Ive had the same needles on my cartridges for ages and there is no lessening of sound quality at all, how do I know when I should replace them? If I keep the same ones on for too long cant they damage a records grooves?

It usually says it somewhere in the case when to change them.

I think my CC-1's say to change the headshells every 40-60 hours of playing

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I replace mine when a friend offers to buy mine. hehe.

the problem is that it's a very gradual decrease in quality so it is harder to actually tell. i bet if you stick new styli on the carts they will sound much better.

how long have you had them on for? usually they need replacing every 6 months - 1 year depending on how much you hammer them. 40-60 hours seems a bit short to me, i would probably do that in a month or 2. although in a club environment where high sound quality is paramount 40-60 hours is probably the best thing to do.

and yes, if you are using over-worn styli there will be more damage to your records.

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MUGGETS

quote:

Originally posted by tu_face and yes, if you are using over-worn styli there will be more damage to your records.

Whoops
Lucky my b'days soon, can get some newies - might try to get my parents to fork out for some Concordes
(May as well get new carts rather than new styli for crappy Stanton 500)

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**Man I'm Pretty**

quote:

Originally posted by Trance Nutter Whoops Lucky my b'days soon, can get some newies - might try to get my parents to fork out for some Concordes (May as well get new carts rather than new styli for crappy Stanton 500)

If your styli start to deform (cracking sound on the background), don't wait buying new ones or don't spin till your bday. Because when they start cracking noticably, your styli are well underway scraping bits outta your groove.

You can usually tell when dust starts to stick under your styli when you pick it up (with a good styli, it falls off). Because when they stick, it means the angle isn't straight anymore. It is NOT static electricity, because turntables are grounded through the mixer!

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Gear Specialist

hah...I got a stanton 500...the needle broke easily...same with the pickering xv-15 I had...upgraded to numark cc-1's

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quote:

Originally posted by DjVash If your styli start to deform (cracking sound on the background), don't wait buying new ones or don't spin till your bday. Because when they start cracking noticably, your styli are well underway scraping bits outta your groove. You can usually tell when dust starts to stick under your styli when you pick it up (with a good styli, it falls off). Because when they stick, it means the angle isn't straight anymore. It is NOT static electricity, because turntables are grounded through the mixer!

Well I'm glad this topic has come up, very good timing. I really don't know very much about carts/styli.

9 days, I think I can hold out without mixing for that long, although there isn't much really noticable cracking during the musical sections.

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**Man I'm Pretty**

Last edited by Trance Nutter on Sep-15-2004 at 08:14

How ironic.


My needles need to be changed!!


I have had my needle for about 6 months. About 4 hours of use per day. I noticed that the sound didnt sound as crisp and that dust was gahtering on the tip and sticking there alot ( I would literally put small dust balls off the needle after each use). The dust was sticking to the needle as the record played making the record sound worse.


Need to go out and buy needles.


Damn this is an expensive hobby!!

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http://www.musicv2.com/artist/davepiazza

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Piazza Damn this is an expensive hobby!!

its nearly as expensive as skag

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MUGGETS