NOS Grace F9E question

@rauliruegas

yes the F9 is a winner tells other thing makes no-sense and bortding to the stupidity.

"Stupidity" is your comments these days, you missed the train long time ago and i have no idea when you have listened to any records with Grace cartridge last time, also you have never mentioned the models i am talking about here.

F9 the one that grace choosed to be its " horse warrior " not the other Grace models.

That’s why it was discontinued by Grace when they made a better upgraded models ?

This is a forum to contribute, not to repead your statement from 15 years ago. The "winner" is the best cartridge, mediorce cartridge can not be a winner in a competition. Maybe if you are alone in the marathon then you will be a winner, but if 10 more people will join the marathon you will be a loser. We’re talking about Grace and NO OTHER manufacturer, if you have not tried top of the line Grace models then it is not my problem, Raul. Coil wire, pins material, cantilever, stylus, overall design of F-9 is inferiour compared to improved F12, F14, Level II and Asakura’s TWO models. Only if you have nothing to compare from the Grace own line then F-9 can win, but only without its competitors.

Grace F14 and LEVEL II original styli are superior compared to SoundSmith ugly replacements.

Grace offered a bunch of different styli for F14 and LEVEL II:
Beryllium, Boron, Ceramic, Alluminum with many different diamonds.

Nodoby who own original Grace F14 or LEVEL II needs a SoundSmith.

F9 is a good cartridge, but it’s not a winner, sorry

I think i’ve tried all F9 models, the best is not the Elliptical F-9E, but the F-9F (Discrete-4) with Shibata stylus, the F-9U (Utility-4) with LineContact stylus is the next. Grace Ruby comes with elliptical stylus (same as F-9E) and can not compete with Shibata F-9F (Discrete-4). All these models are inferior compared to LEVEL II or F-14 with much better cantilevers/styli etc. I’ve collecting Grace cartridges (MM and MC) and my listening experience with them is only 2 years old, so fresh.

Your post about Grace are 15 years old and you’re still not improved your Grace Experience if you think the F-9 is a winner.

Please go and listen to your digital instead.

Dear @tzh21y : I hope you are enjoying your F9, certainly it's not often that we receive that kind of very good gift.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @mofimadness : Yes, any F9 ( in good operation condition. ) owner knows that. I think that in any internet audio forum any one posted that is nothing but a good cartridge: a winner.


R.

@lewm

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.

You’d better buy F-14 LC-OFC with BR/MR stylus or the LEVEL II LC-OFC in the same configuration, then we can talk about Grace cartridges, seriously. Right now i see that you have never tried the best Grace cartridges yet and you only can repead that you like the Ruby or SoundSmith refurbished one. There was a RUBY version of LEVEL II cartridge and i have it too. As i said i’m collecting different Grace cartridges and styli.

How can you tell anything about Grace if you may never owned any models that are placed much higher in the catalog of Grace (higher than F-9 of any kind) ? You never told me that you have tried any of them. Those upgraded Grace models supposed to be more expensive and much better cartridges. They are all from the 80’s (not from the 70’s). In fact they are better, no questions for me (owned all of them, included some unknown models). I don’t know anyone who would like to get back to the F-9 after trying F-14 or LEVEL II. Worth to try, really.

You asking about my gear again? OK:

-Gold Note PH-10 phono stage
-JLTi phono stage with optional load resistors of whatever value for MM
-First Watt B1 preamp
-First Watt F2J power amp (for crossover less speakers)
-Zu Audio Druid mk5* full range crossoverlesss peakers with high pass filter for super tweetrer (*in fact oficially upgraded mk4 with the latest drivers and tweeters, parts supplied by zu audio).

P.S. The situation with Grace reminds me a situation with those Glanz cartridges (long time carts of the month in MM thread), people can’t judge the potential of Glanz until they will try MFG-61 which is another level of performance compared to all lower models from the same brand. Same about Grace latest models in comparison to the lower models. This is where the true winners are!