NOS Grace F9E question


A friend of mine gave me a Grace F9E to try on my 1200G.  He thinks it may be a good fit.  It appears to be brand new and never used.  It has a plastic protector that covers practically the entire cartridge.  I cannot get it off as it is on there very tight.  Is there any special way to get it of and not damage the cartridge?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
tzh21y

Showing 11 responses by lewm

Raul, Don't you think the word "speed", as applied to the difference in SQ between MC and MM or MI cartridges, is really saying the same thing as what I said, that MC cartridges seem to emphasize the attack of musical notes?  Psycho-acoustically, that would come across as a greater sense of speed.  But we know that our turntables are rotating at a constant speed, and the TT is the sole determinant of the time axis.  So, it cannot be actual greater speed that we are hearing with MC cartridges.  And my interpretation is that MC cartridges may lose the trailing edge of notes more quickly than do the other types, which makes them seem to emphasize the attack.  Always keeping in mind that my gross generalizations do not apply to ALL MC cartridges or all MM or MI types.  I think I am hearing this in comparing the AT ART7 to the Acutex LPM320.  Not so with my ZYX UNIverse.
If you're comparing an MM to an MC, the one thing I always notice is that MCs typically emphasize the attack of a musical note.  Whereas, the best MMs and MIs tend to get the "meat" and the trailing edge of notes, perhaps better. (Please don't attack me for this gross generalization.  I am sure there are exceptions.)
And ceramic is good because...?
Ceramic tt mats suck.

For that matter, I would not claim that titanium makes a great cantilever, only that the Acutex sounds great, to me, in my system.
Acutex used titanium cantilever in its top models.  I don't know of any other manufacturer that did that, but could be. Also, Acutex 300 series are Induced Magnet types, not Moving Magnet.  Their 400 series are MM, I believe.  As I am sure you know, Koetsu uses boron.  Do you know whether Koetsu cantilevers are hollow or solid?
Raul, I don't disagree with anything you wrote above, save for the fact that I know nothing about boron cantilevers except that many fine cartridges use them.  On boron, you say the solid is better than the tubular type.  I think Chakster took the opposite position. Quien sabe?

But most of all, I would have replied to Chakster (if I thought it was worth the effort) exactly as you did.  It's pure self delusion to think that one is hearing a 30 to 40 year old cartridge, even if it is NOS right out of the box, exactly as it may have sounded shortly after manufacture.  I am sure in fact that the differences due purely to aging in situ are different for different cartridges.  But I only judge the here and now.  I own NOS B&O MMC1, Stanton CS100, Acutex M320, Stanton 881S mk2, Stanton 981LZS (I retired my other 980LZS which was used when I bought it), Empire 4000DIII, and a few others the names of which escape me.  If I ever get to hear them, I won't think I entered a time machine.  My Acutex LPM320STRIII was NOS when I first put it into service; now it is an old friend. Thankfully I have an extra NOS stylus for it.
So I just went on eBay to see if there were any Grace Level II or F14 cartridges for sale there.  Chak, are you selling the F14 "new needle" (only) on eBay?  Someone in Russia is. There's a Level II for sale from within the US; it looks awful, and the dude wants more than $1000 for it!

Raul, Neither you nor I can score points with Chakster.  But I am going to try to find one of his preferred Grace cartridges just to see for myself.  Have you heard either of those two that he likes so much?

Chak, Please read what Raul wrote about the possible benefits of re-tipping, if in the process one also upgrades the stylus shape or the cantilever material.  You have devalued elliptical styli per se, yourself.  So why wouldn't it be potentially beneficial to replace an elliptical with a line contact or some other more "modern" shape, in the process of re-tipping?  

So, at the present moment, which Grace cartridge do you think is the very best one to own?  If I am going after a rare Grace, I may as well pursue their best.  Thanks.
 Dear Chakster, my only point was that you cannot prove empirically by describing its elements that one cartridge is better than another. What I am saying is that the proof of the pudding is in the listening. We both know many examples of surprisingly good sounding cartridges that don’t look that good on paper. For all I know, you are absolutely correct that your later Grace cartridges are superior to the F9 and the ruby. I don’t have any basis to contradict your opinion on that. So we all have to listen to those rare cartridges that you seem to be able to find. By the same token, have you heard a Grace Ruby with SS OCL retip? I didn’t think so, but  I would never claim it is superior to Grace cartridges that I have never heard. Only that it is very good in its own right. 
Chakster, please tell us what phono stage, amplifier, and speakers you are using to make your unequivocal judgements.

i’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say again that I don’t think one can pick out all the greatest cartridges simply by noting the elements of their construction. If one could, this hobby would be less vexing and more boring. The F9 and the Ruby are two examples of cartridges that have no right to sound as good as they do, given the materials of which they are made.