@richardbrand It is not difficult to see on the Gon, across a few years you have been active in Threads about the Stylus on the Cartridge.
Common subjects on the Stylus is leaning about the set up geometry and weight to be used, where there is concern for the Cartridge / Groove wear and the risk of damaging a source material if the set up is incorrect.
Typically what is learnt is a Cartridge users preference for a set up, a guidance to a set up, and a reference of specialist tools to assist with achieving the most optimised set up.
Near parallel to the above will be the want to learn of how long a Stylus will last, which is typically seen through usage wear only to be 300ish hours through to 2000ish hours, of which my experiences are to suggest are totally acceptable as a period of time for optimised condition to be lost with the stylus profile.
What is learnt from these discussions is both educational and how certain info can be quite influencing, i.e, if a Cart' of a particular model is using a specific Stylus, that is becoming commonly recognised for needing a retip after 300ish hours and this is to be found as the norm, when seen across the wider available forums. The Cart' with said Stylus does lose some of the attraction, when another Cart' with a different Stylus is commonly seen reported as offering a 1000 hours as a typical report.
Discussion about Geometry and Set Up are not at the hands of the manufacturer they are the choices of the Cart's owner. How they invest in this is their choice and the rewards to be had will vary, depending on the investment given up.
Discussion about Stylus Longevity is different, as it influences choices being made. If somebody like myself who budgets on a per album replay basis for the cost of the Cart'. I usually work close to £2 per Album, when using the typical 1000hrs as the directive, even though my rebuild Cart' in use at the current time is working towards £00.70p per replay.
If a Cart' of interest was to be one with a Stylus being discovered to be a 300ish hour as the timeline to have a Stylus profile remain optimised, will reveal itself as a £6 per Album replay Cart'. This is something I would steer away from.
Does the discussion about the Stylus Usage life of a Brands Cart' model constitute the notion that Mud is being Slung - No it does not.
When it comes to the Brands selection of the Stylus, the Purchaser has very very little influence on this they get what is the design for the particular model. ( This will usually only change, when a retip is required and if the Cart' owner chooses to have an alternate Stylus attached to the Cantilever.
When it comes to the Brands selection of the Stylus, the Stylus to be used in nearly all situations will be Hand Mounted to the Cantilever. The Purchaser has very very little influence on this, they get what as been created by the employee. More often the purchaser receives an alignment of the Stylus that is poor on all three critical axis. Less common, but occurring is the purchaser receives a mounted Stylus that is not acceptable for the alignment in at the least one of critical axis.
The Purchaser should not receive such poor workmanship for the mounting of the Stylus.
Making poor mounting of a Stylus known to a broader community is not Mud Slinging.
Cart's of all Values at some point have been discovered to have a Stylus mounting that has raised quite a few questions.