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

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.