Grado Stylus Upgrade

Thanks ghosthouse and chakster. I am always cautious when I read various forums where people claim what a significant difference an upgrade made to the sound. Cost of the stylus shouldn't be a deciding factor and if the original Gold is similar in price why shouldn't the performance be?  Some say "what a difference". I have been in the audio "hobby" long enough to realize that when folks spend extra $$$ they are convinced that it was for the better. Sometimes true and others not. But, that's their perspective.
ghosthouse....thanks for your suggestion. I'm not looking to convert my vinyl setup into a significantly superior one. If only marginal gains were to be obtained I would consider it. I read other forum posts with a bit of skepticism. There just seems so many that recommend that stylus upgrade.
chakster....Thanks for your input as well. From what I've read is that the XTZ cartridge has been out of production for a while. Besides, if I would
spend $450+ on just the stylus, for the same money why wouldn't I just upgrade the entire cartridge??
Thanks to all. I appreciate all the input.

 

Thanks to all who have responded to my original post regarding a stylus upgrade from the original stylus of the Grado Gold cartridge. Certainly, most of you have much more experience with the Grado brand. Sure, better sound can be obtained with a complete cartridge/stylus upgrade. But, my original question was if the 8MZ would offer an improvement. If the Gold isn't capable of noticeable sound improvement with just a simple stylus upgrade then I will just wait until a later date and upgrade everything.There were styli mentioned besides the 8MZ. If those other styli are superior that is of interest. My phono stage is a Graham Slee Reflex with it's PSIU. It is only capable of support for MM cartridges. I know Slee has an extra piece (Elevator) that will provide increased settings for a MC cartridge but I'm not yet ready to make the change.As far as the Grado Gold cartridge goes....will all of the styli mentioned in this post fit into the Gold cartridge body?Thanks to all.

chakster....I am most interested in your statement about removing the existing stylus. When I bought the Grado Gold cartridge from my local dealer and their turntable expert installed it on my table I asked him the question about removing and reinstalling the stylus. He demonstrated by removing and replacing the stock stylus in a matter of about 3 seconds, Would any of these stylus upgrades be any more difficult to install?Thanks for all advice.