Grado Cartridges and Stylus - Questions and Advice.

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Only took me two months to finally get off my rear and get this puppy mounted. Man…. from immediate needle drop, I am so impressed. The low output somehow is even better. Running 46dB of gain on a MoFi StudioPhono, with a Schiit Magni giving it a little bit of help, it is really sitting nicely. And haven’t even broken it in at ALL yet. Good times ahead, methinks!
 
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Only took me two months to finally get off my rear and get this puppy mounted. Man…. from immediate needle drop, I am so impressed. The low output somehow is even better. Running 46dB of gain on a MoFi StudioPhono, with a Schiit Magni giving it a little bit of help, it is really sitting nicely. And haven’t even broken it in at ALL yet. Good times ahead, methinks!
Still one of my favorite carts, is your one mounting screw not all the way threaded??
 
Still one of my favorite carts, is your one mounting screw not all the way threaded??
You know I noticed that after I snapped the photo, too - good eye. It felt snug when I tightened it, but probably do need to address. Tell you what though it sounds so damn good right now, I don’t wanna mess with it!! 😂
 
You know I noticed that after I snapped the photo, too - good eye. It felt snug when I tightened it, but probably do need to address. Tell you what though it sounds so damn good right now, I don’t wanna mess with it!! 😂
What did you do your VTA at ? Leaning back a bit or about level with a normal record ?
 
I chuckled when I saw this. My Opus 3 arrived two weeks ago. It's still in the box.
Most of my spinning is done in the AM while my partner’s at work, we work kind of opposite schedules, I typically start work mid afternoons and go into the evening, so at 8AM the last thing I usually wanna be doing is something like a cartridge install, I just wanna kick back with a cup of coffee and listen. The 8MZ on my other Grado had finally just about run outta miles, so it was then or never!
 
Spinning first this morning the mono Boom Boom cut of Someday My Prince Will Come with the Opus 3. It is sublime. Man I love this cartridge!

Also, not entirely Grado related, but the photo above was featured on VPI’s Instagram account as their photo of the day! Fun stuff.
What anti skate are you running?
 
The Zephyr is so heavy I just use the last notch
I saw in an interview somewhere, Peter from SoundSmith can see cart misalignment by uneven wear on rebuild jobs. I wonder if you can request any of that feedback on your rebuild, so you can adjust your setup if needed?
 
What anti skate are you running?
No adjustable antiskate on the Cliffwood. Technically there is some antiskate effect by the twist in the tonearm wiring, but it is not adjustable.

VPI has a similar “no antiskate sounds best” approach similar to Grado’s philosophy. Not sure I totally subscribe to that as I do think that subtle antiskate adjustment will help to further dial channel balance, but I will say the synergy between this table and cartridge is 👌👌
 
TBH the only reason I've delayed my Opus 3 install is that the Hana SL I'm currently sporting has been "enabling" my procrastinate. Curiosity is starting to get the better of me though. I'll probably be mounting it on my next long weekend off. (maybe)
 
TBH the only reason I've delayed my Opus 3 install is that the Hana SL I'm currently sporting has been "enabling" my procrastinate. Curiosity is starting to get the better of me though. I'll probably be mounting it on my next long weekend off. (maybe)

I loved the Opus 3, particularly its tone, but the Hana SL is pretty much exceptional…
 
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