Cartridge Longevity?


In mid '98 I purchased a Sumiko Blue Point cartridge to use with a Premiere FT-3 tonearm / VPI HW-19 Mk. III. I loved the sound right out of the box (lots of detail, crisp treble, tracked inner grooves with so little distortion they sounded like outer grooves). After about forty to fifty hours of play over a year and a half, the treble mellowed (I liked it bright, though), and inner grooves no longer sounded good. Even on mint records, the inner grooves sounded somewhat worn. It was so bad that once I got just beyond the halfway mark on any record side, I couldn't wait for it to finish so I could switch to something else (no damage to the records, though).

I called Sumiko and spoke to the technician, Jim Alexander (who generously gave of his time). He suggested using a demagnetizer. I tried the Benz, and heard no difference. Mr. Alexander had me send the cartridge back so it could be examined. He said he could find nothing wrong with it, but graciously sent me a replacement in Jan. 2000. He ruled out any tonearm problems, but suggested lowering VTA so that the tonearm was parallel to the record. He also suggested I not use the Discwasher stylus brush because it is too abrasive.

As with the old cartridge, I tracked the new one at the recommended 1.7 grams, proper alignment using a protractor, proper azimuth, always used the cueing device, lowered VTA, switched to "LP-9" stylus fluid with its soft brush, and still the same problem: inner grooves sound mistracked and worn. The records I play are scrupulously clean. I hand wash (initially) using isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and sometimes Mr. Clean for heavily soiled records. Before each play, I use a Discwasher record brush to remove light surface dust, and a Zerostat anti-static gun. The results are excellent, they sound clean (I tried the VPI record cleaner a few years back and was unimpressed with it).

Jim Alexander suggested that I didn't allow enough break in time and use time was too low (about fifty hours under two years). He suggested breaking it in for another fifty hours, but within one week's time. I did this and the cartridge did not improve, but it did not get worse either. He finally suggested I have the tonearm checked (locally as I don't have the original packing material to safely send it through the mail. I never had it as it was purchased used).

I've been very careful but a cartridge should last more than fifty hours. Mr. Alexander claims you should get at leat 1000 hours of quality play from a Blue Point, and possibly up to 3000 hours. What am I doing wrong? Not enough break in time? Not enough usage during the life of the cartridge? Or do you need to spend four figures to get longevity? This is very frustrating and any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
jsangelo
I have had exactly the same problems with my BPS cartridge except that it took a lot longer.For the first 100 hours or so the cartridge got better then it got worse especially with regard to distortion near the inner grooves.Its now got so bad that I dread the end of a side because I know I wont like it.I had my alignment in an Ittok checked by a Linn setup professional so I can only say that something is happening with the cartridge.I will not be buying another BPS!!
not bps. i can understand its inner groove distortion. its not a great tracker anyhoo. it requires about 1.7 or 1.8 gr of force and even w/the lyle alum block, it only improved, and didnt eliminate its high and low freq probs. thats right, it doesnt go down that well either. the mids, dynamics, and imaging are another story. vg there. inner groove probs never reared their head here because i used it on straight line trackers. i dont expect that if i mount it on my smeIV, there wil be probs but i probably wont mount it on the IV, its not worth the effort considering my other carts (oc9, at150ml, grace f9e, virtuoso dti vdh, etc).
demagging carts depends on which one. ortofon recommends not to do so. the oc9 responds well. this isnt my observation, my friend has the demag and uses it accordingly.
another note: stylus cleaning should not be done with ANY alcohol or solvent based cleaner. some styli are attached with glue which doesnt hold up under solvent attack. my friend lost the stylus from his monsters 1000 and 2000 because fo solvent based cleaning! WARNING!
......regards.......tr
That's funny, Tommy. I've used RRL LP#9 stylus cleaner on a wide variety of cartridges in the past without ANY problem, and it is Alcohol based. I've used it on my vdH Copper Hopper, Benz Ruby, and Clearaudio Insider without ANY problems. In fact, Musical Surroundings strongly suggests the use of LP#9 before each record play, and they are the distributor for Benz, Clearaudio and Koetsu. I'd seriously doubt that they'd suggest using anything that could cause a warranty nightmare. Before RRL, Audio Technica once used an alcohol based stylus cleaner that I'd used on my early Koetsu Rosewood and various Grados. By the way, do they even make Monster 1000's and 2000's anymore? I haven't heard of them in years!
I have a Clavis DC in a Rockport table that is setting records as it will be four years old shortly.....It has well over 2,000 hours on it and I have used some green sandpaper and LP-9 to clean the stylus all these years.....The cartridge took almost 500 hours before it became dynamic and now it won't wear out! Might be the vacuum hold down on the Rockport as all records are now flat, but who knows....