Grace Level ll

Can you provide more information? I've never heard of "Grace Level II". I own and enjoy a Grace Ruby. Thanks.

Given the wonderfulness of my Ruby, I would be curious to listen to an F14. The nomenclature is still a bit confusing to me. There is "Level II" and within Level II there are F11 and F14? Is that correct? I've never heard of these cartridges maybe because I have not paid much attention to those very late Grace products. However, I do think the Ruby was made well into the 80s, at least. Correct me if I am wrong.

Ceramics used in audio, sounds like a sexy idea, but every such implementation has been short-lived, so far.  This suggests to me that it doesn't work very well.  Kenwood made an optional ceramic mat for the L07D. They are VERY rare.  I think they are rare because they did not sound as good as the standard stainless steel platter sheet and were unloved.  But still sexy. 

Chakster, When you wrote the above post on the 29th, did you know there is a Level II Grace for sale now on eBay, and that the seller is Russian?  Asking price is way too high for a vintage cartridge that has unknown provenance and performance.  I say this as a great admirer of the Grace Ruby, both with its original stylus and with an SS OCL re-tip. (I own both versions.)

Dear Chakster, You may be correct about the excellence of the Level II Grace cartridges.  However, it is not always a good idea to judge a cartridge solely by the materials of which it is made or by the shape of the stylus.  My only point is that I would have to have heard a level II in order to throw caution to the wind and make such a purchase at the asking price.  Also, my reservations about the asking price of the cartridge on eBay are not only based on its age and unknown condition (although those factors are important, to be sure), but also on the fact that I have no opportunity to inspect the cartridge and no leverage on a seller who is 6000 miles away in another country, eBay rules notwithstanding.

By the way, the Ruby jumps up another level with the SS re-tip using their OCL stylus.  I own both an original elliptical one and a re-tipped one and have compared them extensively.  At first, I preferred the elliptical but not after the SS re-tipped one had about 10 hours of playing time on it.

Compliance does not change much, unless you also change the suspension elements, which should not be necessary in most cases and was not done in the case of my Ruby.  On the contrary, I would think that an NOS OEM cartridge built in the 80s is more likely to suffer from stiffening of the suspension due to both elapsed time and lack of use, compared to a cartridge that has at least been used once in a while over that same period of time.  Anyway, I do have it both ways (one with original cantilever and stylus vs another re-tipped by SS), and the latter version is superior.