Relative newbie with tt questions

I think that you can answer the question yourself. If you prefer the sound of the Grado, buy the replacement direct from Grado, if not go with the BPS. It's OK to check out the Grado sound, even with the worn stylus, on a few duplicate, noisy or disposable LPs.

My only comment, of value, is that, if you have any question as to the wear of the BPS special stylus, then you should have it inspected. Compromising your irreplacable LP collections by using a worn stylus is penny wise and pound foolish. Either cartridge will work well with the arm.

Of course, monetary allocation always comes into play and, assuming the BPS works well, would the $150.00 serve your system better if put towards a new phono stage, phono cable, record cleaning machine, or whatever? Unfortunately, most of us have no idea as to the answer to that one.

Thanks for the input guys.
Any comments on my cartridge situation?
I have an almost-new Blue Point Special as well as the Grado MCZ. Do you recommend going with the BPS vs. spending $$ on a new stylus for the MCZ? If I recall correctly, Needledoctor says "Grado isn’t making that stylus anymore, so you’ll have to go with the MC+, or ME+. Either will fit, while the ME+ will be the closest to the MCZ in sound quality.
I think these were priced at $50 and $90...
Grado says they have a MCZ replacement stylus for $150. Do you think it's worth it?
Again, comments appreciated.
peace
Steve

The LE-2 was the successor to the LE-1, the Syrinx entry level, low end arm. The original Logic Datum is also basically the LE-1 by Syrinx. The later Logic Datum 2 was related to the LE-2 but assembly was moved in-house by Logic. After Logic closed, the tooling was bought by Manticore and became the platform for the excellent Manticore arms.

The LE-2 is a captured bearing arm of medium mass, made in the mid 1980s. The anti-skate should be set by ear, but about 2/3 of the tracking force works well. IE 1 gram anti-skate if tracking force is 1.5 grams. An inexpensive inprovement is to purchase a new arm cable, though the original cable is not too shabby.

Although the much more ambitious Syrinx arms, particularly the PU-3, had issues of the bearings binding, the LE series seems to have avoided this problem. They should be checked, as all older bearings should, but will probably be quite free of binding or play.

You have an excellent arm there. I much prefer the sound to the Rega RB-300 variants, and it has adjustable VTA and azimuth to boot. The arm is, IMHO, far better than the VPI HW 19 MK11 that you currently have it on.

Very nice classic arm, but I also remember that Syrinx had bearing issues. However, if the bearings are not loose and the arm does not freeze up while playing an LP, I would not be concerned. I also owned the Grado MCZ very many years ago. It was a pleasant sounding cartridge, but was slow and thick and grainy compared to other designs.

I seem to remember that Syrinx arms had bearing troubles. I could be mistaken

Jaybo is correct, Syrinx made some good arms , they were made in England so English sites will have the most info. The vinyl threads on Audio Asylum are another possibility.

you may find info on www.thevinylengine.com