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Grace F-9 broken stylus

First tell me if i have the words right
Cartridge is what holds the coils in an MM
Stylus is the needle part
cantilever assembly is the replaceable part that hold the stylus

I have a Grace F-9 cartridge with a green cantilever assembly that has the stylus broken off a new cantilever assembly looks like its going to run $150 at the cheapest

can i get a cantilever assembly cheaper?

how much can i sell it for with a broken stylus, it worked before the needle got torn off

I have a NAD 5025 TT and just want to play some vinyl

is it worth getting a replacement stylus or should i sell the cartridge and get a cheaper cartridge, i was advised to get a sure mx97 somthing

thanks

sprinklz
sprinklz
9 responses Add your response
tommyboy65
12 posts
 
If your stylus is worn on one side, I would be careful. You may damage your records.

I would go with the Soundsmith re-tip. The Grace F-9 is a very nice cartridge and Peter does a great job. I found that it was $250 that was well spent.
lewm
13,111 posts
 
Two words: Sound Smith. Get the ruby cantilever with line contact stylus, for $250, and you will never have "cartridge envy". But meantime, learn more about the art and science of phono reproduction. If you are insecure about the word "cantilever" then you have a ways to go. It's worth a bit of study.
hesson11
237 posts
 
Hi Tommytom,

Just in the event you don't already know this, Peter at Soundsmith is VERY highly regarded in the high-end community not just for his superb skills and knowledge but also for his honesty and trustworthiness. He will not try to sell you something inappropriate to your needs, and he will always offer exceptional value for any product or service. I believe that whatever he told you about your cartridge, you can take as the most trustworthy of opinions. I'm also sure that anything he said to you was not an attempt to get you to "bite" on anything.
-Bob
tommytom
16 posts
 
I have the same situation. Bought a table with the F-9, green stylus. The stylus was crooked so I went over to Peter at Soundsmith (local) and he straightened it out for me but said the needle was a little worn on one side due to anti-skate. He offered me one of his Soundsmith replacement stylus that was miss marked "ruby" at a discount for $250. I didn't bite figuring I would see how the original straightened stylus sounds first. It sounds ok but the addict in me wants the new replacement stylus. Oh well, we'll see!
tommyboy65
12 posts
 
What was considered the top of the line Grace cartridge? Was it the F-9 Ruby?

What happened to Grace and why did they stop making cartridges?

Both of my cartridges sound teriffic, much better than the Ortofon 2M Bronze that I previously owned.
davide256's avatar
davide256
399 posts
 
Agree. While I like the Grado MM family better, the Grace F9E was musical, robust, and well made. Try to get a nude mounted stylus retip...a solder mounted retip won't sound as good
acman3
4,263 posts
 
You can probably get around $50- $100 maybe more, for your F9 as is. As Tommyboy65 said, it is a very good cartridge. It may be one of the reasons you like records, so get the Shure and see if you want to have the F9 repaired latter. As you are finding, it is good to have a backup cartridge.

Fyi,Soundsmith has some ruby stylus assemblies for the F9 you may want to look into when you have some money.
dr_joe
160 posts
 
I concur 100% with Tommyboy65.

I have three F9s, all with Soundsmith stylus assemblies. These are not cheap ($200 to $500), but worth it.

The F9 with $300 Soundsmith stylus assembly chased a $600+ Ortofon 2M Black right out of my system. Several friends, who run $1000 to $4000 MC cartridges, could hardly believe they were listening to music reproduced by a 35 year old MM design.

The only other thing I'll say is that the better your phono preamplifier, the better the F9 will sound.
tommyboy65
12 posts
 
Your Grace cartridge is amongst of the best MM cartridges ever made. I have two: Grace F9E and Grace F9 Ruby, I had the Ruby retipped at Soundsmith for $250. It sounds very nice and will be my primary cartridge until I can afford a Lyra Delos.

My advice would be to look into retipping your Grace by Soundsmith. If you get the Shure, you may get the upgrade bug. At least with the Grace, you have an excellent starting point.

That's my $.02 for what it is worth
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