[ACHiPo]

Has anyone ever thought about how much it costs to play a record?  I had the opportunity to buy a used AudioDesk ultrasonic record cleaner for a good, but still expensive, price.  It costs about $0.40/record to clean just based on the cleaning solution and brush costs, not including the amortization of the cleaner.  It got me thinking...

The cleaner, while expensive, is not the big driver to record expense.  The needle is.  A cartridge is good for about 1000 hours?  So if you spend $1500 for a cartridge, and an album is 30 minutes long, that's $0.75 per record, just for the cartridge.   If you can get it retipped or exchange it for say 50%, that drops the cost to $0.35 or so.

Do I have this right?

[Guy 13]

Has anyone ever thought about how much it costs to play a record?  I had the opportunity to buy a used AudioDesk ultrasonic record cleaner for a good, but still expensive, price.  It costs about $0.40/record to clean just based on the cleaning solution and brush costs, not including the amortization of the cleaner.  It got me thinking...

The cleaner, while expensive, is not the big driver to record expense.  The needle is.  A cartridge is good for about 1000 hours?  So if you spend $1500 for a cartridge, and an album is 30 minutes long, that's $0.75 per record, just for the cartridge.   If you can get it retipped or exchange it for say 50%, that drops the cost to $0.35 or so.

Do I have this right?

Hi ACHiPo,
I think that your numbers are very close to the reality.
I use the Spin Clean machine that I paid 85 USD on Amazon
and the refill cleaner bottles are really inexpensive and last a long time.
(Did not even use half of their smallest bottle for almost 100 LPs wash.
For the needle I have a Rega Exact at 595 USD
and to retip it's about 85% of the price of a new one.
For me the needle replacement is the expensive portion of playing LPs.
Thanks for the exercise of cost calculation,
that tell me that the enjoyment of listening to LP
is not that cheap after all.

Guy 13
 

[orthobiz]

Not as expensive as driving a Cobra...LOL

Paul

[Devil Doc]

I find ways to drink 30yr old single malts and smoke Cuban cigars. I don't think I'm going to worry about the $0.75 it costs to play a record. Life is too short.

Doc

[ACHiPo]

Not as expensive as driving a Cobra...LOL

Paul

But a lot more expensive than gleeping a picture of one from the interweb! 

[ACHiPo]

I find ways to drink 30yr old single malts and smoke Cuban cigars. I don't think I'm going to worry about the $0.75 it costs to play a record. Life is too short.

Doc

Doc,
Agreed.  It just makes me question my choice to bargain shop at used record stores when the big expense is not the software, but the consumables (although I still dig the thrill of finding a great record for a bargain!).  Just rationalizing all those nice 180 g audiophile releases.  And maybe an ultrasonic cleaner to get them and keep them in pristine shape.  Also makes me think twice about dropping the needle then leaving the room.

...or maybe I need another turntable/cartridge with a low cost replaceable needle?

Come to think of it the single malt and cigars are consumable expenses as well.  Hmmm need to recalculate 

Evan

[BobRex]

Depending upon manufacturer you can get a lot more than 1000 hours out of a diamond.  Van Den Hul specs at +3000 hours, and decent diamond should go well beyond 1000 hours, esp. if you keep the records clean.

[BobM]

I find ways to drink 30yr old single malts and smoke Cuban cigars. I don't think I'm going to worry about the $0.75 it costs to play a record. Life is too short.

Doc

Hmmm, that got me thinking. I don't drink every time I play a record. Lets say 1 in 3. So how much for a glass of good sipping tequila/burbon/scotch/vodka, or a premium beer or glass of wine to be added to the cost of your enjoyment? Then there's the slow deterioration of the tubes and replacements in time. Plus the extra heat in the wintertime. Then there's the not so inconsequential missing face time with the family (which may or may not be an issue in your household).

Damn, this record playing thing could get expensive fast if you add in all these secondary considerations.
 

[S Clark]

Depending upon manufacturer you can get a lot more than 1000 hours out of a diamond.  Van Den Hul specs at +3000 hours, and decent diamond should go well beyond 1000 hours, esp. if you keep the records clean.

I had my doubts about that initial premise as well.  Good to see some manufacturer expectations of wear. 

[vortrex]

Vinyl is definitely expensive.  I think that's why most choose to go with the inferior sound of digital.

[vinyl_lady]

While I clean all of my records, new and used, in an Audio Desk before I play them the first time, I do not clean them before each play. Sometimes I will re-clean them if necessary. So far me, this is a one time cost and is deminimus in the grand scheme of things. As to cartridge and needle, I have more than 1000 hours on a Lyra Skala and I hear no deterioration in performance. I also enjoy drinking a glass of wine from time to time while listening. The cost of playing records goes up when I break out the Silver Oak.

