I thought that the bodies were identical? (much like the current Prestige line are all identical?)
Included in the information I received when I purchased my Thorens TD 125 MKII which has a TLZ on a Premier FT 4 was a copy of an article in Stereophile from July of 1989 by Thomas J. Norton titled " The Grado Signatures ". It covered only the MCZ and the TLZ.
"To all outward appearances, the TLZ and MCZ are identical, and could easily be confused were it not for a barely legible "MCZ" or "TLZ" hand engraved into the underside of the plastic body shell just aft of the cantilever. Both cartridges also share virtually the same electrical parimeters. The internals of the "Z" series have been, according to Grado, substantially changed over the earlier "X" series - including an upgrade in the quality of wire and magnet material. The TLZ and the MCZ differ primarily in stylus configuration: twin-tip for the MCZ, true ellipsoid for the TLZ."
I hope this helps you in your search
Kim
Included in the information I received when I purchased my Thorens TD 125 MKII which has a TLZ on a Premier FT 4 was a copy of an article in Stereophile from July of 1989 by Thomas J. Norton titled " The Grado Signatures ". It covered only the MCZ and the TLZ.
"To all outward appearances, the TLZ and MCZ are identical, and could easily be confused were it not for a barely legible "MCZ" or "TLZ" hand engraved into the underside of the plastic body shell just aft of the cantilever. Both cartridges also share virtually the same electrical parimeters. The internals of the "Z" series have been, according to Grado, substantially changed over the earlier "X" series - including an upgrade in the quality of wire and magnet material. The TLZ and the MCZ differ primarily in stylus configuration: twin-tip for the MCZ, true ellipsoid for the TLZ."
I hope this helps you in your search
Kim
I think the twin-tip one was the XTZ... Anybody have more detail?
The "twin tip" was the 8MZ stylus.......Joe's name for a hyperbolic cut similar to the shibata concept. "special grado styus" was used on the older Signature line from 1 through 7. The XTZ will be "true Elipsoid" On DaveyW's web site the profile of the 8MR stylus the MCZ stylus and the Sonata-1 stylus can be seen the best, and how the rake angle is cut differently in the diamond at scanning area vs the "twin tip" cut of the 8MZ stylus. Under scope the 8MZ looks to be a 7x2 cut without the curved forward rake.
So what are your thoughts of the XTZ stylus vs the Sonata 1. My understanding is that the XTZ is the better of the two, quite significantly.
The "twin tip" was the 8MZ stylus.......Joe's name for a hyperbolic cut similar to the shibata concept. "special grado styus" was used on the older Signature line from 1 through 7. The XTZ will be "true Elipsoid" On DaveyW's web site the profile of the 8MR stylus the MCZ stylus and the Sonata-1 stylus can be seen the best, and how the rake angle is cut differently in the diamond at scanning area vs the "twin tip" cut of the 8MZ stylus. Under scope the 8MZ looks to be a 7x2 cut without the curved forward rake.
I am very confused now.
The Grado Signature pdf docs on VE describe the 8MR, MCZ, TLZ and XTZ all as "twin tip".
LP gear also describes all of them as "twin tip".
If the 8MZ "looks to be a 7x2 cut" (i assume you mean "0.7x0.2 mil elliptical") then how can then it be a hyperbolic or shibata-like cut? Those cuts (elliptical versys shibata) look very different.
Now I am even more curious to know what the XTZ looks like. And sounds like, of course.
And apparently, the XTZ replacement stylus is better now than it once was.
Hard to imagine 20 pieces making up that little stylus.
diamond, 4 pieces of cantilever tube, plastic front housing, housing ring, suspension donut, cantilver fixing point, generating ring, fixed axis point, rear plastic housing, 4 flux poles, cantilever surface material, "frequency blob".......I'm sure I missed some other parts as well. :yes:
As DaveyW's web site shows simply affixing a "special cut" diamond such as the Paratrace to a standard Prestiege assembly for the same money as a MCZ replacement stylus costs doesn't come close to the performance. There's lots more than just the scanning area of a diamond that counts in reproduction.