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Grace F-9 broken stylus

First tell me if i have the words right
Cartridge is what holds the coils in an MM
Stylus is the needle part
cantilever assembly is the replaceable part that hold the stylus

I have a Grace F-9 cartridge with a green cantilever assembly that has the stylus broken off a new cantilever assembly looks like its going to run $150 at the cheapest

can i get a cantilever assembly cheaper?

how much can i sell it for with a broken stylus, it worked before the needle got torn off

I have a NAD 5025 TT and just want to play some vinyl

is it worth getting a replacement stylus or should i sell the cartridge and get a cheaper cartridge, i was advised to get a sure mx97 somthing

thanks

sprinklz
sprinklz
dr_joe
160 posts
 
I concur 100% with Tommyboy65.

I have three F9s, all with Soundsmith stylus assemblies. These are not cheap ($200 to $500), but worth it.

The F9 with $300 Soundsmith stylus assembly chased a $600+ Ortofon 2M Black right out of my system. Several friends, who run $1000 to $4000 MC cartridges, could hardly believe they were listening to music reproduced by a 35 year old MM design.

The only other thing I'll say is that the better your phono preamplifier, the better the F9 will sound.
tommyboy65
12 posts
 
What was considered the top of the line Grace cartridge? Was it the F-9 Ruby?

What happened to Grace and why did they stop making cartridges?

Both of my cartridges sound teriffic, much better than the Ortofon 2M Bronze that I previously owned.
tommytom
16 posts
 
I have the same situation. Bought a table with the F-9, green stylus. The stylus was crooked so I went over to Peter at Soundsmith (local) and he straightened it out for me but said the needle was a little worn on one side due to anti-skate. He offered me one of his Soundsmith replacement stylus that was miss marked "ruby" at a discount for $250. I didn't bite figuring I would see how the original straightened stylus sounds first. It sounds ok but the addict in me wants the new replacement stylus. Oh well, we'll see!
hesson11
237 posts
 
Hi Tommytom,

Just in the event you don't already know this, Peter at Soundsmith is VERY highly regarded in the high-end community not just for his superb skills and knowledge but also for his honesty and trustworthiness. He will not try to sell you something inappropriate to your needs, and he will always offer exceptional value for any product or service. I believe that whatever he told you about your cartridge, you can take as the most trustworthy of opinions. I'm also sure that anything he said to you was not an attempt to get you to "bite" on anything.
-Bob
lewm
13,230 posts
 
Two words: Sound Smith. Get the ruby cantilever with line contact stylus, for $250, and you will never have "cartridge envy". But meantime, learn more about the art and science of phono reproduction. If you are insecure about the word "cantilever" then you have a ways to go. It's worth a bit of study.
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