The general rule from the time I started collecting vinyl was to buy 1st pressing after that quality went down, 2nd have your arm and cartridge setup properly back then they used scopes and took 2 hours or more to aline both. Then store your LPs in rice sleeves, but after you play the LP-like tube gear both slowly start degrading as the groves become worn, the cartridge stylus also. Now if your dealer does not invest in scopes and proper equipment the decay and damage to the vinyl accelerates. Back then the guys into audio used reel-to-reel to playback their music and once you heard that you never go back to LP, same as hearing a 45rpm track to the 33-1/3 LP, again the LP came in last. But that was the only game in town for most of us so we lived with it and enjoyed it. After 2001 I went full CD and never looked back, sold my collection of vinyl for $$$$$ and used that money for audio gear. I Miss the covers of LPs and that is about it. Nothing against the format if you enjoy it that is great, but if not as the myth says the format. Reel to Reel is but today they want $450.00 a tape compared to $6.99 back the day in the ’60s and ’70s. Any format is good as the care taken, and even if mastered from a digital source, in fact, that can sound more accurate than coming from a master tape that is long past its prime and has degraded over the past 60 years. And chances are the master is long gone and they are using safety backups or less generation copies, so digital remasters is a life saver bring the sound back to a much higher quaity,
How many plays can you get out of a good record?
I haven't seen this question posed in the Audiogon forums, but I have seen many answers on generic audio sites, that say a record can be expected to last for "hundreds" of plays before any sonic degradation is noted, if well cared for.
I'm wondering if they might last even longer with modern audiophile styli / styluses, which track at around 1.8 grams. Does anyone have any real experience or knowledge about the longevity of records in such a scenario? (If records only last 100-200 plays before some degradation, then this means that playing a record once a week could be at least partially deteriorated in two to four years, which is a real shame.)