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Fidelity Research FR-7f

phixphi

phixphi

pfm Member
Hi all!

I have a chance to get one.
Anyone with a good 1st hand experience with this dinozaur?
Is it any good?
There are fanclubs of it, quite some hype.
The fact that it's so old is quite repelling, but who knows?

Thanks,
phi
 
I'd love to acquire or even hear one. Sadly the prices they are starting to sell for are accelerating away from any pot of disposable income I might put by for such a purchase.
 
Hahah! No :p The repelling part is it's age. What is left of it after 30yrs?
Is it worth what e.g. topclassaudio.com asks??
 
I have one and used it on my 301/fr-64s for a while.

It's been some time since I've used it (so take the following with some caution) but I do remember it being quite tonally neutral, more or less as dynamic as the EMT TSD-15 SFL and, importantly, a considerably better tracker than the EMT 929/TSD combo. I.e much less surface noise when playing the same LP.

Re: age - i wouldnt worry too much about this aspect, but i would certainly factor in the potential cost of a refurb/retip into the purchase price (unless the vendor has had it recently inspected/tested).
 
thank you rahman

my primary combo is exactly 929/TSD15SPH. i have a free SME3012R and i'm looking for
an interesting cart for it.
how does your fr64s/fr-7 compare to 929/tsd soundwise? is it also more on a euphonic side or harder?
 
phixphi said:
thank you rahman

my primary combo is exactly 929/TSD15SPH. i have a free SME3012R and i'm looking for
an interesting cart for it.
how does your fr64s/fr-7 compare to 929/tsd soundwise? is it also more on a euphonic side or harder?
Click to expand...

It's been a while since i've run the fr-7, but if i were forced to make some conclusions, i'd say the fr-7 was a touch less warm, but slightly more extended up top. The real advantage to me was the reduced surface noise.

I think i mentioned it on your audiogon thread, but i would suggest you have a listen to the decca moving irons, particularly if you're after a faster, "harder" sound.

It is the most forceful and dynamic cart i've yet come across. The mkIV is also great with mono LP's (not too far behind the ofd25 in terms of surface noise).

Potential disadvantages:
- some say deccas can be a bit hard up top, but i've found that this is very much recording dependent (i.e it can do sweet and lush if it's on the recording);
- they can be prone to hum, but i've not had any issue with this;
- they can be picky about arms. I have a resonance issue with the 64s, but many people report a good match with hadcocks. I am uncertain about how it would go with the 3012 - so others might chime in here.

Another real upside is that you can forget about the need for a step-up and I'd hazard a guess and say that the decca might be a good match with the reportedly softer and warmer sound of the 834p.

Cheers
Adrian
 
andyr said:
Aaah, what will we do with you, Jasper? :D You already have too many arms! :p

Regards,

Andy
Click to expand...


I was just kidding. I have 2 of them ( FR-7f and FR-7fz) for a while already. :p

phixphi said:
Hahah! No :p The repelling part is it's age. What is left of it after 30yrs?
Is it worth what e.g. topclassaudio.com asks??
Click to expand...

Agree with Rahman's impression of the FR-7f. I use mine with FR-64S too and love it. Dynamic, tonally more neutral than Ortofon SPU on the same arm and great bass. The more expensive FR-7fz has more detail / resolution. The suspension is reputedly very robust (according to J Carr of Lyra) and the build is top notch. The only concern is the stylus wear. There are retippers around who can retip the FR-7f with better stylus than the stock conical.

As for TopClassAudio, his asking price is always "Top". :rolleyes: Sold me a "mint" SPU which turned out to have worn stylus later when I had to send it to Expert Stylus. :mad:
 
Well, interesting are those Deccas. I'm looking at SuperGold and Jubilee.
It seems that Decca's are very arm sensitive. I'm wondering if anyone has tried matching
the above carts with 3012R. I don't know if the FD-200 damping the guy in the link above uses on 3009/II is applicable to 3012R too, but it does not seem a stupid idea.
Adrain, are you drdna at the other site?
 
Damn. Where has the time gone...

Dug out the fr7f to test my Neumann smb2 - both which have been sitting in boxes for 10 years or so.

On the 301/64s, I must say this is a pretty sweet combination - just so very easy to listen to. Plays hard and dynamic when it's on the recording but just lovely and beguiling from top to bottom overall.

maybe it's me just getting old and preferring a more pipe'n'slippers approach -relative to the decca anyways.

more records to play!

cheers
Adrian
 
phixphi said:
Hi all!

I have a chance to get one.
Anyone with a good 1st hand experience with this dinozaur?
Is it any good?
There are fanclubs of it, quite some hype.
The fact that it's so old is quite repelling, but who knows?

Thanks,
phi
Click to expand...

I heard one and liked it in about 1983, in somebody else's system. They also had an integrated headshell FR, I think an MC702, which was even better, but the FR7 was very good.

At this age, you have to worry if the rubber parts in the cartridge have failed, so you may need a full rebuild rather than just a retip.
 
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