What is the average lifespan of a phono cartridge?

Hard to say, because there are differences from Manufacturer to Manufacturer.
I had a - heavy - Takeda Miyabi which was still strong after 8 years or regular
use (a few times per week), had a Shelter which was down after 1.5 years.

you don't see it as a red flag that used cartridges were always used for about "200 hours?" Many here will buy just about anything used, except a cartridge.

New phono cartridge is almost like new guitar strings. Unfortunately longer service makes sound more dull. In most cases I tend to keep it for 600 hours before purchasing or trading in to a new one.

There are a lot of variable involved. Cheaper cartridges use synthetic diamonds that don't last nearly as long as premium styli that are carefully cut and mounted so that the crystal structure is oriented properly to minimize wear.

How the user handles records and cartridges will also matter. If records and styli are kept clean, they last longer. According to one manufacturer (Benz or VdH, styli can last as long as 2,500 hours if the records are kept clean). I've used Lyra cartridges for close to 2,000 hours with no problems or sign of deterioration in tracking ability.

The rubber suspension parts of cartridges can go bad from aging and exposure to environmental agents (primarily ozone). So, even if unused, a cartridge could go bad. That is the theory, but, I've personally never encountered such problems--I've heard very old cartridges that still sound good after long storage.

My way of determining when a cartridge is beginning to go bad is to find the very few records that are challenging to track properly and listening for changes in the ability to handle the very few spots where distortion can be heard when everything is less than optimal.

Hah Lyras have whole different story on longetivity. 2nd to none indeed.

My findings are similar to others as posted. I had 2 Benz Ruby 2s which lasted for about 4-5 years. I am now using a Transfiguration Orpheus which is 3 years old and still very good. I'm not sure you can wear out a diamond stylus if your cart/arm are set up optimally. With commonly available anti-skate adjustability and digital scales enabling users to fine tune dynamic tracking force, I think in general cartridges are lasting longer than they did 20 years ago. I have been led to believe that the first thing to go is the suspension and not the stylus. Mistracking can often be heard on the inner grooves of poorly pressed or poorly cared for commercial pressings. I have found little or no distortion on the inner grooves of audiophile pressings even after the cartridge has been deemed old or worn out.

This is a great question. I began buying classic used cartridges ten years ago when a new cartridge I just bought disintegrated as I was installing it. It just fell apart, the body from the mount and the stylus assembly. I always wanted a Koetsu Pro IV, at the time they were unavailable new so I took a chance on a used one. It was perfect, so I bought another one six months later and it worked great. Since then I've bought (and sold to try others) over 20 second hand "classic" cartridges and all performed fine. Go figure. I suspect people who trade cartridges are just trying something new and thus don't put many hours on them.

I have bought in 1998 a second hand mk levinson mlc-1, it has been retiped twice by Van den Hull since that date and it works quite well. When you send it for retiping the company can have a look at the rubber suspension part and change it. I use it around 4 hours a week on a big plinthed lenco with a OL conqueror mk II and am quite satisfied.

I thought people might be interested to know that my Rondo Red has just passed the 2,000 hour mark and is showing no signs of deterioration. The cartridge was initially aligned using a Mobile Fidelity Geo-Disc.

I traded the last Rondo Red in well before the 2,000 hours, which I now slightly regret, but this time I thought I'd see just how long it would actually last. I have a new Quintet Black S ready for when this happens.

All records, new or preowned, are vacuum cleaned and transferred to anti static sleeves prior to the initial play. I use a carbon/felt brush for the discs and a carbon brush for the stylus before and after each side.

No other treatments are applied.

Hope this information is helpful.

How long a cartridge will last is a kind of vague question.  More specific reference to components in the cartridge might be necessary.

Stylus shape, stylus composition, crystal orientation, tracking force, record condition, user habits and other factors contribute to the life, or shortening thereof, of a cartridge and, particularly a stylus.

In many cases, a moving magnet or moving iron with a "replaceable stylus" may not have an expiration date.  If the suspension holds up or a suspension is part of the replacement stylus, what is there to wear out that can't be replaced?

Most moving coil cartridges can have a new stylus and even a new cantilever installed of the suspension components and motor are still operational.

I recently had a new cantilever and stylus put onto a 20+ year old Lyra Clavis Da Capo with excellent results.  I will continue to use that cartridge with rebuilds when necessary.  That will continue until there is a more massive failure of the suspension or motor.  

Bpoletti is exactly right. The stylus is what wears out. On MM cartridges, the stylus is 95% of the total price of a new cartridge, and in some cases it’s actually cheaper to just buy a whole new cartridge if you shop around. Stylus profile has a lot to do with stylus lifespan, because of the size of the contact area. A conical / spherical profile will only be good for 300 hours, while a elliptical could go for 500, and a line contact 800 or 1000. Depending on how frequently you play records, you might need to replace the stylus because the bushings become dry and brittle from age before the stylus tip wears out. 

Here’s a question... what does a worn out cartridge look like...and better still...sound like?
if we all agree that just one pass of a worn out stylus will ruin your record, then determining that your cartridge is worn out...is going to cost you a record..or more.
Interestingly, to me, there must be numerous folks who are destroying their precious vinyl, precisely because they are altering the groove with their worn out stylus...and will not even truly realize this...until they play the same LP with a new cartridge...and hear the damage that they done...which is now irreversible.

One side benefit in the design of Decca and London cartridges is they contain no rubber dampers to dry out, if such a thing actually happens in those that do.

When a stylus is worn, or the suspension has begun to fail, it will not track as cleanly as before.  This is first evident on more difficult to track passages, such as when a female vocalist its a not really hard or gets a bit too close to the microphone.  When you start to notice this sort of change, and cleaning the stylus does not cure the problem, it is time for a replacement.  It is NOT the case that slight, occasional mis-tracking from wear will ruin the record; records are not as delicate as some would make them out to be.  

There is no really good way to determine the extent of wear other than listening for it.  Visual inspection is nearly impossible to do right; often a visual check will not show wear or other problems that are quite evident from just listening.  

It depends on the stylus profile: Conical has very short life up to 300hrs, MicroRidge has the longes life up to 2000 hrs!

I see ads for used cartridges stating that its barely broken in at 200 hours

This is not true, even for Elliptical stylus is almost half life!
You don’t have to worry about Shibata, MicroLine, LineContact, Stereohedron ... if you’re sure that it was in use just for 200 hrs, but normally an audiogon seller who stated 200 hrs for each of his secondhand cartridges is a cheater, he has no idea because he’s not a first owner and does not documented an hrs of use. Some of his vintage carts are already worn out and inspection by SoundSmith or any other Re-tipper is a must have! Especially if one particular sample does not sound as good as another newer sample of the same cart. 

@chakster
that is exactly right. I have a friend who has destroyed numerous valuable records that he owns while playing old SPU’s and other London’s etc., Poor guy didn’t realize that the stylus was worn out, even though the suspension seemed to be ok.The elliptical and conical styluses were so worn that after just one play the damage was done. He only recently discovered what he had done by listening to a new Clearaudio Goldfinger ---and then hearing the damage! Shame that somebody had strongly recommended the older cartridges and he followed their advice---blindly.

Agree with @chakster .  Different stylus profiles have different lifespans.  Also, the construction quality of a stylus can impact lifespan (crystal structure alignment).  The various line contact styles / profiles listed by chaster have a larger contact surface area that spreads the load over the stylus.  This increases lifespan.  A conical cartridge profile has a very small contact area, actually just a point of contact.  These wear very quickly.  

BUT NOT TO FEAR!!!   

Just because some damage might be done to a record due to a worn conical stylus does NOT mean that your records are totally ruined and unplayable.  A new cartridge using a very small line contact stylus or a cart rebuilt by Soundsmith or others using a very small line contact stylus will be tracing the record groove in a different area, typically tracking MUCH DEEPER in the groove.  This area may not have been damaged.  May not have ever even been touched by a stylus.

I recently had Soundsmith rebuild a cartridge using one of their very small line contact stylus / boron cantilever combinations.  When playing some of my collection that was damaged in the early 80s by a worn Shure conical stylus came out clean sounding and like new.  No audible damage or distortion.  The stylus was obviously tracking a "virgin" part of the groove.

@bpoletti 

I don't agree. Once the groove is damaged, that is going to severely impact the SQ of the record, period. Just because your stylus is tracking a slightly different section of the groove...which may or may not be true, doesn't mean to say that the stylus won't be also tracking the damaged section...and that damage is usually pretty significant...and easily heard. YMMV.

@daveyf you do know that the majority of
stylii are inferior conical/spherical contact? Even a lowly bonded elliptical stylus can track virgin vinyl that the dreaded conical/spherical stylus has not spoiled. Then microline styli can go even further. Don’t give up so easily!!

It is possible to trace a different part of the groove and mitigate at least some groove damage; I've heard this myself.  When a record is damaged by mis-tracking or a bad stylus, chunks of vinyl are removed so that the wall becomes pitted, it is possible to avoid these pits by contacting the groove above and below that area.  When a record is played, the stylus deforms the groove slightly, but because vinyl is highly elastic, it snaps back to its original shape.  The pits will affect how the groove deforms, so even though a different stylus might not be tracing the pits, the absence of vinyl will affect how the groove deforms, so, in that sense, the pitting cannot be totally avoided unless one uses a system like the ELP laser table.  I saw a demonstration of that table where a severely worn record was played with the laser focused at different groove depth--when the laser avoided the damaged part of the groove the record sounded like it was new.

Dear @tbbromguard: Years ago Ortofon made a research about and they found out that after 500 hours any stylus tip showed signs of deterioration and this means that after those 500 hours that stylus tip it’s not tracking as is new: obviously.

In those times they said that when cartridge approach the 1K hours it’s time for re-tip.

Those informtion from Ortofon makes sense because if it’s true that at 500-K hours the stylus tip can has more hours to play with it’s true too thta’s is performing aginst listening enjoyment and against the LP grooves lifespan.

I know that through our ears and even after 1.5K-2K hours we just do not listen nothing wrong ( we are not aware of. ) but the damage exist in the stylus tip and will ruin those LP grooves.

Any one decides when to re-tip but maybe is time to think about again.

R.

What is clearly stated in the manual of ZYX Premium 4D cartridge is that a LIFE TIME of the 3 um x 60 um (Micro Ridge 0,07 mm) stylus is 2000 hrs at 2g tracking force. I believe that Nakatsuka-San is qualified to say the truth even if he’s got a profit on every exchange of the worn cartridges to a new ones!

So 2000 hrs at 2g tracking force is a life time of brand new Micro Ridge stylus according to ZYX.

Buy cartridges with Micro Ridge or similar ultra high-end needles to use them for 2000 hours without retiping them.

@chakster 

that advice is not universal. Any stylus can be damaged and worn in far less time, depending on whether the arm is adjusted correctly, the overall treatment of the cartridge, and most importantly- the condition of the vinyl that is being utilized. A record that is full of pits and has dirty grooves will wear down any cartridge in a much quicker time. Some cartridges may last even longer than 2000 hours...depending on how they are treated, OTOH, the exact same cartridge may last just a mere fraction of that time.
Stylus shape is no guarantee of long wear. 

Well, i am not afraid of used vinyl and my interest is original pressings from the 70's. The benefit of playin used vinyl with Shibata, LineContact, MicroRidge, Stereohedron, MicroLine, MicroRidge..  is explained earlier in this post.

Conical stylus can't touch (damage) the area of the groove that Shibata can read easily. Even if the vinyl is slightly worn by previous owner during the 1970's it is most likely worn by conventional conical tip or an elliptical tip. Shibata can read the undamaged part of the groove on the same vinyl. This is the reason why i always buyin a cartridges with the most advanced diamond profiles. Another reason why i like the MM/MI is replaceable stylus, so i can compare used stylus to a new stylus by swapping them in 5 seconds (which is impossible with MC carts). For the same reason i like to try different styli on my MM carts to compare one cantilever/stylus combo to another. 

We're not talking about accidental damage, sh*t happens, i know. 
I believe an experienced audiophiles know how to set up a cartridge and a tonearm too. 

Simple FACT: LineContact type of the stylus has much longed life than conventional conical/elliptical, that's it. 

    

What's the best one can hope for, any stylus ? 3000 hours or so ?

I don’t know any audiophile who will stick to one cartridge forever, normally people sell cartridges before the stylus is worn out, but when we’re buyin used cartridges it’s nice to buy those with long life to insure ourself, it’s also nice to buy from a collectors who has many carts in rotation (then most of them have low hrs of use).

I can’t imagine myself using one cartridge for 2000 hrs, so i don't care. 
But i don't want to buy a used cartridge designed only for 300-500 hrs, especially the vintage MC which can not be retipped by the original manufacturer. The opportunity to find NOS stylus for MM is more optimistic. 

Dear @inna : If you want first rate quality level performances on what you are listening and want to preserve in mint condition your LP's then the ideal number is 1K hours and no more than 1.5K hours.

Could be interesting that a cartridge designer as @jcarr could chime about maybe not only me but almost all are wrong on the subject.

R.

Well, not my case, but some cartridges are extremely expensive, and I am quite sure that many audiophiles having them will want them to last for a very long time. You normally don’t throw away a perfectly good $5k or more cartridge.

You normally don’t throw away a perfectly good $5k or more cartridge.

This is a typical MC dilemma

... and $5k is low budget MC as we can see nowadays, why not a $15k cartridge just for 1000 hrs as Raul said ? LOL

Official trade-in (instead of re-tip) is just about 60-80% of the new cartridge, good business :)

This is what we call premium segment

Yeah...not for me, anyway. And if some vintage MMs sound as good as you say they do, it makes even less sense. But then the problem is that there are not enough of them for everyone. Some will think that $5-$15 for an hour of listening is still acceptable expense. A little crazy especially if you play turntable a lot but better than buying $1500 pants, I guess. Opinions vary, though.

I have a Rega Planar 3 from 1982 with a Grace 747 arm.  I've been using a Supex 900E+ moving coil as the cartridge for my really musical LP's.  I still use it today (39 years later) and it still is my favorite.  It has the original stylus with around 1500 hours, maybe.  Of course, I have a few Grado's and an Adcom CrossCoil line trace for every day listening. .  The Adcom is 37 years old and still sounds good even though it is not a good choice for my arm.