Rich, for whatever it may be worth, I owned and used every all the mentioned Grados including the XTZ back in the day. I loved their full bodied, bold and lush sound.
Is the 8MZ stylus worth it at $175? Without a doubt! Look at it this way: what else can you get of comparable sound for $175? I can’t think of anything. Also keep in mind its user friendly high output and good tracking ability. Is the XTZ stylus worth the extra $300? Probably, but I would put it this way:
The XTZ stylus is a substantial improvement over the 8MZ stylus. However, keep in mind that putting the XTZ stylus on an Sig 8 body does not make it an XTZ cartridge. As Chackter says, the XTZ is a great cartridge; substantially better than a Sig 8, but while the XTZ stylus works in the Sig 8 body, the XTZ has different electrical characteristics and much lower output than the Sig 8.
Good luck.
Is the 8MZ stylus worth it at $175? Without a doubt! Look at it this way: what else can you get of comparable sound for $175? I can’t think of anything. Also keep in mind its user friendly high output and good tracking ability. Is the XTZ stylus worth the extra $300? Probably, but I would put it this way:
The XTZ stylus is a substantial improvement over the 8MZ stylus. However, keep in mind that putting the XTZ stylus on an Sig 8 body does not make it an XTZ cartridge. As Chackter says, the XTZ is a great cartridge; substantially better than a Sig 8, but while the XTZ stylus works in the Sig 8 body, the XTZ has different electrical characteristics and much lower output than the Sig 8.
Good luck.