How long should a stylus last?
The expected lifetime of a stylus is a question we are often asked. We have decided it’s time to shed some light on this matter with an official response from Ortofon:
With proper care we find that up to 1000 hours is possible without degradation of performance. The stylus does begin to exhibit changes after 1,000 hours, but the stylus life as a whole is expected to top 2,000 hours.
Proper care comprises the following:
1. Cleaning of record by means of carbon fibre brush before and after every use. Cleaning of record by using record cleaning machine once in a while.
2. Cleaning of stylus by means of a fine antistatic brush. Please remember to remove dust from the diamond tip before and after playback of each record.
3. Proper adjustment of antiskating, azimuth and tracking force
