The L stands for Luminus Trace Stylus, which I have no experience with but it should be very similar in sound signature to the F9E and F9 Ruby which are my favorite Moving Magnet carts, owned them in the 70s and still own a F9R just rebuilt by Soundsmith which is the only MM I still own. The 300.00 asking price seems to be in line if cart is new or near New condition with a Grace stylus.
is the Grace F9L cartridge. equal to the newest MM, like Ortofon, Clearaudio, Rega, etc?
I was offered a Grace F-9L cartridge for about $300. I was informed by the seller that Grace cartridges work well with Thorens TT....However, Grace has been out of business for years So I am a little wary of its viability.
Therefore, need some info as to what its last retail price may have been?? And whether its reputation and performance is worth the investment BTW, there is no possibility of retipping it with Grace out of business I have a Thorens TD-145 which is crowned with a AT 440MLB moving magnet. Good, but not great
Note: I have been considering 3 used tables. Rega RP6 with an ELYS 2 cartridge; A Project 2Xpression with a low output Blue Point Speical Evo III cartridge, and a VPI Scout Jr. with a Quintet Red low output MC ( which is the most expensive of the three.
There is also another table under consideration I would purchase new: The: Project RPM3 prepacked with a Sumiko Blue Point 2 high output MC .
My gut tells me that any one of the 4 tables mentioned above would be a better investment than Grace F-9L and the Thorens. Therefore, any info and comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you