Stylus Wear

I was wondering how do forum members know how many hours of needle time they have on their cartridge? Surely no one keeps a tally of every instance of use.
I use the Rega Apheta 3 on my P8 and it is now 2 years old. It has had light usage due to listening time constraints (probably 1 hour per week on average) so on that basis I only have 100 hours wear on it. Not sure what the recommended replacement time is but I would think it will see me through another 10 years of when I notice a decline in SQ.

Errr, (hand up in the air) why not? Isn’t hard to do. I record sides played at average of say 22-23 mins and work it out from there.

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I’ve also been keeping a number of sides tally for my new cartridge in a note on my phone.
Was yet to decide an average side length but 20 odd mins is what I was thinking so thanks for that info.

1000hrs (conservative Shibata lifespan?) at 23 mins a side is about 2600 sides.
I’ve been doing a lot of listening recently and have tallied just over 400 sides in the 8 months since it was fitted, an average of 12 and a bit sides a week.
So I hope to get at least 4 years out of it at an average of just about 1 LP every day, which is going some.

Unless calamity or the upgrade itch hits before then of course.

As a side note, my previous cartridge was a 20 odd year old Linn Klyde which hadn’t had much use, the LP12 had been stored for the last 15 years.
It went to a very reputable dealer to be set up and I was told there was plenty of life left in it.
Only swapped it out as I fancied an upgrade.

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I just work it out by average play per week. I also think you start to notice it being a bit ‘off’ before it gets seriously worn.

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Yes everything you have said is pretty much how I see it. I have similar thinking on number of sides/1000 hours for a good quality MC. A variable to be considered if usage is low is the suspension which is more dependent on time and environmental conditions, such as temperatures and humidity.

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True, but people say by then it could be quite worn and beginning to damage records……hence having another reference like number of sides.
The whole thing gets further complicated with different profiles wearing at different rates. A trip over to the Vinyl Engine forum will give you flavour of how hard it is to be sure and there is no definitive answer.

I do not count hours of use. I rely on my ears; when it starts to sound odd, it is time to consider a new cartridge.

I can tell if the cartridge performance is off whether that is dirt or wear.

I have never known a record to get damaged just by playing it on a worn cartridge stylus. A chipped one could be a different matter but that is going to be quite extreme circumstance.

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None of the above. I examine the stylus with a loupe. If it it’s showing signs of wear, I replace it.

Don’t forget 1000 hours of solo violin won’t wear the stylus as much as 1000 hours of heavy metal.

Also, 45rpm 12" single will cause more wear than 33rpm lp.

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I guess wear will also be increased with dirty or worn records. I have an Project record cleaner so I do try to keep my vinyl as clean as possible. Same with the stylus.
Btw has anyone had an Apheta 3 retipped? Just wondering what the cost might be.

Whatever it costs today, it’ll be 2-3 times that in 20 years time when you’ll need to replace it.

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£578 according to a couple of hifi retailers in the search results for “apheta 3 stylus replacement”

I use a spreadsheet to record stylus hours (actually sides played, and approximately converted using 20 mins a side - quite a lot of what I listen to isn’t LP format), sounds daft, but Google sheets on my phone is easy enough to update when I sit down to listen to music. I sometimes forget at the time, so just add a few extra next time I listen. It isn’t exact, but good enough for me.

Using a visual inspection would be great, but I don’t know what I’d be looking for. In the past I haven’t recorded hours, just used opportunities to upgrade stylus profiles on my Goldring compatible Roksan Corus cartridge, 1012 to 1022 to 1042 over the years. I now run a DV10x5, which doesn’t have a replaceable stylus, so keeping track a bit more carefully.

Gives me plenty of time to soften up the wife :grin:

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Interesting and timely topic as I’m considering my first proper Turntable to compliment my system. I didn’t think/know about Stylus wear to be honest. Do MM styluses wear out faster than MC’s? (Please excuse my lack of knowledge, I’m here to learn)

I too keep a tally on the “notes” app on my phone. Dead easy and takes less than 30 seconds at the end of a listening session. I allow 45 minutes per LP (I play whole albums).
How many hours is more difficult to answer. And it’s not just the hours on the cart to worry about.
I tried to protect the first expensive cart I bought and only played vinyl 3 or 4 times a week, often even less. It had barely 500 hours on it after 8 years yet sounded off. Turned out the suspension rubber had hardened. After that I just hammer a cart to get full value from it.

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You destroyed it with a hammer ? I don’t think it’s the right meaning. Not joking this time.

Haha no, it’s just an expression meaning I make sure I use it a lot.
Just upgraded to a DV TKR from a DV XX-2.
The XX-2 had 1500 hrs on it and was 4 years old.

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Worth taking a look at the Pear Audio (Dynavector Cartridge distribution in UK) website. John Burns reckons stylus wear/hours is important, but so too is the the age related deterioration of the rubber dampers in most cartridges. He says that rubber will deteriorate whether or not the cartridge is played by the way, so 4-5 years may be a likely life span, even if you don’t play much vinyl.

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