Grado Gold 1 slyli question

[CrSens]

G

It is broken just after the solid bit. The cantilever is slid over the solid rod and glued into place so the only way to retain the original stylus cantilever is to add an external tube splint which is ok to do but messy and will increase mass. You really can't do this properly without a retip and to do properly it will cost maybe 250 US not 100. These can be retipped with boron and nude Micro Ridge or similar which is way better than the old stylus and nit that expensive considering the upgrade.
Re using the old diamond, it is doable, but it is very difficult to remove glue from a diamond that is 0.1mm without pinging it. It can be done but it is cheaper time wise to use a new tip.
Chris

G-1+ stylus is a "twin tip" proprietary Grado top of the line stylus, and nothing like today's Grado styluses. I have experience with Namiki MR (Shure V15 VxMR) and I find old twin tips sonically superior in every way.

 

[CrSens]

Trying my best not to threadjack here, but this thread (and another one from the past week) are starting to get me a bit Grado-curious again...

I have a couple of older bodies here, one with an intact stylus assembly (a ZF1). The ZF1 either doesn't like my tonearms, or the diamond is shot (or very dirty). But I'm thinking of deep cleaning the diamond and giving it one more try on a beater record to see if I can get any better sound out of it. At the moment, too many other priorities prevent me from buying a good stylus (i.e - Gold/8MZ) or re-tip for it, but mainly trying to figure out if I want to invest in it down the road.

Reading around suggests that Grado styli compliance varied quite a bit over the years, from as high as 35cu back during the 70's "G" models, and that they dropped down into the 20-25 cu range starting with the "M" series in the early 80's through the current day Prestige range.

Anyone know if the Z series leaned lower or higher in compliance with the original stylus assemblies, and how they might compare to the current Gold/Silver/8MZ? I mainly ask, because people either say they need a low mass arm, or a medium mass arm, and that they're very picky about arm matching (but will sing when they like the tonearm used). In my case, fluid dampening might be the easiest solution to help things out (I have strictly medium mass arms). Also just curious if the current Gold styli have better or worse suspensions/cantilevers than the older models original styli?

The current suspensions are more or less the same, and cantilevers are more complex (more sections) but not necessarily better. The difference is the tips, the old ones were nudes from top to at least 4 steps down the range, today's are all bonded. But to be fair, the price points and economies of scale are not the same, either.

 

[cafe latte]

G

G-1+ stylus is a "twin tip" proprietary Grado top of the line stylus, and nothing like today's Grado styluses. I have experience with Namiki MR (Shure V15 VxMR) and I find old twin tips sonically superior in every way.

I strongly disagree. I have both and the twin tip which is just a nude elliptical is a long way from the performance of the Micro Ridge especially with a boron cantilever.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

Basically the G1 was a nice true ellipsoid like the black diamond range available today.
Contact surfaces are many times longer and much narrower on a Micro ridge and thr micro ridge will last about 3x longer whilst sounding the same through the stylus life.
True ellipsoid is a nice cut but it does not come close to what it can drag from the groove that a Micro ridge can.
Chris

 

[Taketheflame]

The current suspensions are more or less the same, and cantilevers are more complex (more sections) but not necessarily better. The difference is the tips, the old ones were nudes from top to at least 4 steps down the range, today's are all bonded. But to be fair, the price points and economies of scale are not the same, either.

Thanks for the info!

I re-mounted the ZF1 I have and deep cleaned the stylus for a test on a beater record. Sounded a little better than the first time I tried it, but still mostly in line with my initial experience - either it doesn't like the tonearm mass (~13.5g), or the stylus is worn out. Sounded dark, and didn't track very well.

At some point, I'll have to try again with a re-tip (since it's the only way to get a nude stone besides NOS) when fluid dampening/a lighter tonearm might come into the picture.

 

[CrSens]

Thanks for the info!

I re-mounted the ZF1 I have and deep cleaned the stylus for a test on a beater record. Sounded a little better than the first time I tried it, but still mostly in line with my initial experience - either it doesn't like the tonearm mass (~13.5g), or the stylus is worn out. Sounded dark, and didn't track very well.

At some point, I'll have to try again with a re-tip (since it's the only way to get a nude stone besides NOS) when fluid dampening/a lighter tonearm might come into the picture.

Z series (where ZF belongs) are chronologically the last series before Prestige series (late 90's) and already quite similar in sound to early Prestiges, therefore darker sounding than late 70's-late 80's Grado's (G, M, X series). I would not base conclusions about vintage Grado's on Z series carts, although earlier vintage G and M styluses on them would wake them up somewhat.

 

[Taketheflame]

Z series (where ZF belongs) are chronologically the last series before Prestige series (late 90's) and already quite similar in sound to early Prestiges, therefore darker sounding than late 70's-late 80's Grado's (G, M, X series). I would not base conclusions about vintage Grado's on Z series carts, although earlier vintage G and M styluses on them would wake them up somewhat.

I have read that the earlier generations of Prestige models can sound pretty dark - and different to not only the newest versions of the Prestige series, but the 70's/early 80's Grados as well.

If the Z-series is supposed to sound how it did on my rig, it sounds like I might be better off getting ahold of an M-series (or older) if I want to try an old Grado again at some point.

 

[CrSens]

I have read that the earlier generations of Prestige models can sound pretty dark - and different to not only the newest versions of the Prestige series, but the 70's/early 80's Grados as well.

If the Z-series is supposed to sound how it did on my rig, it sounds like I might be better off getting ahold of an M-series (or older) if I want to try an old Grado again at some point.

If you have high quality system the F series is a good buy, namely F-1, F-2, F-3 and their + variants. F3E+ is also very good. On average systems the F series could sound a little too polite. On good systems polite becomes refined and authoritatively detailed.

 

[Polurevox]

I used to have two other Grado styluses on Gold body.
One very old that came with this cart, unknown model (very worn) and Blue purchased for replacement few years ago (broken cantilever) -
Both tips nearly twice bigger than this G2+ on my photos.
Is this normal?

 

[CrSens]

Yes, it is normal. G-2+ cartridge listed for $250 in 1979, guess how much it would cost today.