2. analog
  3. 124230-74046

Who owns/owned a Fidelity Research FR1 MK3F & what is similar but better

To say that I love, love, love this cartridge is a gross understatement. In fact I love it so much I now own 2 - one I had rebuilt and one I just bought which is virtually unused.

The sweet tone of the music and the life like performance of both instruments and vocals is outstanding. The delivery of music is totally immersive and mesmerizing. Whilst the high frequencies are detailed yet silky smooth and the bass is low reaching but solid, it is the midrange where everything comes alive.

It is in this midrange zone that the voices of Nancy Wilson, Jacintha, Vanessa Fernandez, amongst others, become incredibly real, intoxicating and seductive. It is also in this range where trumpets, saxophones, snare drums, bass guitar & piano sound so palpable you feel like you can reach out and touch them.

To give the above statements some context I should point out that I have owned and / or demo'd some reasonably desirable cartridges such as Technics EPC-310MC, Audio Technica OC9 III, AT 32e II, AT 150 MLX, Denon 103 with aluminum body and soundsmith rebuild, Signet TK 100LC, Linn Adikt & Grado F1+, and I can honestly say that based on my taste, none of these cartridges come anywhere close to providing the sheer enjoyment I get from the Fidelity Research.

So what do I do now??? Have I reached vinyl nirvana???? In the short to medium term I say yes wholeheartedly and I am content to focus my $$$ on expanding my record collection with a massive smile on my face.

However, and there is always a "however", what happens when I am ready to consider going to the next level or I get that itch that we all get no matter how high up the food chain we get. What cartridge, (vintage preferably), would offer a similar sonic flavor but provide a little more of everything I love about this magical cart.

This request for information is purely out of curiosity at this stage as I have no desire to spend more $$$, but I am keen hear from those members who have owned the F version of this cartridge and find out what they did to take it to the next level. 

Thanks in advance for any observations y'all may have.


 
ateal
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Yes, this is a LINK to t_bone's Fidelity Reasearch thread. 

And this is what J Carr said:

"The PMC-3 is far less popular than the FR-1 or 7, but was influenced by the FR-7's thinking, and is certainly worth searching out."  - J.Carr

FR also had quite interesting MM designs. I'm not too fond of the electrical characteristics of most MMs (nor how they sound), but the low-inductance FR-5E is a notable exception." - J.Carr
edgewear
543 posts
 
Here and elsewhere the question has been asked what is the exact difference between FR7f and FR7fz. As far as I can detect with my fairly basic magnifier, they have the same cantilever and the same stylus, called 'refined line contact'.
It is documented that the specs are different: FR7fz has higher output (0.24 mV versus 0.2 mV) and higher impedance (5 ohm versus 3 ohm) than FR7f (and basic FR7). While the reason for this difference is unclear, most users who have compared them have a preference for the FR7fz. Myself included, although I must say the MC702 comes really really close.

In corona lockdown you start doing weird things, so I did a close inspection of all my cartridges. And whaddayouknow? I'd swear I can see that the FR7fz has silver coils, instead of copper as in the case of FR7f (and MC702). I remember reading somewhere that the first batch of the original FR7 had silver coils. So perhaps Ikeda revisited the initial model with the FR7fz, incorporating some of the design improvements he made along the way. A final statement of sorts, 'Z' being the last letter of the alphabet.

But 'Z' is also the first letter of 'zilver', the Dutch word for silver. Now why didn't I think of that before? 😂

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Interesting @edgewear

What’s the hype about 702 by the way ?
I never tried this model, but looking at the specs for the rest of FR-7 HERE and comparing to the specs from my the scan of the FR catalog i see there is not difference between 702 and FR-7f

**Specs for Fidelity-Research MC-702:

Output: 0.2 mV
Playback frequency response: 10 - 45 000 Hz
Channel separation is better than 28db
Channel balance: 1dB max
Coil Impedance: 2 Ohm
Load Impedance: 3 Ohm or higher
Tracking weight: 2-3g (optimal 2.5g)
Stylus shape: Refined Contact type solid diamond
Dynamic Compliance: 7cu @ 100Hz
Weight 29g

P.S. there is no 702 in the Japanese catalog, but there is a 702 in English (export) catalog. Was it just FR-7f branded FR-702 for export sales outside of Japan ?


edgewear
543 posts
 
Dear chakster, I wouldn’t say there’s a hype about the MC702, it’s the least know member of the FR7 family (it even changed its name). It may have been a rebadged FR7f for export purposes, which wasn’t an uncommon practice. Ikeda himself did something similar with the Ikeda 9, as the Rex and the one with the Japanese characters (called Kiwami I believe) apparently were identical.

Whatever the case, I can directly compare it with FR7f and while the specs and stylus are identical, they definitely do not sound the same. I’d say the MC702 is slightly tailored towards a more open and detailed sonic presentation. Perhaps in an attempt to bring it closer to the generally accepted ’modern’ sound of MC’s, which has sometimes been accused of having a deliberate (and artificial) treble rise to create the illusion of hyper detail and transparency.

But there is nothing artificial about the MC702 sound and I would describe it as a slightly more refined version of the FR7f. Some folks have also suggested that the MC702 has a shorter cantilever, but I’m not so sure about that. In any case it hits the ’dots’ on the Feickert exactly like the other FR7 versions, without changing the position of the FR64s.

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
There is a hype because it is one of the rarest version of FR 7 family.

@edgewear You’re right about shorter cantilever, as i can read in the English catalog about model 702:

"Newly developed short cantilever reduce the effective mass of the moving parts to approximately two thirds that of previous MC cartridges to faithfully reproduce the wide dynamic range of the highly modulated groove cut into today’s best audiophile discs."

I must say there is no FR-7fz in this catalog, while the rest of the models such FR-7 are there. Probably FR-7fz indeed was the latest model.

Mystery!

More to discover