Grado Cartridges and Stylus - Questions and Advice.

I’m looking to upgrade my cart in the near future (currently have an Ortofon 2M Bronze) and Grado has been on my wantlist. Have a Vinyl Nirvana rebuilt Thorens with a Rega Moth tonearm. Are there any compatibility issues potentially with the Grado Gold 3? And how easy it is to install myself? I have a digital force scale gauge but don’t have a protractor or a printer to print one out...
 
MikeH said:
I’m looking to upgrade my cart in the near future (currently have an Ortofon 2M Bronze) and Grado has been on my wantlist. Have a Vinyl Nirvana rebuilt Thorens with a Rega Moth tonearm. Are there any compatibility issues potentially with the Grado Gold 3? And how easy it is to install myself? I have a digital force scale gauge but don’t have a protractor or a printer to print one out...
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The Rega will match well to the Grado.

Look up your turntable here to check for possible hum issues:

grado hum - Google Drive

docs.google.com docs.google.com

The hardest part is attaching the cartridge to the arm. The non captive nuts are a pain in the ass.

The trick I found is to use some blue painters tape. Put the nut on the tape and use the tape to secure the nuts to the mounting plate from underneath. Then press up with your finger while introducing the screw from the top. It’s also easier to do the inside (towards the platter) screw/nut combo first.

As far as the alignment, you’ll need something. There are some inexpensive mirrored protractors on eBay. I’m partial to the MoFi Geodisc. I’ve had mine for 35 years.
 
HiFi Guy said:
The Rega will match well to the Grado.

Look up your turntable here to check for possible hum issues:

grado hum - Google Drive

docs.google.com docs.google.com

The hardest part is attaching the cartridge to the arm. The non captive nuts are a pain in the ass.

The trick I found is to use some blue painters tape. Put the nut on the tape and use the tape to secure the nuts to the mounting plate from underneath. Then press up with your finger while introducing the screw from the top. It’s also easier to do the inside (towards the platter) screw/nut combo first.

As far as the alignment, you’ll need something. There are some inexpensive mirrored protractors on eBay. I’m partial to the MoFi Geodisc. I’ve had mine for 35 years.
Click to expand...
Thanks! My buddy has the MoFi Geodisc which I borrowed in the past but not sure I can get it easily under Quarantine haha. I originally didn't invest in one since I hardly ever change my cartridge but I'll look into it...
 
A month into having my Gold3 now and I'm loving it.

Audio is very much noticeably better than what I was getting on the Blue2. There is a lot more depth to the sound. Acoustic instruments sound amazing.

I really can tell which records are good masters now when they come to life and sound like someone is really playing in my living room. And which were just a cd or digital master plopped onto a vinyl record.
 
Joe Mac said:
Damnit all of you with your Gold3’s are giving me itchy feet and I’m only 2 months after putting the 8mz on Gold2 😂
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Yeah, sorry about piling on! ;) I normally don't submit to my FOMO urges, but this one got me. It's all really @HiFi Guy 's fault for singing it's praises so strongly in the first place! Now go get one already @Joe Mac ! Don't you want to hear the Gold3 and 8mz TOGETHER??? :devilish:
 
Splunders said:
Yeah, sorry about piling on! ;) I normally don't submit to my FOMO urges, but this one got me. It's all really @HiFi Guy 's fault for singing it's praises so strongly in the first place! Now go get one already @Joe Mac ! Don't you want to hear the Gold3 and 8mz TOGETHER??? :devilish:
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Lalalalalala! I can’t hear you!

Blinkers on! Long term plan! Timbre Sonata3 Low Output next!
 
Joe Mac said:
Lalalalalala! I can’t hear you!

Blinkers on! Long term plan! Timbre Sonata3 Low Output next!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I get it. I’ve got a Statement Platinum2 I can trade towards a low output Timbre Sonata3 or Master3. I’m leaning towards a Master3, but the Prestige Gold3 sounds so damn good, I’ll likely run it for a bit longer.
 
Just stumbled across a Gold3 review.

I did notice a couple of inaccuracies:

Grados are moving iron cartridges, not moving magnet. Moving magnet cartridges have the highest moving mass (not desirable) vs moving iron which has the lowest (very desirable).

Mentioned in the review is the Grado’s susceptibility to hum on turntables that use AC motors- reportedly improved with V3. This is only partially accurate. Regas will hum because the motor is under the platter. The hum will increase as the cartridge approaches the label and will be worse at 45 than 33. That said, there is a highly respected dealer in VA that sells lots of Rega/Grado combos and says the hum “isn’t that bad”. I’ve tried it (with a V2) and couldn’t live with it. YMMV and all that.

The MoFi tables do not hum with Grados even though they also have AC motors. Why? Because the motors are outboard of the platter as far away from the cartridge as possible.

Edit: The review says the Gold3 does not have the low level resolution of moving coil cartridges. I disagree, but one probably won’t be able to tell given the phono stages likely to be paired with a $260 cartridge. Step way up in phono stages and you’ll be stunned at the capabilities of the Gold3.

worldofturntables.com

Grado Prestige Gold3 Review - World Of Turntables

The Grado Prestige Gold3 is a superbly balanced cartridge, sounds calm and controlled, but also very well monitors the rhythmic and dynamic changes in the music, without the unnecessary treble to achieve an open sound.
worldofturntables.com worldofturntables.com
 
What is the cartridge load capacitance of the Grado Gold3 when using a 2 foot phono cable to the phonostage? I am able to set between 50 and 350pf. 50 seems to be the best starting point and then to tweak from there, but if anyone knows how to figure that out, I'd really appreciate it.
 
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Splunders said:
What is the cartridge load capacitance of the Grado Gold3 when using a 2 foot phono cable to the phonostage? I am able to set between 50 and 800f. 50 seems to be the best starting point and then to tweak from there, but if anyone knows how to figure that out, I'd really appreciate it.
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Grados are non-sensitive to capacitive load so it doesn’t matter. Experiment and settle on what sounds best. I have mine at 100.
 
Splunders said:
What is the cartridge load capacitance of the Grado Gold3 when using a 2 foot phono cable to the phonostage? I am able to set between 50 and 350pf. 50 seems to be the best starting point and then to tweak from there, but if anyone knows how to figure that out, I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Nothing modern would run over 200 pF and even that would be high. With a MM cartridge, the more capacitance you add, the brighter it gets. Set it at 100 pF.

The current lower end Yamahas are getting complaints because the phono stage is bright. Turns out, it’s 425 pF and non adjustable. Obviously whoever designed it didn’t listen to it.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Nothing modern would run over 200 pF and even that would be high. With a MM cartridge, the more capacitance you add, the brighter it gets. Set it at 100 pF.

The current lower end Yamahas are getting complaints because the phono stage is bright. Turns out, it’s 425 pF and non adjustable. Obviously whoever designed it didn’t listen to it.
Click to expand...
Is there a reason not to go with 50pf? Would that shade the sound darker??
 
HiFi Guy said:
Nothing modern would run over 200 pF and even that would be high. With a MM cartridge, the more capacitance you add, the brighter it gets. Set it at 100 pF.

The current lower end Yamahas are getting complaints because the phono stage is bright. Turns out, it’s 425 pF and non adjustable. Obviously whoever designed it didn’t listen to it.
Click to expand...

So this might explain why the ort 2m sounded so bright, it specified 400 in its blurb.
 
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