The manufacturer can not control the condition of the consumer's records. The rate of wear on a stylus is relative to stylus force, and cleanliness of the records. The stylus speeds through the outer groove at about 20 inches per second. If we rolled out the spiral groove into a line, the stylus plays apprx 500 meters (apprx 1500ft) per LP side, and greater than half a mile per record.
In one year the stylus would have apprx 208 hours, in four years appx 836 hours. So, if someone plays 6 LP records per week, that would be 4 hours per week. An LP record is about 18 to 22 minutes per side on average, so, playing two records would be apprx 1.3 hrs. Just simply estimate your listening habits. Plus it's about half the price of a 2m Black.Ĭlick to expand.That's a great idea! Who wants to remember to start a timer (and stop it) every time we play a record, then forget to stop it?Īctually it's not too difficult to estimate the hours on a stylus. I'm hoping the AT740ml will fit that bill. Maybe from wear? And since I have Maggie LRS which, while nice, are known not to be heavy punchy rocker types. I'm hoping it will have more punch and presence than my 2mblack which now seems a little too sedate. Is there such a thing?Īnyhow, I'm going to try the AT line since I've heard so much good about them and am getting an AT740ml cart. I've never heard of it though, would be easy to do and should be standard on all semi-decent turntables. How do you keep track of this? There must or should be some hour counter that can put on a TT. But if it's 2 hours per week x 52 x 5 it's about 5 or six hundred and may well be more because I think I listen more than that.
I tend to be inconsistent with how much I spin records. Maybe five? Six? I have no record of when I bought it and even if I did I have no idea what my average play per year has been. Heck I'm not even sure how many years I've had my Ortofon 2m black.