What should be my next cart and tonearm?

[abeidrov]

Hi Aziz - I"m more aware than worried. I try not to get to that point.

I have several cartridges (listed under my system link) and rotate through them ... maybe make a change every 4-6 months. I will buy a new cartridge maybe every 2 years, but the hard part is finding the right cartridge for me -- I found my last one through review. Now that my tonearm universe has expanded with the 3012R there should be more opportunities. I have never re-tipped a cartridge.

It’s a good thing and fun to have several carts and rotate them But still, you can’t be sure how badly your stylus is worn out unless you track each cart’s usage and check it under a microscope.

 

[mtemur]

Don’t worry it will not reach to a point to damage your records if you wear it out listening clean records. Because while it’s wearing out it will be polished or rasped by vinyl becoming a blunt knife on the edges. But if a crack or chip develops due to a drop then it will damage records badly. In the end it’s inevitable wearing out of your records. There will be some damage even if you use a new stylus but I don’t think damage on the records reaches to a concerning degree as it happens to stylus. Unfortunately wear out/damage on stylus after 500 hours is very noticeable. There is a saying; new records eat itself while old ones eating stylus. Clean records and stylus really helps.

 

[abeidrov]

Don’t worry it will not reach to a point to damage your records if you wear it out listening clean records. Because while it’s wearing out it will be polished or rasped by vinyl becoming a blunt knife on the edges. But if a crack or chip develops due to a drop then it will damage records badly. In the end it’s inevitable wearing out of your records. There will be some damage even if you use a new stylus but I don’t think damage on the records reaches to a concerning degree as it happens to stylus. Unfortunately wear out/damage on stylus after 500 hours is very noticeable. There is a saying; new records eat itself while old ones eating stylus. Clean records and stylus really helps.

Thanks, this is good to know. Do you think the Opus stylus will last at least 1000 hours before I really start to hear its damage? It’s mostly in the HF area and I probably won’t hear it anyway. Maybe other people with Opus 1 cart can share their experience.

 

[mtemur]

Thanks, this is good to know. Do you think the Opus stylus will last at least 1000 hours before I really start to hear its damage? It’s mostly in the HF area and I probably won’t hear it anyway. Maybe other people with Opus 1 cart can share their experience.

All I can say that a micro ridge or super fine line or equivalent stylus starts to show deterioration on SQ because of wearing out after 100-150 hours. After 500 hours it becomes more apparent by HF getting sharper. Actually it starts to lose top end (above 20K or 30K depending on the cartridge) and mistrack just below it which is heard as increased sibilance and harsh top end. I exaggerated it for a better explanation. This also applies to Opus 1 besides all cartridges.

 

[abeidrov]

I’ve been strongly advised to move my Opus to a Graham Phantom III SE arm and use 4Point for a second cart, maybe a mono one. Do you think it is a sound advice? What other arms are an ideal match to Opus 1 cart?

Thanks in advance,
Aziz

 

[Ron Resnick]

I’ve been strongly advised to move my Opus to a Graham Phantom III SE arm and use 4Point for a second cart, maybe a mono one. Do you think it is a sound advice? What other arms are an ideal match to Opus 1 cart?

Thanks in advance,
Aziz

I have an Opus1. I think the Opus 1 on a Graham Phantom Elite is a fantastic combination.

 

[ssfas]

It’s a good thing and fun to have several carts and rotate them But still, you can’t be sure how badly your stylus is worn out unless you track each cart’s usage and check it under a microscope.

The little 1000x usb microscopes won't tell you much. Personally I send them for professional inspection when I think necessary. I send them to Expert Stylus and if fully worn I get them retipped. I have one of ES's Denon 103R rebuilds, it's a really good cartridge.

 

[sbo6]

All I can say that a micro ridge or super fine line or equivalent stylus starts to show deterioration on SQ because of wearing out after 100-150 hours. After 500 hours it becomes more apparent by HF getting sharper. Actually it starts to lose top end (above 20K or 30K depending on the cartridge) and mistrack just below it which is heard as increased sibilance and harsh top end. I exaggerated it for a better explanation. This also applies to Opus 1 besides all cartridges.

Might you have any evidence to support the claim that after ~150 LPs there is degradation of sound?

 

[mtemur]

Might you have any evidence to support the claim that after ~150 LPs there is degradation of sound?

I don’t know if it counts but on AM software VTA and Zenith alignments the distortion levels increase significantly after 150 hours. It was lower than %2 when new and %2.6 after 150 hours.

 

[JackD201]

While I'm adding an AF 10 arm to replace my B-44 Elite and keeping my OG SAT in my main system (AF ONE), I've been intrigued by the current Ikeda high mass arms as well as their latest generation cartridge. I think it would be fun to mount one on an AF3 P. The traditional headshell mount would allow me to easily swap in my currently underused carts like old stone bodies, my SPU, even some MM carts.

I'm saving my EMT Banana for a future EMT project. The table is TBD and my JP-66 just needs it's volume potentiometer cleaned.