2. analog
  3. 161872-153738

Newbie Issues: Grace F9 with Micro Seiki DD-40

Hey all - total newbie here. I’ve only been researching phono setups for a few months. I ran into some serious playback issues after trying to replace my cart. Wondering if anyone can tell me what is causing it?

A friend actually gave me a DD-40 with original MA 505 tonearm (14 g effective mass) and stock headshell. So I have been thrown into this (awesome) world of hifi in an effort to live up to this amazing gift. The DD-40 came with a Stanton 681eee cart and I immediately replaced the broken stylus with an LP Gear replica as a placeholder before upgrading. To my ears it sounds really really good after calibrating it properly (I am an entry level digital audiophile but this is my first analog experience). 

Because my setup is MM for now I have fixated on the Grace F9 series as my first cart upgrade. I bought a used F-9 L on ebay from someone with great reviews and an easy return policy. The problem is the playback is absolutely horrid:

- distorted muffled sound
- incessant skipping
- needle gets stuck between tracks

I have recalibrated and readjusted many many times including starting from scratch and calibrating the entire TT and tonearm setup. Every time it still sounds the same. While doing the same steps but going back to the Stanton cart works just fine. I even replaced headshell wires and have nice cables (Kimber Kable and Van den Hul) and a Furman power conditioner. It’s running through the phono input of a Pioneer SX 838. 

When I increase the tracking force beyond the recommended range for the Grace the skipping issue gets a bit better but not really. And the sound always remains distorted and muffled - that never improves.

Visibly the cart, cantilever and stylus look totally fine meaning not bent or broken. But again I’m just a newbie and have not put anything under a magnifying glass.  

So all that said, with the issues I described above, what do you all think is the problem?

1) Worn out needle?
2) Bad / bent cantilever?
3) Busted cart?
4) Bad newbie calibration?
5) Cartridge / tonearm mismatch?
6) Something else?

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thanks!

YL
hauie88
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@hauie88 I like Stanton cartridges too, in my opinion the Stanton SC-100 WOS is much better than Grace F9 (and many other top cartridges). Stanton has a brush in front of the stylus (same on Pickering) which is good for high compliance cartridges.

This is my ex Grace F9L (Luminal Trace stylus), look at yours and compare.

In my opinion top model Stanton & Pickering cartridges are much better than Grace F9. If your cartridge is defective you’d better return it for full refund and then you could find yourself top Stanton 981 or top Pickering 5000 model.
hauie88 OP
23 posts
 
Hey @chakster thanks for that pic. Here are a few pics of mine:

Cartridge and stylus

Stylus and cantilever

Cartridge connector pins

I know my zoom skills aren't great but seems to me the stylus tip is a lot smaller / flatter on mine?

Thanks!

Yuhau
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@hauie88

My advice:

Open paypal dispute and return your cartridge for full refund including return shipping. Add pictures to paypal dispute, so the seller can see the stylus is still there. Something wrong with your cartridge or stylus. Return it and forget about it, you will get full refund from paypal anyway. 
lewm
13,169 posts
 
Chak, read the thread. The seller has peacefully agreed to a refund.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
If refund is accepted that’s fine, buy yourself much better cartridge like Stanton SC-100 WoS, this model is amazing. Or 50% cheaper Pickering XSV/4000. Another killer MM is Pioneer PC-1000 mk2 (similar sound to top Stanton, Pickering). They are all better than Grace F9.
More to discover