When I first upgraded my Thorens turntable’s cartridge I was adviced to look into Grado’s catalogue. I choose the top of the Prestige series, which in 2005 was the Gold. I was happy with the sound I achieved on the Thorens, so when the time came, I replaced the needle with a Gold1 which was the available choice in 2010.

Some time later I came across comments on the internet about how good a Prestige series body would sound with a replacement needle designed for the out-of-production Signature series. I bought an 8MZ stylus and I was happy with it, I must say. There were also comments about Signature bodies of the early 80s sounding very good still today; it was mainly a matter of different kind of presentations, they say: a more layered and laid back one for the oldies, a more upfront presentation for the new models. It would depend more on personal taste. Almost out of curiosity, I looked for a Signature body and found an 8MX one, though rumors had it an 8MR would have been even finer.

After a few months I finally found some time to install the 8MX on a spare headshell. Unfortunately, as I was removing the precious 8MZ stylus from my Prestige Gold cart, it slipped off my fingers and ruinously fell on the floor… Needless to say, the (although slightly) bent needle sounded thin and harsh with unbearable sybilants on the 8MX; the output level was also terribly low… A quick check on the net revealed that all that noise around the Signature replacement stylii soared their priced a good 50%. I had purchased the 8MZ for $100 a year earlier or so, now it’s at $150 – not exactly a steal…

The sad reality of the market forced me to install my old Gold1 stylus on the 8MX body. Will I ever know how it would sound with an 8MZ stylus? Maybe, but for now it’s far better with the Gold1 stylus than with the broken one…

Signature stylii replacements are only available from US sellers. Here in good old Europe you should spend up to $30 for shipment! Reality also is that a brand new, top of the line, recently designed Grado Prestige Gold1 cartridge is available for just under €200. So Does it really make sense considering older and used cartridges that cost more than their modern, upgraded counterparts which replaced them on the market years ago?

One reason might be availability: if you still have and cherish a good old cart that is out of production, the Grado Labs, a New York based Italian-American family-brand I fondly respect, still provide stylus replacements – at a cost. They are glad you still like their old models and respectfully give you users the chance to keep highly-respected Signature models working. That’s very good of them.

One other reason might be the “vintage” fever of our times. We have modern technology that pushes us to replace our smartphones every year but we believe that old hifi equipment sound better than the modern ones. Old hifi equipment may be sold at outrageous prices. I bought my Thorens TD-160 for €150: it was a very good price, 100 less than the average – a real bargain. Now it’s even sold at 400 or 600 euros! Nonsense! Aware of this insanity I checked the Internet for damn new and freshly-designed Grado Prestige Gold1s. They can be found below €190. For a new 8MZ replacement stylus I should have spent $180; if I wanted to go further, just to better mourn the loss of the dropped stylus, an MCZ stylus would have costed $230, shipment included – almost the same price of a brand new Gold1 cartridge, stylus included! Needless to say, when I asked Grado about their opinion (which, incidentally, they provided after ten minutes from my enquiry) they rather obviously recommended the Gold1, also suggesting that they can’t predict the behavior of a Signature needle in a Prestige body it was not designed for.

I quickly found someone who was willing to relieve himself of a Grado Gold1 after a few hours of use – and for a mere €68, shipment included. What would you do? Maybe you would have sniffed the hoax and kept away. Not me. I use(d) to trust people, especially since the smart guy called me and talked to me about being an audiophile and having listened to that turntable and that cartridge, and so on. A nice strategy. After months I’ve never received the Gold1. I was cheated. The very low price should have warned me…

This made me resort to the good old Audiokarma forum, where a nice guy by the name of Marc Morin was willing to help with my bent 8MZ stylus. I’ve shipped it to the USA where he straightened the cantilever up. It appears the bent is not that bad and the needle tip, made of diamond, was not damaged by the fall: not enough energy with such a small mass falling.

The thing is the output level is very low. The stylus seems to work fine but some damage must have been done…

In the meantime, I am back to Gold, not to the Gold1 I’ve been stolen €68 for, but with my good old 2005 Prestige Gold cartridge with a 2010 Gold1 stylus. Sometimes I can use the 8MX body wit it. Hopefully one day I will be able to afford a new 8MZ stylus, or even an MCZ!