced mine because wear alone had just starting to make it's self obvious, but I must have had at least 1,500 to 2,000 hours on it? Problem is you don't notice wear at first as it is so gradual. I replaced it with a Cadenza Bronze and have now started to use click counters for all my cartridges in current use to keep a track of hours used.

I still have an original Sugano Koetsu Rosewood I bought new in 1981 on which the suspension is now US, but it took about 25 years and a couple of retips before that happened. I must try to get it rebuilt at some time
 
Eyebroughty said:
I have a Linn Karma, sounds very good, bought new.
Click to expand...
flatpopely said:
Not easily bettered at any price!
Click to expand...

I liked my Karma on LP12/ Ittok in 1983 for 5/6 years, but it can certainly be bettered; the Troika was generally thought to be an advance but with the same sonic signature.

As I've had a number of higher end cart's since on different decks/arms, comparisons are odious, as they say, but each has been an improvement on the last. I think, in that presentation ball-park, there are offers from Lyra, the late Transfiguration and, I'm sure, many others, which would put the Karma in the shade. It was very good for its time and usage; that's as far as it goes, i.m.o.

I have a 14/15 year old Urushi in my drawer which I hope to re-mount or replace at some juncture. I'd be gutted to think that the suspension, and indeed the stylus, would be significantly worn, having been mounted top arms (incl. 2 x 12")

I guess that set-up is of prime importance to stylus life, but, apart from large temperature variations as Dimitry, above, says, I haven't a clue about the longevity of upmarket suspensions. Possibly this is as variable as the quality of manufacture.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top