Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Mr Moustache said:
Elliptical stylus are usually 300 hrs though no?
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There are too many variables to come up with an absolute number. Nagaoka has always specified a very short interval though. It could be that they use synthetic diamonds as opposed to natural. It could also be that to them, any deviation from absolutely perfect means it’s time for a replacement.

Other things also come into play: setup (alignment, tracking force, VTA and azimuth) as well as cleanliness of the vinyl being played. Dirty vinyl is abrasive which not only accelerates record wear, but stylus wear as well. Also keeping the stylus clean will add longevity.

I replace mine annually, but am actually thinking of going biannually. I never reach the point where I can hear stylus wear.
 
Ginormousthumbs said:
I feel like this is the oil change hoodwink all over again.
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I don’t see oil changes as a hoodwink. I see oil changes as cheap insurance. My car calls for an oil change annually or every 10k miles.I change it every 5k. I’d never go 10k on a turbocharged direct injection engine. All the manufacturer cares about is minimal/no claims during the warranty period. They want it to appear inexpensive to care for. And they’d like you to buy another car when your warranty is up, not keep the one you have.

I see stylus wear kind of like tire wear. Let’s say the tire comes new with 10/32” of an inch of tread, and 2/32” of an inch is worn out- both common measurements. The trick to both tire and stylus replacement is to get the most use of them while never hitting the “worn out” limit.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I don’t see oil changes as a hoodwink. I see oil changes as cheap insurance. My car calls for an oil change annually or every 10k miles.I change it every 5k. I’d never go 10k on a turbocharged direct injection engine. All the manufacturer cares about is minimal/no claims during the warranty period. They want it to appear inexpensive to care for. And they’d like you to buy another car when your warranty is up, not keep the one you have.

I see stylus wear kind of like tire wear. Let’s say the tire comes new with 10/32” of an inch of tread, and 2/32” of an inch is worn out- both common measurements. The trick to both tire and stylus replacement is to get the most use of them while never hitting the “worn out” limit.
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10k is pretty impressive. But I’m referring to the 3k oil change when in reality you can do 6k.
 
Ginormousthumbs said:
10k is pretty impressive. But I’m referring to the 3k oil change when in reality you can do 6k.
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I’d agree with that. Oil and engine technology have both come a long way.

Back to tire wear for a second. It seems that like styli, there are different standards for “worn out” tires. Federal law is 4/32” for required replacement on commercial vehicles. State law for private vehicles varies, but 2/32” is common.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I’d agree with that. Oil and engine technology have both come a long way.

Back to tire wear for a second. It seems that like styli, there are different standards for “worn out” tires. Federal law is 4/32” for required replacement on commercial vehicles. State law for private vehicles varies, but 2/32” is common.
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I get where you are coming from.
I just think for the most part, changing the stylus/cart once a year is more than adequate. For myself, I’m not at the point where I’m tracking hours. I’ll start looking for a new cart in November.
 
Ginormousthumbs said:
I get where you are coming from.
I just think for the most part, changing the stylus/cart once a year is more than adequate. For myself, I’m not at the point where I’m tracking hours. I’ll start looking for a new cart in November.
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I track my usage and to be honest since COVID reared its ugly head I've been doing even more spinning than usual. I'll probably keep track for a few more months, but the totals I'm seeing has me at a cart change ever 18 to 24 months depending on how this last bit of tracking goes........but I have backups, so no worries there :)
 
AnthonyI said:
I track my usage and to be honest since COVID reared its ugly head I've been doing even more spinning than usual. I'll probably keep track for a few more months, but the totals I'm seeing has me at a cart change ever 18 to 24 months depending on how this last bit of tracking goes........but I have backups, so no worries there :)
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1.5-2years is damn good. I would say 98% of my listening takes place on the weekend. If I play anything during the week, it’s only one record. Now that I have a proper cleaner, I should get more use out of my cart.
 
Memo said:
Thinking of getting the Kanto speaker stands (Kanto: SP32PL Speaker Stands for YU4 / YU6 / TUK (32" Height / Black / Pair)) for my ELAC Debut Reference speakers. Can't afford the ELAC speaker stands 😅
Anybody got experience with these? or are there any better around the same price range or lower?
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I can't speak to these with any personal experience, but Pangea products in general provide nice bang for the buck quality (I've been very happy with their power cords, as have a number of other folks here). Also, these stands allow you to add sand or steel shot to the legs to add more sound dampening and stability. The Kantos don't have this capability.

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www.audioadvisor.com www.audioadvisor.com
 
Memo said:
Thinking of getting the Kanto speaker stands (Kanto: SP32PL Speaker Stands for YU4 / YU6 / TUK (32" Height / Black / Pair)) for my ELAC Debut Reference speakers. Can't afford the ELAC speaker stands 😅
Anybody got experience with these? or are there any better around the same price range or lower?
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Those Kanto stands look a little small for your Elacs. The top plate is 4.3" x 7.1", while the Elac footprint is 8.18” x 10.82″. Plus the Kanto speakers are to be mounted with a screw onto the stands, and I'm guessing the Elacs can't be attached in this manner.
 
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Splunders said:
I can't speak to these with any personal experience, but Pangea products in general provide nice bang for the buck quality (I've been very happy with their power cords, as have a number of other folks here). Also, these stands allow you to add sand or steel shot to the legs to add more sound dampening and stability. The Kantos don't have this capability.

Contact Us

www.audioadvisor.com www.audioadvisor.com
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Sometimes you can get the cheaper OEM version of the Pangea stuff at monoprice (ie equipment racks, stands). I would get stands that can be filled with play sand, lead shot, litter or rice that can add to there mass and decoupling.
 
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