[Sonny]

Like the Doc says, "life's too short".

I am sure there are other things we throw money at that we get very little utility for!

Vinyl = 

[neobop]

Has anyone ever thought about how much it costs to play a record?  I had the opportunity to buy a used AudioDesk ultrasonic record cleaner for a good, but still expensive, price.  It costs about $0.40/record to clean just based on the cleaning solution and brush costs, not including the amortization of the cleaner.  It got me thinking...

The cleaner, while expensive, is not the big driver to record expense.  The needle is.  A cartridge is good for about 1000 hours?  So if you spend $1500 for a cartridge, and an album is 30 minutes long, that's $0.75 per record, just for the cartridge.   If you can get it retipped or exchange it for say 50%, that drops the cost to $0.35 or so.

Do I have this right?

You know what they say, if you have to ask.....

In the past 25 years or so nobody gets into records as a means to save money.   Still, millions have taken up vinyl for the same reasons people smoke Cuban cigars or drive exotic sports cars.  It's something from which they derive pleasure.  There are less expensive ways than a used Desk cleaner, and a record player that costs multi-thousands or ten thousands, but there are all those ancillary expenses which add up, from special furniture to stylus cleaner and record sleeves. 
The consolation is, once you've accumulated them it's much less expensive to maintain your stash of "must-have" stuff. 

Enjoy!
neo

[ACHiPo]

You know what they say, if you have to ask.....

In the past 25 years or so nobody gets into records as a means to save money.   Still, millions have taken up vinyl for the same reasons people smoke Cuban cigars or drive exotic sports cars.  It's something from which they derive pleasure.  There are less expensive ways than a used Desk cleaner, and a record player that costs multi-thousands or ten thousands, but there are all those ancillary expenses which add up, from special furniture to stylus cleaner and record sleeves. 
The consolation is, once you've accumulated them it's much less expensive to maintain your stash of "must-have" stuff. 

Enjoy!
neo

Great discussion guys.  After I posted my musings I did some checking and it seems 2000 to 3000 hours is realistic for a good cartridge.  I had my Lyra Lydian for 10 years and it still sounded good, but when I took in my turntable after moving the shop showed me that the suspension was shot, so I got a new Delos.  I have no idea how many hours I had on the cartridge (I went through periods of daily use, then months/years with little or no use), but 10 years doesn't seem so bad.  That being said, the lack of consumables expense (except the aforementioned refreshments) of hi-rez (and portability) does seem attractive.

[jimdgoulding]

Hi, Laura.  Had an excellent dinner in Chicago some time ago and a Silver Oak cab was recommended and my taste buds positively jumped to attention.  Bought a boo-coo of bottles when I got home.  T'was an '80 something or another.  Had to give it up before I went broke.

[vinyl_lady]

Hi, Laura.  Had an excellent dinner in Chicago some time ago and a Silver Oak cab was recommended and my taste buds positively jumped to attention.  Bought a boo-coo of bottles when I got home.  T'was an '80 something or another.  Had to give it up before I went broke.

Jim,

In my budget, Silver Oak is a special occasion wine for sure. But once you taste it you understand why it is $85 per bottle and up. My oldest daughter held her wedding at a winery outside of Santa Rosa a couple of years ago and the day before the wedding they led a family and wedding party wine tour and we started at Silver Oak's Alexander Valley winery. It was all downhill after that.

[jimdgoulding]

Jim,

In my budget, Silver Oak is a special occasion wine for sure. But once you taste it you understand why it is $85 per bottle and up. My oldest daughter held her wedding at a winery outside of Santa Rosa a couple of years ago and the day before the wedding they led a family and wedding party wine tour and we started at Silver Oak's Alexander Valley winery. It was all downhill after that.

[woodsyi]

More wine = better sound (subjective) up to a point when you start not to care or start breaking things as you change records.    Someone should do an analysis to see what the optimal amount of wine consumption is for maximal enjoyment! 

[S Clark]

More wine = better sound (subjective) up to a point when you start not to care or start breaking things as you change records.    Someone should do an analysis to see what the optimal amount of wine consumption is for maximal enjoyment! 

This has been a subject of decades of thorough and ongoing scientific study in the Clark household.  I suspect that I'll have the results ready for publication in another 25 years of so. 

[Tyson]

More wine = better sound (subjective) up to a point when you start not to care or start breaking things as you change records.    Someone should do an analysis to see what the optimal amount of wine consumption is for maximal enjoyment! 

2 glasses the first hour, one glass every hour after that.