Generally, stylus wear is very similar to tire wear, linear in nature, although stylii occasionally cleave as they are a crystalline structure and that is catastrophic failure.
But assuming linear wear this becomes somewhat of a judgement call; looking at the stylus under magnification not really telling much about the problem. Best is to decide how much harmonic distortion is acceptable say at 15K and call it quits at that point.
IMHO very few radical cut stylii are operating properly at 1000 hours and most are ready for replacment at 800 hours or so. On a more positive note, this is better performance than most conical stylii which last longer than typical elliptical stylii, assuming grain oriented, nude mounted stylii of comparable tracking force.
But assuming linear wear this becomes somewhat of a judgement call; looking at the stylus under magnification not really telling much about the problem. Best is to decide how much harmonic distortion is acceptable say at 15K and call it quits at that point.
IMHO very few radical cut stylii are operating properly at 1000 hours and most are ready for replacment at 800 hours or so. On a more positive note, this is better performance than most conical stylii which last longer than typical elliptical stylii, assuming grain oriented, nude mounted stylii of comparable tracking force.