I know there are variables but, in general, how often do you replace your high end cartridge? I have a Rega RP 10 TT that came with an Apheta cartridge. I’ve found out you can’t just replace the stylus on that cartridge; thus a large outlay of cash for a new one. To my ear, my system still sounds great. But, is that just because I hear it everyday and am used to it? Has anyone been in a similar situation and, if so, what is your advice? Thanks.
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Good Q. I’ll be watching the responses.
BTW, I have absolutely no clue as to the answer. 
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I’m also curious about this. Your ears are usually the best guide, but – as you say – what if they/you have simply become accustomed to your setup?
General guidelines I have seen say something about the number of hours the cartridge has been in use.
All part of the joy of vinyl, which is starting to irritate me after all these years of putting up with it 
As someone that has always had a record deck as one front end, i think i may well be experienced enough to sort of answer this. I have gone through many carts over the last 50 years or so. Most of the early ones were MM carts, so replacing a stylus was an easy and not too expensive operation. Even then i use the same criteria for determening if it needs replacing. The first is, are things sounding like they always did, or has something changed. If the latter, i put a series of LP’s on that i know backwards and forwards. Alison Moyets Alf, Frank Zappa’s Hot Rat’s and Goundhogs Crosscut Saw. If they sound as they should, i’m happy. If not, then maybe a change is needed. This is where it becomes more difficult when dealing with an MC cart. They cost more and in my experience become more difficult to decide when to replace. I decided to replace the cart in my profile last year, but still haven’t because even after 5 years of use it still sounds good.
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I see that Rega says the Apheta life expectancy is between 1,500 and 1,800 hours, with proper handling and care.
Think of >1000 but <2000 hours of wear.
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It’s not just stylus wear you have to include suspension degradation.
They perish over time. 
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If one uses the lower 1500 hours and we say 1 LP is equal to an hour, then the question is have you played 1500 or so LP’s ? Also back in the day we would use a magnifying glass or a microscope to visually inspect the cartridge. Looking for abnormal wear, additionally listen first thing to go is usually the highs.. look at it playing is it tracking correctly? Good Luck.. I switched to all digital many years ago too much screwing round with vinyl.
If you play 2 lp’s every day 365 days, equals 730 hours
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I would take it all with a pinch of salt and err on the side of caution. After perhaps 800 hours I’d take it to a knowledgable dealer that can do a visual inspection with a microscope. This will give you a good idea on condition and remaining life without guessing. No tears.
Well an LP is closer to 44 minutes give or take so rounding up to an hour gives a large error when multiplies up.
A high magnification loupe so you can inspect the tip can take a lot of guesswork out of the stylus wear question, though not the suspension.
Though this far easier with removable head shells.
If I had a non removable head shells, I’d probably get a cheap cartridge playback counter. You just push a button each time you put on a record and it adds 22 mins to the counter.
When I had a TT I used to change the stylus after about 1000-1500 hours of play. It was easy to estimate before adding CD, translating to every couple of years at most. However with general decrease in vinyl play after getting CD it became harder to estimate, and I only recall changing my last cartridge’s stylus once in the 12 years or so till I abandoned vinyl. (Last one was actually an exchange cart as it was MC),
Stylus wear depends on the cartridge and quality of the stylus, but also how well you keep your records clean and how well you keep your stylus clean.
Late last year I send my Lyra Atlas Lambda SL back to the U.S. distributor for inspection. They forwarded it to Japan to the builder, who checked, retuned and cleaned it. When I send it back it already had about 1600 hrs on it.
It came back with a clean bill of health and I’m told that with how well I take care of it I can easily get 3000 hrs. on it. I have 1800-1900 hrs on it now and it still sounds utterly fantastic.
An overly worn stylus will start sound somewhat sibilant, so that’s one of the best signs to watch for.
All my records get an initial cleaning in my Degritter II before play, even new ones. My stylus gets brushed after every side, and gets a wet clean with Lyra SPT before each listening session. If I look at it with a loop it’s shiny and clean, with no tarry looking buildup. That’s is how you extend the life of a stylus.
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Also, I use these stylus timers, one for each cartridge I have mounted on tonearms. They help keep track of stylus use. Get them on a Amazon for about $25.
I don’t start/stop every record side. I start at beginning of a listening session and stop when I’m done (but stop and restart accordingly if I change tonearms).
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the whole “1000/1200 hours” or so to replace comes mainly from cart makers themselves and those who repeat it. sending it in to get checked if you can might be a good idea but if it sounds good then it is good. you will likely wish to upgrade your turnable and/or cartridge long before it is not fit to perform what is a pretty simple task. that’s all assuming your records are decent and there’s no accident involving the stylus but otherwise keep it. mine has many many 1000s of hours and sounds as good now as the day i got it.
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To answer the question,we need to define the degredation mechanisms. Stylus wear, the suspension, but what else. Are these mechanisms based on use or just time? And which mechanism leads ? I.e. this will be the one that dictates the answer. I suspect there will be a mechanism that is based on time, perhaps the suspension. Such that an unused, but 25 year old cartridge may well need a service. Same way that a 6 month old cartridge with 4000 hours on it may also require a service.
Define the mechanisms first, there can’t be many.
As might the household playing 22 hours a day!
I was considering the most extreme case of 24/7 playing.
Easy with streaming, but doing that with vinyl for 6 months means you get no sleep, or rather you just get lots of sub 20 minute dozes, unless you work a shift system with others!
I wonder if dozing off and the stylus sitting in the run-out ring for hours would cause less or more wear, wall modulation vs the repeated groove entry point?
I play perhaps 3 LP’s a week average. Figured my stylus should last at 10 years. Now, I have two which I interchange which in theory should get me through the next 20 or so years.
I think I have a better chance of meeting my maker than having to replace a stylus 
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I list every album I play in a notebook for the purpose of tracking cartridge use. What I do is multiply the number of albums I play by either .70 or .75 as most albums are not an hour long. Many albums are under 40 minutes, and my method is hardly scientific, but it gives me a general idea of where I am as a cart will usually last me a number of years.