Hi Chakster: While the MC-L1000 was certainly the most extreme of the range, that is not necessarily the same thing as musical enjoyment.
I partly agree with the following author, that many listeners would probably consider the MC-L10 to be better balanced, less merciless, and more musically enjoyable.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww013.upp.so-n...A MC-L1000 can malfunction or fail for a variety of reasons. Some problems cannot be corrected. The coil lead-out wires are flexed each and every time the cartridge is cued into an LP, and over time they can fatigue and break.The printed coils can develop internal cracks (perhaps due to the constant impacts transmitted into them from the stylus directly below), but there is some evidence that certain stylus cleaning liquids can migrate into the coils and cause oxidation, which will eventually break the coil traces.
However, the MC-L1000’s pole pieces are very close to the LP, and the gap between the pole pieces is very narrow. The proximity of the pole pieces to the LP, combined with the powerful magnetic field will efficiently "suck up" any ferrous-containing particles that are on the LP, and the narrowness of the gap means that once such particles collect in the gap, they will stay there. Since the gap is also where the printed coil resides, a build-up of debris here will gradually hamper movement of the coil, and eventually bring it to a complete halt.
If an MC-L1000 in such condition is taken apart and the gap carefully cleaned, there is a reasonable chance that it can be brought back to normal operating condition.
See the following page for more details.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fkuzutetu.cside3...