Who owns/owned a Fidelity Research FR1 MK3F & what is similar but better


To say that I love, love, love this cartridge is a gross understatement. In fact I love it so much I now own 2 - one I had rebuilt and one I just bought which is virtually unused.

The sweet tone of the music and the life like performance of both instruments and vocals is outstanding. The delivery of music is totally immersive and mesmerizing. Whilst the high frequencies are detailed yet silky smooth and the bass is low reaching but solid, it is the midrange where everything comes alive.

It is in this midrange zone that the voices of Nancy Wilson, Jacintha, Vanessa Fernandez, amongst others, become incredibly real, intoxicating and seductive. It is also in this range where trumpets, saxophones, snare drums, bass guitar & piano sound so palpable you feel like you can reach out and touch them.

To give the above statements some context I should point out that I have owned and / or demo'd some reasonably desirable cartridges such as Technics EPC-310MC, Audio Technica OC9 III, AT 32e II, AT 150 MLX, Denon 103 with aluminum body and soundsmith rebuild, Signet TK 100LC, Linn Adikt & Grado F1+, and I can honestly say that based on my taste, none of these cartridges come anywhere close to providing the sheer enjoyment I get from the Fidelity Research.

So what do I do now??? Have I reached vinyl nirvana???? In the short to medium term I say yes wholeheartedly and I am content to focus my $$$ on expanding my record collection with a massive smile on my face.

However, and there is always a "however", what happens when I am ready to consider going to the next level or I get that itch that we all get no matter how high up the food chain we get. What cartridge, (vintage preferably), would offer a similar sonic flavor but provide a little more of everything I love about this magical cart.

This request for information is purely out of curiosity at this stage as I have no desire to spend more $$$, but I am keen hear from those members who have owned the F version of this cartridge and find out what they did to take it to the next level. 

Thanks in advance for any observations y'all may have.


 
ateal
Dear chakster, while I participated in the MM thread from 2007 and on and
bought many in order not to stay behind I always prefered the MC kind.
But we all try to turn our subjective preferences into some  ''objective sense''.
I just lately discovered the FR-7 series. Dertonarm advised me 10 years
ago to try them but while I admire the guy my own opinion was more important
to me. This ''learning curve'' of Raul never impressed me because I don't
consider psychology as a science (grin). However there may be some truth
in this learning curve. Anyway I learned to love this FR-7 series and added
Ikeda 9 (cantileverless kind) to them. With my new Denon AU-S1 SUT I
enjoy them all each day. However I am most impressed with the FR-7fz
and use the ''f'' and the (rare) 702 as a spare. If you own the FR-64/66 tonearm
write to me for a possible deal.
No i don’t have FR-64/66 tonearms, i still have Schick tonearm for low compliance cartridges (i’m gonna try with FR-6SE), for the rest i use Reed 3p. The FR-5E mm cartridge was recommended by J.Carr, not by Raul. I believe Halcro has both FR-5E and FR-6SE.

However i ’m fine with Raul’s recommendation when it comes to cartridges like AT-ML180/OCC (even AT-ML150/OCC is great).

I like MCs as well, the one i like seems nobody even tried: Argent MC500HS (sapphire cantilever, line contact stylus, high output, from the 80s).

P.S. FR-1 mk3F seemed to be more universal to mate with different arms than headshell integrated FR-7. Never seen FR 702.
Ateal...excellent choice with the FR1-mk3f cartridges; "exceptional performer,"a good choice of words!

Nany...Raul, he is okay, even an honest fellow; try it, you'll like it, really!

Cheers!

Have a pair of FR MC 202 carts. Just for fun I have tried about 4-5 other carts only to promptly return to the FR. Smooth music when the music is smooth but it rocks out without a hitch. Bought the backup as soon as I saw it. The first one was bought NOS, so as long as the second one is performing great that NOS sits in the box ready for it's time.