Citroen Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 I've never had a satisfactory answer to the question - How do I know when I need to change my stylus? Base it on hours used, at a best guestimate? You need to GUESS the hours, guess the expected lifespan hours etc.... Base it on the condition....who can look at it accurately and estimate the remaining life? Limited to Shore Hi Fi, in Auckland? Replace it when it starts to sound bad...in which case its too late...probably damaged your LPs already.... Or do you just replace your stylus well within the use by date (and thus waste its full potential)? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RdM1553552697 Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Newbie;101646 wrote: I've never had a satisfactory answer to the question - How do I know when I need to change my stylus? Base it on hours used, at a best guestimate? You need to GUESS the hours, guess the expected lifespan hours etc.... Tch! [Just 3 dots for ellipses!] [or ellipsis] :eek: :mad: Well, there were and are devices to record stylus "on" hours, but ... :cool: Base it on the condition....who can look at it accurately and estimate the remaining life? Limited to Shore Hi Fi, in Auckland? You can ... if you have a ~ 100x+ microscope, and learn to judge flats wear ... do some research. Replace it when it starts to sound bad...in which case its too late...probably damaged your LPs already.... Indeed. Possibly... Your ears can give clues. But it might be too late. Or do you just replace your stylus well within the use by date (and thus waste its full potential)? Never heard of a "use by" date with styli!! [but I know what you mean. Still, maybe spares ... ?] Cheers Yeah. It's a serious and worthwhile issue to consider. I've progressed from a scanner through a toy plastic microscope to a an old metal & glass microscope. The scanner trick is a useful starting point ... RdM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1553552673 Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 good question. I go on (very loosely) estimated usage. However, my "need" to upgrade is usually sooner than the suggested replacement time. wear is both stylus tip/shape (visual) and suspension (stiffness). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Mark's last point is NB. Under normal usage the suspension is more likely to "wear out" than the stylus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St.Noah Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 I got a buzzer under my beanie about this when I last had the Troika re-tipped. Started counting LP sides played! I tried to find one of those hand-held counter click thingies such as can be used to count folk exiting a concert or whatever - but no-one could tell me where to buy one. Ended up with a paper-and-pencil tally using 4 ticks and a strike-through for 5 sides. It's working OK - I'm not seriously anal about it, don't worry about forgetting the odd one and after a heavy session I just add a few ticks. Figure it's got to be accurate to within 15% or so which is always going to beat pure guesswork. At this stage it looks like my stylus is gonna last quite a bit longer than I would've expected. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudioKiwi Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Generally how many hours can a cart do before the suspension get tired? Is it cart dependant? Or is there a ballpark figure for all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 With high quality cartridges, I have found that the cartridge suspension deteriorates before any wear on the diamond stylus becomes an issue. (Diamond is harder than vinyl ) Depends on many factors - cleanliness of records, cartridge alignment & setup, etc. A 50x microscope is usually good enough for a visual examination... regular cleaning of the stylus will prevent build-up of vinyl residue (heat generated by groove tracing) which may make it hard to study the diamond quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 DodgyConnection;101729 wrote: Generally how many hours can a cart do before the suspension get tired? Is it cart dependant? Or is there a ballpark figure for all? Depends on environment too & the suspension material/design, etc...I would expect. You will know when the suspension sags! I started becoming paranoid about the UV light & I always cover my TT/arm/cart with a dark silk scarf when not in use... hello, chaps with nude carts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Been there, done that, gave up.... I thought I was the only obsessive nut! Gave up after counting about 500 playing hrs & ??LP sides. St.Noah;101726 wrote: I got a buzzer under my beanie about this when I last had the Troika re-tipped. Started counting LP sides played! I tried to find one of those hand-held counter click thingies such as can be used to count folk exiting a concert or whatever - but no-one could tell me where to buy one. Ended up with a paper-and-pencil tally using 4 ticks and a strike-through for 5 sides. It's working OK - I'm not seriously anal about it, don't worry about forgetting the odd one and after a heavy session I just add a few ticks. Figure it's got to be accurate to within 15% or so which is always going to beat pure guesswork. At this stage it looks like my stylus is gonna last quite a bit longer than I would've expected. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1553552673 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 DodgyConnection;101729 wrote: Generally how many hours can a cart do before the suspension get tired? Is it cart dependant? Or is there a ballpark figure for all? it depends on use, and your environment (e.g. humidity, average tepmerature and range / quantity of tepmerature change) I am not aware of rules of thumb for location (e.g. Whangarei cf. Invercargill), or how constant the temperature in a home is (e.g. a centrally heated aparmnent cf. a student flat in Dunedin) it would also depend on the cartridge / specic suspension material. not much help really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 WOW. Never really considered that the suspension would go before the tip. So, better to look at the suspension, then the tip? Look for sag? I guess that you're listening for any signs of mistracking/poor alignment with a worn suspension? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Suspension sag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Suspension sags, so I just adjust the tonearm height to compensate...? (Hey, I'm a dedicated cheapsksate, wanting to eek the last drop out of my cartridge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Ahh no, unfortunately... Suspension sags =>cartridge/record clearance reduces =>cartridge risks bottoming out! Also, it just sounds sad too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Define "sad"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Cambridge Online has 3 defined meanings for 'sad'.... 'not happy, unpleasant, boring' I would add: 'tired'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Thanks for that Owen, but in practical terms, what am I listening for? Increased distortion, lack of dynamics, high/low frequency variances? Or just a "boring" sound... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1553552673 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 for me suspension aging is not something I can measure. the sound goes "off". I know how my system usually sounds. when one cartridge aged a bit much, the sound went "off". lacked dynamics and mistracked a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 So I listen for an "off", "tired" "sad" sound? :confused: I just want to know when I need to consider getting my cart retipped/replaced (which will not be such an insubstantial cost to me). I don't want any damage to my LPs in the meantime and I don't want to replace it before it's time. If I wait for any noticeable audible differences then i'm concerned that damage to my LPs may have occurred. SO what do I do? Click my Lp time away as per Noah, until an arbitrary cut off time? PS You've got to be joking! Annoy Shore HiFi by checking my stylus every so often, (which apparently will be too late anyway, as by the time its visual it's too late, or its the suspension that's given way already). Check the suspension, somehow? Listening for "not quite rightness"? Am I making this too complicated? What's the simple answer? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1553552673 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 no simple answers that I know of. I assume I play on average 1 record of 40 minutes average duration per day, or 243 hours playing time per year. So for a 2,000 hour cartridge life, this would give me 8 years of playing time. to me I guestimate a cartridge suspension will have 4 years life before it goes off. this may be pessimistic. maybe 5 to 6 years. I replace about 4 to 5 years or so. so I can play 2 records per day, every day (on average) for a 2,000 hour cartridge life (a bit low, as I recall some having a 5,000+ hour suggested life) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Imagine the suspension (springs/shockers) on your car... shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts