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When to replace cartridge or stylus?

I have a Benz Wood H2 cartridge that I bought used about 2 years ago which supposedly had low hours on it. It sounds just fantastic in my setup. How do you know when the stylus or entire cartridge needs to be replaced? Will it slowly just degrade over time or will it something that will be obvious. If it is a slow decay then I would imagine that it would be hard to realize its performance faultering without A/B'ing with a new one. I certainly dont count the hours I play on it as some do. Also, with a Benz, is it recommeded to replace the whole cart or just have it re-tipped. Re-tipping can save you some bucks.
abruceaudino

Showing 1 response by surfgod

surfgod
229 posts
 
I have the same cartridge and you can definetly tell when it will start going bad. They say a cartridge has about a 2 yr life span but that would depend on the tracking weight used. Not that I know anything about setting up a turntable. Benz has a great buyback program where they will give you a significant discount toward a new one. Retipping is also an option. I don't know what kind of music you listen to but I heard significant differences when acoustic music was played.
Good Luck.
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