FR-7fz

About the FR-7fz

The FR-7fz is a shell-integrated low-output moving-coil (MC) phono cartridge developed as an advanced version of Fidelity Research's FR-7/FR-7f designs. It employs the brand's unique push-pull power generation system with a magnetic circuit using two magnets and four poles, allowing power to be generated at four points so it can deliver a relatively high output voltage despite its low-impedance coil. The generator uses a bobbinless, completely air-core coil without a winding frame, eliminating unnecessary magnetic material in the field, which reduces distortion and lowers the effective moving mass of the system, improving high-frequency mechanical behaviour. The stylus is a refined contact (line contact) solid diamond tip, derived from the FR-7f design that specifies a specially polished 0.15 mm square solid diamond, carried on a special aluminium-alloy cantilever. The FR-7fz retains the FR-7 family's integrated headshell body and heavy, low-compliance construction (around 30 g mass), making it best suited to high-mass tonearms and step-up transformers designed for very low-output, low-impedance MC cartridges. Its tuned magnetic circuit, rigid metal shell, and carefully damped body structure are intended to preserve magnetic stability, minimise parasitic resonance, and maintain channel separation and phase accuracy over a wide bandwidth, typically extending from the low bass to around 45 kHz.