Three-way vinyl record wear test 

Lots of people talk and worry about vinyl records wearing out, but finally here is a controlled, long-term experiment to test how much audible wear actually happens to records played in real-world conditions on a variety of turntables. I highly suggest a quiet listening environment and good pair of speakers or headphones to observe the results. However, the main takeaway from this test is something that experts have already known for the past 75 years: dust, dirt, scratches, fingerprints, improper storage, and a worn stylus are the real enemies of vinyl record life, not the kind of turntable you use. Do your best to avoid those perils, and your records will provide a lifetime of enjoyment, even when played on inexpensive equipment. FYI: The records I tested are slightly transparent when held up to a bright light, indicating they were made with a vinyl formulation which used dye instead of carbon black; these records (marketed under various names such as "Super Vinyl", "Quiex", "UHQR", etc.) are known for their very low surface noise and anti-static properties, but sources differ on whether they last longer or actually wear out more quickly than conventional vinyl. Unedited video of playing a portion of the record on the Quasar 50 more times, for a total of 100 plays at the end of the test: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qee4wp9Swto.html Lossless recordings of all four records used in the test (both the entire album side played with the Stanton 681EEE cartridge, and the brief samples I played using the Shure M75): drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UscEjplMoS6l-Rw3RAnWlDdOY06-GhID (Yes, the unplayed record actually has more pops & clicks than the ones that were played 50 times. Maybe it has some dirt in the grooves, and/or was a noisier pressing than the others. None of the LPs came with inner sleeves -- they just put the record directly in the cardboard jacket.) Time flow: 0:00 Introduction 1:17 The equipment 2:55 The records 5:35 How many times? 7:37 How often? 9:58 The test 13:34 The results 17:08 Analysis 22:31 Stress test 26:12 Conclusion p.s. I found the obituary for the father of the group, which says the Marcus Family Singers were formed in 1974 and were active for seven years, and recorded two albums: www.petersonbrothers.com/obituaries/calvin-marcus Also I looked up the songs on the album in the copyright database and several of them were written in 1980, so the album is probably from 1980 or 1981. You can listen to the full album here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C1jJxwdpX60.html

Your dry humor is lost on a lot of people, but I very much appreciate it.

Your channel is the only channel that uploads this sort of content. Most channels cater to the audiophile foolery but this channel debunks it. Keep it up!

These aren't mere clickbait fripperies, these are informational videos for the ages. Basically you can play your records as often as you want.

The man employs scientific method in his tests, that’s why he is reliable.

That vinyl relaxing period theory sounds absurd

That proves what I've always thought... It's not what you play them on, it's how you treat them.

I haven't been to church in 30 years but suddenly I feel the need to go...

"I'm getting a fundamentalist Brady Bunch vibe from it." Thanks, that gave me a good laugh.

back in the sixties i left a party and returned in the morning to find my brand new Roling Stones album had been left on repeat overnight for several hours, the record showed no signs of wear at all and fifty years later after countless plays it still sounds fantastic on modern equipment.

Two VWestlife videos in one week? Awesome! Your videos have been superb since the channel first began.

I appreciate the fact that you have seemingly gone out of your way to be reasonable with this test. The music selected was done for the purpose of matching all of them up, nothing to do with what sort of music whatsoever. You maintained a regimen of playing them according to a schedule. Kudos to your dedication to getting trustworthy results.

THANK YOU for putting another nail in the coffin of the whole "let the vinyl relax" malarkey! I'm not sure why some people in the industry thought it was appropriate to anthropomorphize vinyl records, but it's borderline crazy IMO, especially without data to back up the claim. Much like you, I've found that simply keeping the vinyl clean, and cleaning when necessary, to be the most surefire way to have a great listening experience.

That virgin vinyl joke made me die

Man, you just stuffed a whole bunch of vinyl snobs in a place they deserve. This test deserves 1 million views min. Great job with the test. Data proud!

I like that you call out people who waste time on forums, pontificating and arguing about how you should listen to music. They spend more time doing that instead of enjoying their music collection.

My family's had many records since the 60s, a lot of them have been played countless times and they are more than 50 years old, but they've always been taken good care of and they've always been played with high quality cartridges with good condition stylus, and many of them still sound awesome.

