What is the considered opinion on the expected life of a good quality stylus these days?
I have 682 hours on mine (Linn Ekstatik) and it’s as good as new with no degradation at all so far. My records are all super clean with Degritter treatment and I never use any liquid solution at all to “clean” the stylus. A couple of passes with Linn green paper every few weeks or so is all it gets. There’s virtually no detritus for the stylus to pick up anyway.
What should I reasonably expect with this regime? 1500-2000 hours? What are your experiences of this?
Yes….. I know it’s a bit sad keeping a count of the hours but the timer is easy to use every time I play a record.
It’s not just stylus wear.
The suspension in the cart disintegrates over time too.
I’ve seen perfect stylus tips on a couple of knackered cartridges.
Age is the enemy too.
It depends on several factors, there’s no simple answer. Stylus contact area, moving mass, tracking force adjustment and suspension are among the most relevant. Fortunately for manufacturers, way too many people swap cartridges out of fear of record damage, when all you have to do is to trust your ears since they will alert you when it’s time for a change. You should detect a drop in sound quality well before any harm comes to your records.
My Hana ML is well into 5th year and I reckon I must average close to an hour a day, quite possible more. It still sounds great to me. Most of the cartridges I’ve had in the past have started showing sonic signs of age within about the 2 years use, this included my last cartridge, an AT-ART-9.. I do wonder if these relatively short lives was down to the tonearm as the ML was installed on a brand new tonearm. Anyway, I’ve been eyeing up my next Hana over the past 18 months, but the ML seems intent to be hanging on..
Micro ridge type cartridges last considerably longer than all other types because the weight is distributed over a larger surface contact area. They also tend to be better trackers for the same reason, which translates into less loss of contact with the grooves and consequently less wear.
It surprises me too and I struggle with the recommendation.. Based on this I should have replaced my ML about 2 years ago and should be looking forward to its next replacement. A very expensive activity and one I’d find especially difficult to justify if it all sounds good. Also I’m not aware of any of my records being damaged by a stylus. Some of my best sounding albums have been played on some very dubious turntables from my teens. I do struggle to stop damage from scratches which I imagine collect when I’m moving them in and out of their sleeves and the storage in between. Interestingly the only other cartridge that I’ve had that has lasted well over three years (based up on its sonic output) was a Roksan Shiraz which is also an EMT cartridge, which I understand the Ekstatik to be..
Microridge has a long profile on each side , looks like a philips screwhead from top view
MR has the longest stylus life & Sides wear down over a very long period, But once side profiles are worn out stylus drops to the bottom of the groove and acts like a chisel/cutting head
Thanks for the diagrams. I won’t question the outcome of when a stylus is worn, but I will ask to explore the timeframes. So if my ML is a Micro ridge profile, how would you expect it to sound say after 1,200 hours, as by these numbers it’s well over twice it’s expected lifetime? Would sound quality be impacted?
For what it is worth. Both my last two Hana SLs did about 1500 hours. There was nothing to suggest any issues or change in sound, but thought it wise to change.
It stuck me that if I put a Linn Ekstatik on my LP12, for example, and it only lasted 1000 hrs, it would cost about £4 for every record played. I’m not sure that is a great equation.
