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Daver Location: USA Posts: 36	Posted - Fri Mar 28, 2003 6:39 pm  Does anyone know how often (after how many hours, say) one should change one's phono stylus? In my case it's at home, no smoking, and generally cleaned with solvent after each hour of use, approx. The reason I ask is, I think I'm starting to hear some degredation of high frequencies. Thanks, Daver _________________ The Daver
Graham Forsythe Posts: 1	Posted - Fri Mar 28, 2003 7:53 pm  It depends on how much you want to spend and how sensitive you are to the problem. Generally, you should probably change it after 30 to 40 hours of use. Most people go 60 to 120 hours.
beetle Location: USA Posts: 2591	Posted - Fri Mar 28, 2003 8:11 pm  30-40 hours is overboard. Every 500 hours or three years, whichever comes forst sounds better.
ozpeter Location: Australia Posts: 3200	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 12:08 am  Paradoxically, you should change your stylus when there's not much point. (Sorry, couldn't resist). - Ozpeter
AndyH Posts: 1425	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 3:21 am  1000 hours is a common recommendation for diamond. For those steel needles in old Victrolas (or whatever exactly they are named), one needle per record side, I believe.
Graeme Member Location: Spain Posts: 4663	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 10:41 am  beetle wrote: 30-40 hours is overboard. Every 500 hours or three years, whichever comes forst sounds better. I agree - 30-40 hours is way too little. 500 odd would be nearer the mark, probably longer if you look after the things. _________________ Graeme Don't forget to join the new CEP forum at audiomastersforum
Havoc Posts: 735	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 12:31 pm  If I remember well, the manual of my turntable said something like once a year if you played 2 LP's (4 sides) a day. As 1 LP is a bit less than an hour, 500h would seem reasonable. Is there a difference for 78 rpm needles? I'm not talking about the steel phonograph ones, but the modern versions. Are those more stressed than an ordinary 33 rpm needle? I wonder because the speed is higher and the material of the discs is different.
AndyH Posts: 1425	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 1:34 pm  Seems like if one were to record some LP test tracks — test tones, full frequency range sweep tones — with a new stylus (after the tone arm tracking/balance thing is correct) then one would have a standard against which to compare the stylus performance after 250 hours, 500 hours, or whenever one wanted. As long as one did not wait untill the stylus was trashed and ruining everything it touched, one should be able to determine if replacement was desirable in a more objective fashion.
ozpeter Location: Australia Posts: 3200	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 4:44 pm  Do 'stylus microscopes' tell one anything useful, apart from detecting gross conditions you should have heard anyway? - Ozpeter
Graeme Member Location: Spain Posts: 4663	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 4:56 pm  ozpeter wrote: Do 'stylus microscopes' tell one anything useful, apart from detecting gross conditions you should have heard anyway? Most of these things are around 30x magnification. It's difficult, if not impossible to see wear - you'd probably hear it before you saw it, if you have a reasonably good set of ears and know what to listen for. OTOH, they are useful for looking at the build-up of muck and crud and determining if you have cleaned the stylus effectively. _________________ Graeme Don't forget to join the new CEP forum at audiomastersforum
Graeme Member Location: Spain Posts: 4663	Posted - Sat Mar 29, 2003 5:02 pm  Havoc wrote: Is there a difference for 78 rpm needles? I'm not talking about the steel phonograph ones, but the modern versions. Are those more stressed than an ordinary 33 rpm needle? I wonder because the speed is higher and the material of the discs is different. You need to be a bit careful here - steel needles are one side only, but I doubt if there is anyone here using such things, they are more for the old record 'enthusiast' with an early player, not the restoration engineer. Many 'modern' 78 stylii are, in fact, sapphire (almost certainly if you have a 'turnover' type) and these have a much shorter life than diamond, I would imagine you're looking at around 100-150 hours for one of these. A diamond tip, I would expect to last much the same time as the LP version. _________________ Graeme Don't forget to join the new CEP forum at audiomastersforum
Havoc Posts: 735	Posted - Sun Mar 30, 2003 3:36 am  Thanks Greame. I was wondering about my Stanton D6827 78 rpm stylus. I guess it is a diamond. Even 100h (about 1500 sides) would do fine, I don't have that much to record of those.
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