You give such an objective take. I feel like trying to enter into the hobby is so hard because of the amount of purity test and audiophiles making this seem like you need a budget of at least 2000 to even start. You give real advice that doesn't sugar coat, but also doesn't demonize

I bet more people listened to the Marcus family in the last day than have ever before.

Does no one remember that 45s in jukeboxes played all summer long continuously every day without fail?

This is by far the most thorough and definitive test of record wear I’ve ever seen! Myth, BUSTED.

Boy: Mr. Owl, how many times does it take to wear out an LP record? Mr. Owl: Let's find out. One. Two. Three [violent scratch noise]. Three!

I imagine the Marcus Family would be proud that their unused recordings helped in this test, especially since we were all straining, listening so closely to the words and music (albeit for signs of damage 😁) Fantastic work!

Holy crap. You weren't kidding about the quietness of that vinyl - specifically the specimen that was used on the Audio-Technica (21:19). Dead silent! Also interesting to hear the left channel dropout in the master (or production master) tape near the beginning of that song (21:24). Maybe the result of poor handling during splicing or cueing, etc. Makes me think it may have been recorded at 7.5 IPS? Haha, I don't really know. It's uncommon to hear tape dropouts on pressed records though, in my experience. Side note: you have quickly become one of my favorite channels on subjects like this. I wholeheartedly agree with your opinions/testing/conclusions, etc. and I love the lack of audiophile snobbery BS. 🥰

Just WOW! Big amount of work and systematic approach to tests! Huge respect! Many thanks.

I've genuinely wondered this for as long as i have owned records. And i could not find anyone that has made a good comparison like this. Thank you! You keep putting out great videos.

After listening to that LP I can understand exactly why there were so many copies available at the thrift store 😱😱😱

I think it's funny that the dudes who swear a Crosley will literally eat a vinyl record are the same ones who will advise playing without a dust cover for some modicum of improved fidelity. Audiophiles are a superstitious bunch

A lot of patience and hard work were put into the creation of this video. Thank you very much!

My first turntable is in this video! The ATPL50. I gave it to my grandma while I upgraded over the years, sadly she passed and now that Audio Technica ATPL50 is very sentimental

Answering all the questions again. Thanks for the good work on the channel!

New VWestlife video on the Fourth of July! I didn’t know there was presents on 7/4 but I accept!

My original copy of the Star Wars soundtrack is basically unplayable 45 years later because I abused it, Never cleaned it and played it almost daily for many months in a row. My childhood friend still has his original copy and it sounds fine even though he played his just as much, possibly more. The difference is, I was a slob and never cleaned mine and he was meticulous in handling and removing dust and dirt from his vinyl. I was Oscar, he was Felix.

Way to go all ProjectFarm on Vinyl ! :)

You have the patience of a saint 😂. Also I think it should be noticed that nearly all the "studies" come from people with interests in them, of course the record companies will be very happy if you bought the same record time and again because "it has worn out", and the "audiophiles" have to claim they hear things others don't, etc, etc.

It’s beautiful how much effort went into designing the methodology and thoroughly described in details in the video

Thanks for all the effort in making this one. Just in case no one else said it. If people are still worried about wearing out their disks, they could always do what people did back in the day. As soon as you get your new album back home and play it for the first time, make a copy of it. Be it cassette, cd, or digital. Then you can play it as much as you want and not worry about wearing out the vinyl. And you can carry it around with you.

And there rounding the last corner! It's neck to neck as they come to the needle!!

Nice job. There are lots of factors that play into (no pun intended) how much wear a record will show after multiple plays. Keeping them clean and your equipment in good repair are the most impactful. Can't wait for the test regarding colored & new vinyl.

Initially I wasn't going to watch through the whole video non-stop, but then I just did. Fantastic work! You're probably the mastermind in making your videos interesting and engaging.

Thank you for all that work. Truly appreciated, as was the cameo by Vaughn Monroe!

The lord works in mysterious ways....even with vinyl.

Any video from you is worth my time to watch it! You simply rock, man!

