Upgrade from Sumiko Blue Point #2

But I almost guarantee that the Clearaudio is made in Japan.

Thanx lewm, I have had several Clearaudios and they all say made in Germany whether that is true or not. If you look at the construction my comment holds. The Japanese are very capable of building fantastic cartridges. I have several but we are talking about a specific price point. All you have to do is look at the diamond and the way it is fastened to the cantilever. The goal is to have the lowest effective mass possible. Crimping the end of an aluminum tube and shoving a big diamond through a hole in it is not the best way to the lowest effective mass. 

I've read average life of a stylus is 1000-1500 hours depending on how well you take care of it. Brushing after every side keeping records clean and not playing worn questionable condition records. Is this a pretty accurate estimate. Kinda effects what I am willing to spend. I do see a few deals on quintet bronze. Wondering if that would be a noticeable step up from my blue point no2.

I have had several Clearaudios and they all say made in Germany whether that is true or not.

There’s no need for the cartridge to be made in Germany even if it says so. It is enough that *something* has been done to the cartridge in Germany and the "Made in Germany" imprint is perfectly legitimate.

This kind of thing is entirely standard in pretty much every industry (fashion, horology, cars, whatever) and perfectly legal despite also being perfectly dishonest.

So there you are agrippa. Humans are dishonest especially when money is involved. Yankee6000 I still think the Ortofon Quintet Black S is worth the stretch but if you have to stay below $800 the AT33Sa is a very reasonable choice. You should be able to get way more than 1500 hours out of a stylus. I have never lost a cartridge due to stylus wear and I look at them routinely with a medical microscope. During the child years (20 years) I had the same cartridge a Sumiko Tallisman S. It finally died when one channel went out. A post mortem exam reveled that one of the wires from the right channel coil to the post had broken right at the coil. The stylus was in perfect shape. I go through a Projector bulb every three years at 2000 hours. I listen to way more music than I watch TV. So say I listen 4000 hours in three years and about 1/4 is vinyl vs digital. That means I had put around 6000 hours on one stylus. I think this is in keeping with what my audiophile friends get although now we all have several cartridges each. I think popular figures are lower because lower quality diamonds wear faster as will diamonds with smaller contact patches.The Tallisman had a Shibata Stylus on a Sapphire cantilever.
Point being that if you do a good job keeping things clean you amortize this investment over a longer period!