HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Antonio - I'll leave that TT for you to pick up. Looks like an industrial lathe.

The Logic DM101 is performing perfectly and proving that it is superior to the (spit) overrated LP12.

Just won a Grado Signature cartridge with an 'almost unused' MCZ stylus in an Ebay auction (I was the only bidder!).



The MCZ stylus is the next step up from the already wonderful 8MZ and the Signature body has better internals than the basic Prestige cartridge.

Should be in next week.

Feeling lucky, punk?

Actually, I wasn't feeling so lucky. Spotting a Grado Signature body and MCZ stylus on a Dutch Ebay auction - starting bid 100 euro.
The MCZ is the next model above the 8MZ in the Signature line and a new stylus is about 250 euro here, plus the Sig body. So I put in a first bid with the expectation that I would quickly be trounced.

Nobody else was interested! Resulting in a small package that arrived in yesterday's post. Somewhat suspicious of buying blind - I had a good look at the stylus where you can clearly see 'MCZ' hand-engraved on the plastic. Seems genuine.



Another nervous cartridge change then ensued. Having had some practice it now went a bit easier. The Prestige casing is almost identical to that of the Signature.



The Signature body has a JG (Joe Grado) logo on the case and feels slightly heavier and chunkier. The plug markings are in silver rather than the embossed plastic of the Prestige.

With the Sig body mounted in the arm, I switched the 8MZ stylus in for now (will save the MCZ for another day) to get an impression of what the change in cartridge body does.

There is certainly a difference. Tighter and more integrated character. Instruments more clearly defined. Bass better controlled. I had not expected such a leap in performance. One other thing is that the output is less than the Prestige body, I'm having to turn the volume knob about 20% further to get similar sound levels.

Some comments on the web have said that the Grado Signature series are among the best MM cartridges ever made and the MCZ stylus has only had 3 hours use, according to the seller. I'll enjoy the 8MZ for now, which sounds glorious, and see how soon I get curious enough to try the MCZ.

To be continued ...

I love a good second hand cartridge bargain
Excellent
I got a Stilton body and MP200 stylus for pennies-

Okay, this is confusing.

Wondering about which Grado Signature body I have received I have found out the following about output voltages:

Prestige series - 5mV
Signature 8MZ - 3.5mV
Signature MCZ - 1.5mV

This explains why I'm having to boost the volume and I suspect that this cartridge is originally an MCZ (or higher) model.

Can't help you as to which cartridge you purchased, but being able to turn the volume knob higher can be an advantage, giving you more option for volume level.

Can I have first dibs on the Denafrips when you come to sell it

Got to admit i love Grado cartridges.

Interesting that grado accept the difference in cartridges is all down to differences in cantilever material and diamond profile.

Yesterday evening I ran into an odd problem, on three LP's in succession the needle 'stuck' at about 3/4 through the album side. This hasn't happened with the Prestige body, so I'm wondering what might be the cause.

1) the arm. Vague memories from the 80's surface where I had l similar difficulties. Maybe something in the arm bearing.

2) Anti-skate. Grado's seem to work better with little or no anti-skate force. I have taken the little counterweight from the Syrinx completely off - see if that helps. Has certainly opened up the treble end of the cartridge.

3) Alignment. Could be that I have to check that the cartridge is correctly mounted in the arm.

Ho hum.

Just happened again.

Increased the tracking weight from 1.6g to 1.8g. Maybe that'll fix it.

Also put the anti-skate weight back on (low). SQ is fatter and rounder with improved imaging.