How long does your diamond stylus last?

[Les Adams]

I realize this is very subjective as stylus life depends on many factors, but my own recent experience has led me to ask other members who use vinyl to share their experience.

The other day I purchased the Diana Krall album "The girl in the other room" - what a gorgeous recording and performance. However, I noticed there was some slight sibilance on her vocals and occasionally the attack of the hi-hats sounded slightly wooden. This is the first time I have been aware of any such distortion on my turntable, or at least the first time it has been significant enough for me to stop listening and start investigating. At first I thought it might be the pressing, but just in case it was mis-tracking I tried increasing the VTF by 1/4g, adjusting the bias and cleaning the stylus with isopropyl alcohol but there was no improvement, I therefore decided to try the new replacement stylus I had recently purchased on Ebay. That cured it - distortion gone! I was also aware that I could now hear Ms Krall's breathing clearer and there was an overall improvement in sound quality, the hi-hats "ting" as they should and definition is improved. The obvious conclusion was that my stylus was showing audible signs of wear, so I replaced it.

I was surprised by this because my V15Vxmr is only two years old and based on an aproximate vinyl listening time of 5 hrs per week that is only 260 hrs. Even if I double that time it is still far short of the 1000 hrs I always understood a diamond should last. As the V15 tracks at only 1grm I believed the diamond should last longer than most, which is why I raise the question in this thread.

To answer the obvious questions, all my vinyl is in excellent / mint condition, clean and free from fingerprints. Any surface specs of dust are removed before playing using a carbon fibre brush. The VTF has been set at 1g from when the cartridge was new and the VTA and alignment are all set correctly. The stylus has never been dropped or knocked and is always lowered onto the record using the SME damped lowering device, so there is no cantilever damage.

How long does your stylus last?