The ever lasting diamond stylus...is it a myth or??


We all believe that a stylus has a certain life...perhaps on the order of several thousand hours. However, it occurs to me that if a stylus is used exclusively on new and/or pristine and clean vinyl and that the various parameters of set up are always maintained correctly; that it would/could be reasonable to expect the diamond to last almost indefinitely! The wear and tear of the groove against the diamond, particularly if the friction on the stone is minimized should allow an immense life. The other components of the cartridge can- and will, age far before the diamond shape is lost....due to the aging of the rubber and other soft components in the motor...BUT the diamond....I think perhaps not....thoughts???
128x128daveyf

Showing 1 response by johnnyb53

One side of one average album is ~one mile distance.

According to the Wikipedia article about the LP record, 
The average LP has about 1,500 feet (460 m or about a third of a mile) of groove on each side.
So both sides of a record combine to make about 2/3 of a mile of grooviness.

I'd read that 1400-1500' figure other places as well.