Thorens 160MKII BC Grace 707 + F9????

The 707 is a rather light weight arm and needs a hi compliance cart, not overly available anymore. If you have a lightweight cart already (hi compliance) then it should be fine if not I’d look elsewhere. Most modern carts are medium/lowish compliance and not a good match to the 707.  All from my memory anyway.  Whats the compliance of the F9? sorry missed that originaly. 

@glennewdick 

Thanks for the response. 

Yes the f9 is high compliance apparently. I will chat to soundsmith and see what upgrade i should make to the cart.

Ideally i would like a removable headshell 

The 707 and F9E or F9R are contemporary stablemates from Grace, fully compatible. SS makes styli for all versions. The Ruby is TOTL, and by many considered one of the top members of the MM pantheon, along with Shure V15, Stanton/Pickering and ADC top models, any of which can work on a 707. The removable headshell version was the 747, iirc, considerably rarer. 

What would make you think that a Grace tonearm marketed contemporaneously with a Grace cartridge would not be a good match?

What a shame, oh well, you certainly didn't spend any time with your head in your hands.

What flexibility do you have when changing arms on a TD160?

707 is 225mm spindle to post, the acos lustre gst-801 is also 225mm, 15mm overhang, removable headshell, magnetics used for tracking force and anti-skate, and super smooth VTA while playing. you would love it I am sure.

I'm on vacation so I cannot pull the manual, anybody know the diameter of the hole to mount it? The bottom is a thick heavy 

The OP won't spend to repair the Luxman. Why would he spend several hundred more dollars to replace the perfectly good tonearm he received with his replacement turntable? And for the Grace F9, it is not at all clear that the Acos would be significantly superior to the Grace 707. But I guess that is all up to him.

@elliottbnewcombjr I think the mounting shaft for the 707 is 20-25. had a look for the acos but no where to be found to even have a look!

@lewm 

I had read (audiokarma?) that the compliance would not be a good fit. But what do i know. Hence the question. Also my naim only has MM so cant get a MC atm. Theres great info out here but it can be mind bending if you dig too deep at times (8O Re: luxman:  I would spend to get something repaired if i had found it, was given it, was dirt cheap or it crashed over years of use. I do this with my cameras all the time. Money is not always the issue. But to me its not economically sensible or time efficient to spend a ton of cash on something that is meant to be working and arrives faulty for then have ME do the leg work of finding someone somewhere to possibly do the work and just hope that they can actually do the work with parts they may or may not have. Call me old fashioned but all i want to do is listen to records and along the way improve on what i already have. Also having something a little simpler would allow me the space to tinker all day long if things go awry

I am sure the 707 is an amazing arm. Couldn't tell you off the bat I am a noob. But having the access to new headshells and carts without having to fiddle around all the  time sounds like a good idea to me. 

Technicalities aside I like the aesthetics of a straight arm on a deck like the thorens. Always liked the Micro Seiki but not sure if they are a good fit.

But any and all info is definitely appreciated!

I dunno if the 707 is amazing, but I do know it will work fine with the Grace cartridge of the same era.  Why not give the Thorens/Grace tonearm/Grace cartridge combo a listen for a few weeks. If you are dissatisfied at that point, you can then make some changes. I personally believe that an F9 with any one of the better Soundsmith replacement stylus assemblies will give any sub $1000 MC cartridge a run for the money. Give it time to break in.  I own an F9Ruby with the SS sapphire cantilever/OCL stylus; it's excellent.

Grace 707 owner of 48 (!) years here. I owned a Grace F9E and F9 Ruby back in the early 1980’s.

The Grace F9E most definitely works with this tonearm. I could never get the ruby version to no sound bright and hard in my system (bi amplified Dahlquist DQ10’s at the time with AR SP6B and C-J MV75A and Ampzilla amps with double subs). I think the ruby cantilever has kess compliance than the aluminium F9E.

If you look up the compliance data for the F9E vs the F9Ruby, I really do not think you would find much if any difference in compliance. Your finding that the Ruby was bright and hard in your system does not at all gibe with my experience in my system, but that just goes to show the importance of ancillary equipment in determining one’s impression of any cartridge. In fact, one of the things I like better about the SoundSmith OCL stylus vs the stock Ruby stylus is the fact that the former does have a better more extended top end and with greater transparency. (I own two Grace Ruby cartridges, one still with its original stylus and the other with the SS max upgrade, so I have been able to compare them straight across.)

@lewm @jallan 

Thank you both for the information and insights. 

My basic system currently is a naim nait 50th running out to some martin logans. 

The naim is incredibly clear. I am worried that with the wrong choice it may shrill at the top end. 

I will give soundsmith a call and see what is available to me and any suggestions.

On a slight tangent, how do you deal with azimuth on a none removable head???

@chridabs The answer regarding azimuth on the Grace 707 is simple- you can’t adjust azimuth. Mine was correctly set at the factory. I just worried about getting the tracking angle correct, which with the Grace F9E was forgiving with its elliptical stylus. Not so true with fancy Van den Hul or Shibata styli!

My friend and I got lucky, his azimuth was good as normally mounted.

old days, you needed to improvise a strip of thin plastic or paper on one side between top of cartridge and bottom of headshell until correct, total pita.

I found this

"Just realized azimuth is adjustable on the 707! Fine-tuned it and it has made a bit of a difference, especially at the inner grooves. Unfortunately the set screw at the rear of the headshell, underneath, is a bit of a pain to access. But what an arm!"

however, another discussion says it is not adjustable and to be careful not to overtighten that screw or the plastic headshell will crack. glue was found, and it might have been factory original glue or subsequent repair glue.

I haven't seen the manual, surely IF it was a feature, it would be mentioned.

The Micro-Seiki 505 headshell fitting is adjustable, access with simple small flat screwdriver from the side while mounted. Wonderful, ought to be an industry standard.

Chridabs, why not relax, take a breath, and evaluate what you now own over a period of several weeks? These other items will always be out there to buy if you get the itch. I guess I already said all that. If you can get the headshell to sit so it’s parallel to the LP surface, that’s fine enough for azimuth. 

micro seiki 505 is also 225mm spindle to post, a wonderful arm, reasonable price

Yes, the world is full of wonderful vintage Japanese tonearms, and I am not being facetious.