The last couple of years I work from home, so I am able to listen to the stereo for 1.5 hours to 2 hours before work starts, and as a general rule 2 to 3 hours in the evening. So that is 3.5 to 5 hours a day. That adds up to a lot of time on a cartridge in years period.
In the past I would play vinyl in the morning, but the digital is so good I can use it for morning play. That way I am looking at about 2 hours a night on vinyl. That is still 700 hours a year on a cartridge or a bit more. So that is 2 years on a diamond as a rule of thumb before it is out for service.
I could rotate between two of my best cartridges on one table if i really wanted to. But I do have a second table with two arms, and one cartridge is currently installed on each table, with a third arm on the second table in which I keep a third cartridge.
As I was thinking about this process, I believe I have sussed out my solution. I have two Ortofon MC2000 cartridges, one with OEM cantilever the second I damaged last year. It has been fitted with a boron cantilever and diamond. Sounds quite nice actually. I think I will set the arm up for the OEM MC2000 and then also install the second cartridge on a different headshell. I wont change VTA settings but rather have that one as the casual cartridge, That way I don’t have to change SUT or anything else. That should be good enough for a casual cartridge, and meet my desire for good sound. A slight VTA variacne isnt going to be the end of the world. Who knows perhaps if I pick the right thickness of headshell everything will line up without any issues.
