Stylus TLZ

I inadvertently ended up with an old 1980s Joseph Grado Signsture cartridge. The stylus was shot. I replaced it with an 8MZ, which didn’t do a lot for me. Then I managed to break that one too. So for my next attempt, I tried the TLZ.
At first, I didn’t think it sounded all that great. But once it wore in for a few hours, things really opened up.

The TLZ presents a VERY wide soundstage and impressive extension in the lows and the highs, favoring the highs, but not in a harsh or shrill fashion. It’s a very exciting stylus, especially great with rock and jazz. I wouldn’t call it an audiophile-grade stylus, but I suppose that is a matter of opinion.

I was so impressed with the TLZ that I quickly purchased an XTZ stylus as well. The XTZ is a very fine stylus, but it’s a noticeably more refined than the TLZ and thus a little less “fun” to rock out with. YMMV.

In my experience, choosing between different Grado styli can be a little confusing and there don’t seem to be a lot of reviews out there comparing the different models in depth. Hopefully this review will assist the reader in deciding what might work best for their system whether it be the TLZ or the XTZ. Happy listening!