2. analog
  3. 135669-74046

Any Love for the Grace F10 L Moving Coil Cartridge

Just picked up one of these super rare cartridges and wondered if any of our members had ever owned one and if so could offer any feedback on what to expect.

I had convinced myself that I would not buy any more cartridges and had actually being selling some off to pay for a rebuild on one of my most valued cartridges. Unfortunately for me I have a weakness for those very rare vintage cartridges and I simply can't stop myself if one becomes available at the right price.

The model I have coming is the "L" version with hollow Boron cantilever (hollow boron is another weakness of mine). The specs are as follows.

  • Frequency characteristics: 20~30,000Hz±2dB
  • Output voltage: 0.75mV(5cm/sec, 1,000Hz, 45°)
  • Impedance: 23Ω±10%(1,000Hz)
  • Channel balance: within 0.5dB(1,000Hz)
  • Crosstalk: below -25dB(1,000Hz)
  • Stylus tip: 0.2×0.8mil Advanced Luminal Trace
  • Stylus pressure: 1.8gr (±0.5gr)
  • Compliance: 20×10-6cm/dyne
  • Cantilever: Boron composite
Like my other posts, I will report back with my own findings for those who stumble across this thread in the future.

Thanks.
ateal
ateal OP
97 posts
 
Thanks Chakster, that makes this one super high compliance with a converted figure of 36. That’s quite a bit higher than the Grace MM’s such as the F9 Ruby and Grace Level II. 

What I find odd though, is that the mid point VTF is quite heavy at 1.8g. Normally super high compliance carts have average VTF’s of 1 to 1.25g. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Looking at the specs of my signature Grace Asakura’s One MC, which is twice as much in price in the old catalogs, i see the same 1.8g tracking force recommended, but the compliance is 15 @100Hz, which is about 25cu if we convert it correctly to 10Hz. Yes, it’s very high compliance for LOMC. Another high compliance LOMC from my vaults is Ortofon MC2000 (compliance 20cu, recommended tracking force 1.5g). So they are close, great trackers!
ateal OP
97 posts
 
Thanks for the additional info Chakster. 

The F10L at 8.6grams in weight plus the included Grace HS-6 headshell at 11grams and a compliance figure of 36, sure make it challenging for tonearm matching. 

Not sure what arm to put it on. 
ateal OP
97 posts
 
Well it arrived and looks like it has had very little use indeed. Cantilever and diamond are super clean under 300x magnification. 

I installed it on my Yamaha GT2000 using the Grace HS-6  headshell it came with, giving a total mass including tonearm, headshell and cartridge is a whopping 31g. 

Measuring the resonant frequency with the HIFI News record it comes in at around 6Hz which is not ideal but it plays great with no adverse effect. 

I set the tracking force to 2.0g which is slightly above the recommended 1.8g. I did this to help with break in. 

Very first impressions were that the detail resolution of the upper frequencies were incredible. So much HF information it was overwhelming. However the sound felt a little shut in and the bass wasn’t really apparent. 

I adjusted the SRA so the tonearm was just a tiny bit tail down and continued to play albums with lots of heavy bass to aid with break in. After a couple of hours the sound stage was widening and the bass was becoming stronger and deeper. 

After a few hours it is sounding very promising albeit a little strident in the higher frequencies. 

I think it needs much more break in as the cantilever seems very stiff. 

Will update after more of a break in. 


ateal OP
97 posts
 
I have put about 15 hrs on it so far and it is starting to mellow out, thank god.

Sounding very very good and bass is getting deeper and HF less fatiguing. 

I needed to switch back to my Fidelity Research FRT 4 SUT as it is a little less revealing than the Audio Interface SUT. Maybe once it is broken in I can try the Audio Interface again.

More to come.


More to discover