Grace 707 antiskate, Stax arm w/HS-7 shell, etc.

Has anyone found or come up with a substitute for the anti-skate weight for the Grace 707? I understand mono filament-type line can be substituted to suspend the weight. Also, anyone care to venture if these arms stand up to today's arms in similar price ranges? I haven't tried out the Stax, but they would be used with a low hours Grado Signature 8MZ on a AR XA with Merrill mods.