Time to change my needle?

I'm wondering how i'm supposed to tell (besides vaguely remembering how often I play records) when I'm supposed to change my needle. I've had my Shure M97xE for about a year and there are days when I'll spin vinyl for a couple hours and days when I don't at all. The guy I bought the cartridge from said if i'm playing for a couple hours a day, I should change the needle after 6 months. But I dont' think i've noticed a change in sound quality, and when I look closely at the needle, I can't tell if it looks worn in any way. I know I should probably just go ahead and get it replaced, but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me in general how many record sides can be played with a needle before it needs replacing. I'm thinking of making a little chart when I get a new needle and making a mark each time I play a record side to keep track. Thoughts?

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Originally Posted by DaHaq

The guy I bought the cartridge from said if i'm playing for a couple hours a day, I should change the needle after 6 months.

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Perhaps in the old days of ceramic "needles", it was necessary to replace after five or six hundred hours. A good cartridge should last a couple thousand.

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Originally Posted by DaHaq

I know I should probably just go ahead and get it replaced, but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me in general how many record sides can be played with a needle before it needs replacing.

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A bigger villain to record wear is simply dirt. Short of buying a record cleaning machine like a VPI, I would get some sort of record brush. As you mentioned, the sound will begin to change once it's worn. In some cases, it is not the stylus itself that has worn - rather the shank has lost its compliance and is causing the sound to be harder and more brittle.

rw

I do have a carbon fiber record brush that I use on my records before each play. I also brush the needle before each use with the little brush that came with the cartridge. If a record is quite dirty I will clean it with alcohol, although I can't afford a VPI or Nitty Gritty at the moment. So, I suppose I will just wait until I can hear some sort of sound abnormality before I need to replace the needle? Although I have heard from some that it can damage records even before you hear any sign of it.

If you want to verify changes in your vinyl playback, you could record one of your albums and archive it (whether through tape, CD, or digital file). Then periodically make another recording and do A/B comparisons. Worn needles will create audible sibilance in the highs, so that's the first thing to listen for. In general, with regular usage, you'll need to replace the need at least every other year or annually, depending on how much you play your albums and how clean those albums are.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll probably replace my needle pretty soon

...snatch it up. I happened to find a dissecting microscope at a local thrift store for fifteen bucks, and it has really come in handy. It has two eyepieces and almost the ideal magnification, but a little more would be better.

Laz

I have easy access to microscopes - what should one look for to detect wear?
thanks.

I have a jeweller's loupe that gives pretty good magnification, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. Is the needle supposed to look sharper as it gets used? Or more rounded? Is there discoloration? argh

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Originally Posted by DaHaq

I have a jeweller's loupe that gives pretty good magnification, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. Is the needle supposed to look sharper as it gets used? Or more rounded? Is there discoloration? argh

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A jeweler's loupe will not give you enough magnification to check the condition of the stylus. You would need about 200x magnification. Audio stores used to have scopes and some still do. If you can find one in your area they will check your stylus and also let you take a look. Audio Technica used to have nice information showing the different types of stylus and you could see the shapes of eliptical and micro line stylus. This will help if you find a microscope on your own. Also if you buy a new stylus look at it under the microscope before play and look at the old one and if they look similar the old one will not be to worn to continue using it. This can all be a lot of work and that is why I replace my Ortofon stylus yearly.

www.turntablebasics.com and click on cartridge/styli and you will see 4 popular stylus shapes and the difference in contact area of elliptical and micro line stylus.

Thanks for the link JohnMichael, I hadn't heard of micro line before. From the description it sounds like they last longer, reduce record wear, and perhaps sound better. They seem to also be more expensive than elliptical styli, which makes me wonder if the extra longevity vs elliptical generally justifies the increased price. Can anyone answer this?

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Originally Posted by DaHaq

Thanks for the link JohnMichael, I hadn't heard of micro line before. From the description it sounds like they last longer, reduce record wear, and perhaps sound better. They seem to also be more expensive than elliptical styli, which makes me wonder if the extra longevity vs elliptical generally justifies the increased price. Can anyone answer this?

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The AT Micro Line will wear slowly due to its design. Also the longer footprint of a stylus will play more of the groove. If you look at the contact point of the elliptical and think about it wearing the groove. The Micro Line will then play the groove above and below the eliptical wear pattern sometimes improving the sound of worn records. Also with the greater footprint the force of the stylus is distributed over a larger area and reduces record wear. The set up of Micro Line is much more critical and the sound can be brighter. The AT 440 ML which is available for around $99 might be a good way to experiment with a more radical stylus. I do not know what Shure might have for your cartridge in a fine line type of stylus. I do not know if a V15 stylus would fit your cartridge body.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaHaq

I'm wondering how i'm supposed to tell (besides vaguely remembering how often I play records) when I'm supposed to change my needle. I've had my Shure M97xE for about a year and there are days when I'll spin vinyl for a couple hours and days when I don't at all. The guy I bought the cartridge from said if i'm playing for a couple hours a day, I should change the needle after 6 months. But I dont' think i've noticed a change in sound quality, and when I look closely at the needle, I can't tell if it looks worn in any way. I know I should probably just go ahead and get it replaced, but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me in general how many record sides can be played with a needle before it needs replacing. I'm thinking of making a little chart when I get a new needle and making a mark each time I play a record side to keep track. Thoughts?

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Actually, a good quality stylus will last you a long, long time. I doubt that you would need to replace it more than once every few years and thats if you play a lot of records. If you buy a stylus scope you can view the stylus and tell whether it is worn or not. A worn stylus will look like there are chunks taken out of it. You will know a worn stylus as soon as you see it in the scope. If you play records that are in good shape, the stylus will last much longer. Again, a stylus scope will tell you all you need to know.

I'll have to see if the bio lab at school will let me use one of their microscopes :D