Another top notch video. I've said for years, that the reason most were ever soured on vinyl was they were careless and lazy with it and that most of their disappointment in vinyl playback was self inflicted. I agree with everything you've demonstrated in this video. It's why I prefer compact disc; I'm lazy. I'm not careless, but I am lazy.

Compliments from Belgium for your profound testing! Really enjoyed!

I Like the Idea but imagine the amount of Vinyl a Jukebox would Go through in a week playing.

I like how people who make the music always say music is made to be played to be listen too and enjoyed

Thanks for doing this test. It explains why records I used to play on a Fisher Price record player back in the 80s still sounded pretty decent. I was taught to handle records carefully as a child and I guess it paid off!

Thank you for your effort. Now I can finally peacefully listen to my records as often as I want. Always love your channel.

Wow, this is a fantastic video! The amount of time invested in creating the content, and the level of detail is mesmerizing! Thank you for sharing this with us, it is definitely clear that dust and worn-out styli would be the most detrimental factors for record-groove wear. Congratulations on this great production, keep up the amazing work 🥰

I was only listening to the video while working and I was thinking to myself "Wow, he's spending a long time on this first recording", before looking over and realizing you had actually just spliced them together perfectly. Impressive editing! As for the music, it actually wasn't half bad, despite it giving me "Toe-tapping Country Gospel Music Hour" PTSD flashbacks. Probably unlikely to end up on any of my playlists, though

Every and any of VWestlife's videos is worth my time!

Very interesting experiment, thanks for putting all that time and effort in!

Thank you for this great video! I guess the fear of records wearing out comes from generations of fed-up parents telling their kids "stop playing this over and over and over and over again, or it will wear out"...

The power of JEsus must be like STRONG in your house right now ... hahaha

I just take a DSOTM back to life after some cleaning that the past owner sold cheap as a Big Mac. He probably thought that the record was ruined by some scratch but actually was because a small particle of dust making the stylus jump and then repeat the same verse. An ultrasoft toothbrush just nailed it.

This is some dedication. You're doing science.

The lesson of your research is maintain and clean your albums and turn table frequently enough and you can pretty much play the records as much as you care too. Even with a “cheap” turntable it means more to keep it and your albums clean and the stylus changed than worrying about what kind of fancy turntable you think you should have.

The effort is just amazing !i love this test subbed!

Thank You for the SKILL and TIME you invested into this series of experiments. Talk is cheap but definitive experimentation with published results is conclusive. EXCELLENT SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION !!!

This is another great video, I love that Michael Fremer clip, for all his talk he knows very little about how records are made.

Really appreciate the effort you put into this! Answering some questions I've always had and alleviating some worries I've always put in effort to assuage while still actually enjoying my records.

Every one of your videos is worth my time for watching.

I love your videos so much because they make me feel so much better about using my old equipment without the worry that I'll be destroying it. Seriously, all of your testing and debunking videos are massively appreciated! Btw that humor is on point 👌

Very informative! Thanks for taking the time to test this out in a very systematic way! And thanks for the album!

Wow, I didn’t know I needed this. The video was actually REALLY worth my time!

Regarding playing records in quick succession and damage again from the 1980's and when there was a chart, I didnt use to buy a lot of chart singles they were on the radio so you used to hear them alot for a few weeks and then they dropped out of the charts. It changed when i went to college I became a record reseller pre-ebay there were 2nd hand records shops in major cities that sold records, at the time record companies used to send radio stations free promo copies of singles to play on air and alot of these non charting records ended up at these shops, they didnt sell as no-one had heard them. The shops used to sell these not sold records for about $0.07 but you had to buy them by the 100 and had random ones sent to you. So i used to buy like 500 records at a time sell them at $0.25 to my friends and then the stuff that was left over listen to them and if it didnt grab me after 30 seconds chuck them. I got to hear a lot of rubbish but occasionally you would strike gold, something brilliant by some weird band. Once i had a record by a Dutch band and i played it it was great so a played it again and again and again it was only when my friend from the room next door knocked on the door and said Steve i know you must like that one but you have played it at least 50 times now and i want to go to sleep.

Another incredible video. I just love you.

