lifespan of stylii?

souter

Hi,
having recomissioned my turntable after a decade long absence y linking it with a halfway decent amp, I was initially blown away by the sound of my records, especially once I'd renewed the stylus.
However, it hasn't been that long (only a few hours of 1 track per LP/single) and the quality seems to be degrading. Am I getting blase or is the stylus getting worn?

Turntable is a dual 505-4, cartridge was whatever it came with, and I think this is was my new stylus: http://www.stylusplus.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=65

Slaphead07

It might be that the needle is no longer aligned properly which would actully cause permanent damage to the disk so check that it's seated correctly.

I'm delighted that you're rediscovering vinyl. It might be, on paper anyway, a lesser media but nothing sounds as good as vinyl in a well balanced system.

Anyway... my first thought was that you should upgrade the cart (and by default the stylus) to something a bit beefier. The Deck is a good one, a bit of a classic in fact, and a decent cart, an Ortefon or Rega maybe (€50 -€70) would give very impressive results.

souter

Cheers Slappy (hope I'm not being over familiar) - the needle does appear to be 10-20 degrees off vertical when I look at it. I've nudged it back with my pinky. Have to wait till the morning before I can listen again.
Vinyl rules!

big_moe

thats mad... i was just going to make a very similar post! i recently got my hands on a 3 year old Project audio debut mk2, and it has a stanton 500 cart on it. what would be a good quality, resonably priced replacement?? i was thinking about the ortofon om5e, bout 70quid... or would i need to go higher to hear a difference??

Slaphead07

big_moe wrote:

thats mad... i was just going to make a very similar post! i recently got my hands on a 3 year old Project audio debut mk2, and it has a stanton 500 cart on it. what would be a good quality, resonably priced replacement?? i was thinking about the ortofon om5e, bout 70quid... or would i need to go higher to hear a difference??

I have a Project myself (a mk5 with a mk 9 arm) and I've been through a few carts.... I'd suggest a Sumiko Oyster - similar price range, maybe even cheaper, but it seems to work well with Project decks. The Ortofon is what the decks actuslly ship with so it's good too.

Dancing_Priest

I have a dual cs505-3 myself and am finding it a great turntable, my first real one actually!
By the sounds of it your cartridge is not alligned properly and is causing the needle to be off centre, my needle was exactly the same as you describe it when I got it first. I managed to find a brand new ortofon om10 cartridge and stylus on ebay for about €26. What you should do is google for cartridge protractor, Its a PDF you can print out and overlay on your turntabe to make sure your cartridge is alligned correctly, TBH I wouldnt play any more records until you do this, as a badly alligned one will damage your records.
Tell me, is the pitch control belt snapped on yours as well?
I am told that the best cartridge for the cs505's is the Audio Technica at110-e. Its about €40 and supposedly has a much nicer sound than the ortofons, I might pick one up for a change in a year or so, but I love the look of the ortofon cartridge and stylus
Big Mo- €70 is a crazy price to pay for an om-5!