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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
hauie88 OP
23 posts
 
@mofimadness 
@lewm 

One question for you all - does the skipping I described make it seem more like a stylus issue?

I figure a busted cart could cause the sound distortion but could it cause the skipping?

Would a worn out needle cause both the distortion and the skipping?

mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,945 posts
 
Would a worn out needle cause both the distortion and the skipping?

Yes.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Clean your stylus first with a brush. Dust around the stylus tip is most common problem for any cartridges.

You can look at the stylus and cantilever, maybe?
How people can comment on something they can’t see ?

I have big collection of Grace cartridges and never had any issue with any sample.

Tracking force for most of the Grace is 1.5g

Do you know how to adjust tonearm for different cartridges ?
Are you sure your tonearm adjusted properly?
hauie88 OP
23 posts
 
Do you know how to adjust tonearm for different cartridges ?
Are you sure your tonearm adjusted properly?

Hey @chakster thanks for the reply. The way I adjusted the tonearm for the Grace is the same process I used for the Stanton I have. So that’s my frame of reference. Every time I switched between one to the other to test (probably a total of 7-8 times), the Stanton put out exactly the same (good) quality sound and the Grace was awful as described in my original post. 

I downloaded the original manual for the tonearm and followed the instructions each time... connecting headshell wires, adjusting overhang, tonearm height, counterweight and lateral weight adjustments, tracking force setting and finally antiskating adjustment. Then I use an alignment protractor to set the null points according to the tonearm specific specs. I then use a vertical height gauge to set the lifting arm to the proper height above the record surface as according to the TT manual (needle tip 1 cm above) and check azimuth and if the arm is parallel. 

Is there any step you can see that I’m missing?

Assuming for a moment that I’m being clumsy as a beginner and not being as accurate and finely tuned with these calibrations as someone more experienced  - could that cause such extremely different sound outputs? Especially because going through the same process with the Stanton turns out great every time?

Will look into posting a couple pics now...

Thanks!

Yuhau
lewm
12,638 posts
 
Chakster, I did not mean to imply that Grace cartridges per se are prone to failure.  Quite the contrary.  I merely stated that this particular sample that the OP purchased on-line appears to be defective.  This can happen even with reputable and completely honest sellers, as witness the fact that the seller has readily agreed to a refund.  I do think the subsequent ideas about being sure the stylus assembly is properly seated and that the stylus is clean are good ones. I would add one more, be sure there IS a stylus at the end of the cantilever, although the F9 has an aluminum cantilever where it is possible to press fit the stylus, which is less likely to fall off the cantilever.  Still, if the stylus has fallen off the cantilever, that can result in some or all of the symptoms the OP describes.
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