So I've got two MMC4's installed - one I use a few to several hours a week and the other I make myself use one LP a week.  I have a third MMC4 sitting in a safe (air conditioned) place as a spare.

My primary listening is to an SMMC20EN - about 2-3 LPs a day.  I have an MMC20EN and MMC3000 sitting in another safe (air conditioned) place as spares.

My question is, is it better to not use the spares to prolong their life, or should they be "exercised" periodically?  If they should be exercised periodically, what's the best period?  Weekly?  Monthly?  Something else?

Anyone researched this topic?

My weekend ritual of late has been to play all the sources in all my systems for at least an album.  Should I incorporate cartridge swapping in the ritual?

Rich:

My weekend ritual of late has been to play all the sources in all my systems for at least an album.  Should I incorporate cartridge swapping in the ritual?

IMHO that would be a sure way to eventually break a cartridge or the connector in the tone arm. I'm horrified every time I need to touch them.

Agree with Mika, recipe for disaster!

Leave the spares in the drawer until they are needed.

I agree, switching cartridges often is not good for the contacts (and they are very important when it comes to such low-level signals as phono output) and there is also always a risk that you may break the cantilever.

On the other hand, they will go bad even if you don't use them. For example: I recently broke the seal of one of my spare un-opened MMC4s, and once installed on a BG8002 I found that the suspension was not ok which resulted in distorted sound. That has also happened to some of my MMCs that haven't been used for a year or so, a couple of years ago they were ok but now they're not (and they have been mounted on their beograms all this time). So MMCs will inevitably go bad by time, but I don't know if using them actually postpones this process or if they will go bad at another rate than if they're still in the box.

Solution: buy as many Beograms as you have cartridges! :-)