Grado Cartridges and Stylus - Questions and Advice.

The Opus3 high output will be fine with the PHO8.

Get your evening coffee for this explanation...

@HiFi Guy is describing the same thing calculated by the MC calculator on the Hagerman Labs site. With a low inductance of 6 mH, the low-output Opus3 acts more like a MC than a MM. With 100 ohm loading resistance, the calculated bandwidth is 2.7 kHz. That means no high frequencies at all. You ideally want a bandwidth at least 20 times that. With the high output Opus3, the inductance is still lowish at 55mH but loading at 47k ohms gives a bandwidth of 136.1 kHz, more than sufficient. That's why the Opus3 high-output works better. It's also a better match for the PHO8 MM gain setting.

As an aside, the calculator also predicts "optimum tuning" with capacitance and inductance. The "optimum" tuning would suggest about 24 pF of capacitance, which is about two feet of BJC LC-1 (ignoring that the tonearm wire also has some capacitance).

Yeah, cartridge matching is *still* one of the more fiddly parts of vinyl enjoyment. Calcs can help, but your ears will tell you what you like.
 
I need a little advice, please. I started to install an Opus3 this evening. It came with two screws and what appear to be two washers. However, the washer holes are too small for the screws. Do I need to use the washers? If so, how do I get them on the screws? And, should the washers go b/w the screwhead and headshell, or b/w the headshell and cart?
 
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dansomeone said:
I need a little advice, please. I started to install an Opus3 this evening. It came with two screws and what appear to be two washers. However, the washer holes are too small for the screws. Do I need to use the washers? If so, how do I get them on the screws? And, should the washers go b/w the screwhead and headshell, or b/w the headshell and cart?
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The washers go between the screw head and the head shell but it’s not required that they be used.
 
I've yet to install my Opus3 low output, been saving it for a project day, but now I'm also wondering with a 46dB gain setting if I should've gone high output.
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
I've yet to install my Opus3 low output, been saving it for a project day, but now I'm also wondering with a 46dB gain setting if I should've gone high output.
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I think you’ll be fine with that and cranking, although I wouldn’t want to be much lower. It might be one where you just need to hit the Decware gain up much higher to begin with so that you’re not overstretching the little schiit headphone amp that you’re using as a pre.
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
I've yet to install my Opus3 low output, been saving it for a project day, but now I'm also wondering with a 46dB gain setting if I should've gone high output.
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That’s all going to depend on the rest of your chain. No way could I have done this with my PL amp, but I could likely get away with it with the NAD setup.
 
dansomeone said:
Do the washers fit on the screws for yours?
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Also I just checked my old opus and the washers don’t slide on but if you spin them they screw up the thread until snug with the head of the screw. The washers with my fancy sound smith screws were the same as that too come to think of it…
 
Joe Mac said:
I used the 400 for a while to begin with, so that I had a solid comparison point, before switching to the 800 on @AnthonyI suggestion, and I much preferred the 800 too!
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Thanks for the information.. after having run it both ways for several days now, I also prefer 800.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Thanks for the information.. after having run it both ways for several days now, I also prefer 800.
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Brilliant! All the credit for that one goes to @AnthonyI though! I am not that surprised given that we have phonos from the same mind with the same loading options, just that yours is better!

I think it maybe smooths off some of the harsher edges of the presentation, not that the cartridge is particularly sharp, its main strength for me is that it’s just incredibly faithful to the record, without overly exposing average pressings.
 
folsom_lives said:
Trick question. Doesn’t Grado recommend no anti skate?
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HiFi Guy said:
Some say Grados sound best with no or minimal anti skate. I set mine up normally.
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It’s really hard to tell honestly, I’m still going back and forth between anti-skate and none. Seems better for certain records and less for others, overall you’ll drive yourself mad dwelling on it 😂
 
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