Sutherland Club House

Mather said:
And I'd bet that my brain is an evil bitch and will absolutely make my ears hear things that aren't there... Hence why I don't use tube amps.
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To be fair what I’d added as an edit too means that you should relax more…

“I’m guessing that because you really clean your records well and keep on top of stylus cleaning that your styli will last well beyond the quoted hours which are likely to be on the conservative side.”

Also the more advanced the stylus profile and the more up the line into MC I go the longer they seem to be able to go before they start to degrade.
 
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Joe Mac said:
To be fair what I’d added as an edit too slowly means that you should relax more…

“I’m guessing that because you really clean your records well and keep on top of stylus cleaning that your styli will last well beyond the quoted hours which are likely to be on the conservative side.”

Also the more advanced the stylus profile and the more up the line into MC I go the longer they seem to be able to go before they start to degrade.
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Yeah actually the guy I sourced my Paua from suggested he usually goes as high as 1500 hours on the Soundsmiths with ultrasonic cleaning. So it's definitely gunna be a while. I'm at 48 hours and I think I bought this thing in January. So at this rate it will last 3-4 years before it needs a rebuild.
 
Mather said:
Yeah actually the guy I sourced my Paua from suggested he usually goes as high as 1500 hours on the Soundsmiths with ultrasonic cleaning. So it's definitely gunna be a while. I'm at 48 hours and I think I bought this thing in January. So at this rate it will last 3-4 years before it needs a rebuild.
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I’ve found that with nude mounted Shibatta and Micro Line styli that it’s nearer 2000 hours and that’s about 2 years for me.
 
Mather said:
I started tracking hours on my new cart and discovered very quickly that I am not a responsible enough person to pay attention to tracking hours on my new cart.
I need like, a cart intern.
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I use stylus timers for cartridges with a piece of masking tape on the back to write down which cartridge it’s for. I also use a small field notes journal to track new gear I’ve auditioned over the last year or so. It’s worked for my ADHD brain.
 
Mather said:
I started tracking hours on my new cart and discovered very quickly that I am not a responsible enough person to pay attention to tracking hours on my new cart.
I need like, a cart intern.
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I track sides rather than hours. I have a little chrome hand counter that I click for each side played. Multiply that times 22 minutes and you get a conservative estimate of minutes played.

I use one counter per turntable but whenever I swap cartridges I have to put a little label on the cart I swapped out. That is a bit of a pain.
 
Genuine question: what is the intended result/feeling you guys seek when tracking burn in hours on carts and gear?
 
Ghost said:
Genuine question: what is the intended result/feeling you guys seek when tracking burn in hours on carts and gear?
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I have experienced burn-in more with carts than equipment, likely because I buy most of my equipment used. With carts, for the first 50-100 hours, I find that they can sound “uptight”, as if there is a limitation on timbre, decay and warmth. Around 100 hours, they seem to “relax” and “bloom” a bit such that you get the sense that the cart has fully reached its ability to respond to the grooves.

I’m sure there are more scientific descriptors, but that’s the sensation I get.
 
Ghost said:
Genuine question: what is the intended result/feeling you guys seek when tracking burn in hours on carts and gear?
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For cartridges I’m tracking hours for wear/replacement stylus. I just think about burn in until I reach a manufacturer spec.

For hardware it’s mostly tracking the first hundred hours or so to see if anything changes.
 
Angsty said:
I have experienced burn-in more with carts than equipment, likely because I buy most of my equipment used. With carts, for the first 50-100 hours, I find that they can sound “uptight”, as if there is a limitation on timbre, decay and warmth. Around 100 hours, they seem to “relax” and “bloom” a bit such that you get the sense that the cart has fully reached its ability to respond to the grooves.

I’m sure there are more scientific descriptors, but that’s the sensation I get.
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Oh my bad, I def believe in burn in (for some components) but more so was wondering why you’re curious enough to track the hours? Do you use it to have a reference point in determining when a cart is on its way out?
 
Ghost said:
Oh my bad, I def believe in burn in (for some components) but more so was wondering why you’re curious enough to track the hours? Do you use it to have a reference point in determining when a cart is on its way out?
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Manufacturers tend to quote guideline hours that a stylus should last. Some people will track and change at that point. Other will wait until they hear a degradation in sound and change then.
 
Mather said:
I started tracking hours on my new cart and discovered very quickly that I am not a responsible enough person to pay attention to tracking hours on my new cart.
I need like, a cart intern.
Click to expand...
Joe Mac said:
It’s an utter ridiculous and thankless task. The table that I’d love to buy, and that costs more than the rest of my system combined, has an onboard cartridge hours counter…
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Which table is that? I saw one recently that had that but don’t remember what it was. Feickert?
 
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