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this video - it's really appreciated the time you took, the effort you made and explanations you provided. I have a light tracking turntable (1.2 grams) and can rest assured that with regular washing/maintenance for both the turntable and the records, I can be confident that my records will last several lifetimes

There's also the factor that most people are not audiophiles nor have the ears of one. So most likely, short of crackles and minor clicks, they probably never even notice.

I used to play my Dad's Bert Kaempfert records all the time and they were still good 15 years later.

I feel so SAVED now! Great test!

Thank you very much for conducting the tests. I think that individuals who follow and subscribe to your channel, can be rest assured about playing vinyl now. I can now play my stored and treasured vinyls, with the assurance that they will last a lifetime, at the amount of times I do play vinyls during a given year... Once in a while. 😊👍👌💯

06:40 - Say what you will about RCA, the fact that they implied (with a straight face no less!) that an audiophile will "show off his sound system to friends" more times than actually listening to the records themselves is both extremely hilarious and fairly spot-on.

Technics SL-1900 - "my good turntable" ... Thank you VWestlife for getting me into listening to records again, your SL-1900 review/repair video did it actually, grabbed a "not working" one right away... :)

Really well done and in depth testing! Thanks for sharing all of this with us. I have absolutely played some of my records multiple times in one day, and didn't know about that wear theory, but glad it hasn't created major issues.

That was a lot of work! Thank you for your time. Great video! Also I have to say I've never seen a needle with brush ahead of it! That's a cool design.

Thank you for some much needed restoration of my soul!

The humour really shines in this video...

I feel vinyl itself isn’t as fragile as people make it out to be for constant playbacks. It mostly depends on how the record was manufactured, my decades old records still sound good because they were protected in the sleeve.

I really enjoyed this video -- thank you for the time and work you put into it.

Great video. I think we live in a golden age for cartridges - for just $170 you can get one with a micro linear stylus, the peak of vinyl playback technology. Distortion-free opera and classical vinyl, which is about a challenging as it gets. Even elliptical styli struggle. Audio Technica At-Vm95ml FTW

Loved this video and all your others. Been watching for a long time and from one old timer who believes in the KISS principle no one does this stuff better than you. Thanks for all your work.

Thank you very much for your thorough work, great findings. I particularly like your approach when citing sources from back in the day.

What a great video. Thank you for your work.

In the stress test section, I recognized that Sparta turntable from radio stations in the 70s. What a beast.

Brother, I must say, I get more excited for your videos than anyone else's. I know the algorithm doesn't treat you the way it should, but these videos make my day. Please never quit.

So look forward to your work, this one is pure cherry on top, with whipped cream. And the whole enchilada, fantastic loved it!

Totally awesome! I've been saying for a number of years now that the audiophiles are spreading urban legends. I very much appreciate your thoughtful, compelling testing of one of these claims. Bravo!

I often wonder about service guides from the 50's and 60's. If their facts are correct. I have many of these guides. You've proven that, at least one, guide was correct (RCA). This has me wanting to read more specs in the old user/service guides. Well done!

Fantastic tests!

I’ve never been this early! Great and informative video as always!

I can't even begin to imagine the mindset of someone who genuinely is taking playing a record only once every 24 hours. Well, I can. It is probably the same person who is spending thousands of dollars on the fanciest cables and signal processing devices that do nothing other than make them feel superior. Also the Marcus family are surprisingly good.

Excellent work on testing these theories, sir! I appreciate your dedication and thorough approach to the tests. I also feel like listening to some good, old time Gospel music!

Talk about dedication! That's man! I always enjoy your work and just want to say I really appreciate the amount of effort you put into your content.

Great video, as always. Thanks

I think what does records in quicker than anything is rough/improper handling and playing them on defective equipment (defective stylus, defective cartridge, improper tracking force, mechanical defects with the turntable, etc.). On that note, I've seen new styli and cartridges that had some sort of defect that caused immediate record damage, and that's why I use junk records for testing when I repair a record player or turntable.

Wow, thanks, VW! What an effort. Great video. My purchased in 1983 Def Leppard Pyromania album was played about 500 times. Yes, it's beat up, but still is OK.

Nice a bonus video ! Very interesting comparing 3 kind of needles.

Awesome video! In the back of my mind I’ve always wondered this. You get kudos for this endeavor 😀👍