How Often Should You Replace The Turntable Stylus?

The Stylus or the needle is a vital component of the turntable and most of the manufacturers recommend changing your stylus at around 1000 hours of record playing time. Both audible and physical indicators will tell you to know when the stylus should be replaced.

When does the turntable stylus to be replaced?

The frequency of replacing a turntable stylus depends upon the model and the life span of the previous stylus. Most of the companies advise to alter your stylus at approximately 1000 hours of record running time, if suppose you are using your stylus for one hour in a day then you can change your stylus for every couple of years.

This period also varies depending on the manufacturer and the type of materials being used. I would recommend you to check the manufacturers recommended life span of your stylus when you get it so that you will be able to know when the turntable stylus should be replaced.

Are there any ways to expand the life span?

Yes, of course. There are ways to expand the lifespan of a turntable’s stylus by following few simple steps, the most important thing is to treat your stylus with care, and also track the time how many hours it’s in service. Keep the record’s grooves clean, because excess dust or dirt can struck the grooves and can potentially damage the stylus, if the stylus is damaged it would affect the audio quality.

How to choose the stylus?

At first, it is always recommended to check the product manual to check what it recommends, styluses are not the same they can be a spherical or elliptical shape which has a huge impact on the sound quality. In most of the cases, the elliptical formed stylus is more perfect than a spherical needle because it create more stirring with the grooves so that it can extract more of its data. Again it also depends on the material of the stylus.

Conclusion

Depending on the cartridge you are using you will be able to change the stylus, if the Stylus is skipping or bouncing out of the channel then you have to immediately take out of it. You have to replace the stylus on a second-hand turntable. Listen for a dip in sound quality and it is a good tip to test the quality of the stylus or its lifespan.