A tale of two GRADO cartridges, one is $12K, the other $400! 

There's an Audiophiliac imposter scamming my viewers, DON'T respond! I don't do giveaways or ask for money (except for my Patreon).

$12k for a cartridge would seem quite reasonable...if I had recently been dropped on my head.

I'm so happy that you're giving Grado props. I have an 8MZ I bought over thirty years ago. It had been sitting on a shelf for several years until I put a new stylus on it and now it's making beautiful music again. I can only imagine what the Epoch 3 sounds like.

$12,000. For a cartridge. I'd be embarrassed to even admit to owning such an extravagance.

I saw the movie Powaqqatsi in cinema in Johannesburg (about 1984?) and have never heard any other mention of it by anybody ever since… until your piece today. It was a fantastic art movie with amazing music and I never realised there was a vinyl of the soundtrack, which I shall now seek out… thank you Steve for bringing a long-forgotten memory to the fore again! Not sure I can afford a Grado - but my humble MP110 on a Micro Seiki BL-51 will play Powaqqatsi well enough for me to indulge some old memories....!

Steve, just one of the things I like about your show that no other audiophile show does is your music selection and your response to them. Reminds me back in the day where your favorite musician would have an interview and names some album you never heard before. So, you run out to find such album. I guess when we are older we replace it with speakers and amplifiers just to have that wow factor again. Keep it up!!!

I'm glad that you mix it up a bit, some of us might never hear a cartridge like that, so it is good for us to get an idea of what it is like.

Years ago a stereo shop was closing out dual 1219s at a ridiculously low price. The catch was you had to buy it with a cartridge. I told the sales person give me the cheapest thing you’ve got. It was a $15 Grado. At that time I had the most expensive Shure cartridge that was available. I thought, just for fun, I would try the Grado. I was blown away. It just was phenomenal. Mini turntables later, I have always had a Grado available. I’ve had moving coils and I still have a few but there’s something about the Grado sound that I always go back to.Grado

It is great to see you reviewing your local homegrown product from Brooklyn. Grado probably has to make a $12,000 cartridge to be taken seriously as a high end cartridge company. My first "serious" cartridge was a Grado F-3E+ that I bought in 1976. It made me a Grado fan for life. Grados may not be the most accurate cartridges but they connect me to the music in a way that no others can.

In the eighties I had a long conversation over the phone with Mr. Grado after returning a cartridge that didn't sound right to me. I think he called me. Not sure but they sent me another cartridge and it sounded fine. Not surprised to hear he's serious about sound. Impressive.

Great viewer system! Looks really well thought out and nicely setup - I bet it sounds incredible.

$12,000 = more money than brains; $400 now that's more like it.

Great review Steve. Hats off to Mr Grado for his dedication. The system of the day was Sweet. Greg

I have no problem Grado making this cartridge or Steve reviewing it. Steve's credibility will never be in doubt in my mind but this review seems colored by his affection for Grado (not shared by me) and almost automatic love that all reviewers have for ridiculously high priced products. I almost immediately dismiss these reviews for that reason. Fantasy is fun so it's all good really.

Grado has been selling truck loads of VERY affordable cartridges (all made in Brooklyn) since 1953, and now that they want to stretch out and make the best they can, that's an outrage!?! Give me a break! I paired the $12K cart with a $400 cart, which is also pretty terrific. Grado's product range covers an incredibly WIDE range and that bugs some of you.

$1000 per gram of pickup weight. Current gold price is $59.44 per gram. 🤣🤣

That Jeff Beck album was a power quartet, not trio. Let's give a little love to drummer Micky Waller who (along with Ron Wood) added so much to Rod Stewart's early albums when he still knew how to rock honestly. Will any other cartridge ever sound exemplary to you again?

Holy Crap!! That Album by Jeff Beck is Insane!!! - Thanks for mentioning it Steve.... my listening has had some wonderful additions because of you. Jeff Beck - electric guitars, acoustic guitar on "Greensleeves"; pedal steel guitar on "Shapes of Things"; bass guitar on "Ol' Man River"; lead vocals on "Tallyman" and "Hi Ho Silver Lining", co-lead vocals on "Let Me Love You" Rod Stewart - lead vocals, backing vocals on "Hi Ho Silver Lining", possible backing vocal on "Tallyman"[citation needed] Ronnie Wood - bass guitar Micky Waller - drums Additional credited personnel John Paul Jones - bass guitar on "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Beck's Bolero"; Hammond organ on "Ol' Man River" and "You Shook Me"; arrangements on "Hi Ho Silver Lining" Nicky Hopkins - piano on "Morning Dew", "You Shook Me", "Beck's Bolero" and "Blues Deluxe" "You Know Who" (Keith Moon) - drums on "Beck's Bolero"; timpani on "Ol' Man River" Additional uncredited personnel Madeline Bell - backing vocals on "I've Been Drinking" John Carter and Ken Lewis - backing vocals on "Tallyman" Clem Cattini - drums on "Hi Ho Silver Lining" Aynsley Dunbar - drums on "Tallyman" and "Rock My Plimsoul (single version)" Jimmy Page - 12-string electric guitar on "Beck's Bolero"

Great video. I love love love the Grado sound. I have the Sonata and the Reference, both high output. I want to try low output versions with different SUTs...

Love the cartridge reviews and comparisons, and don’t mind the pricey pieces at all. I think a lot of us are curious at what the uber-expensive bits give you (not that I can touch one of those). I’ve noticed that you set up your carts hanging pretty far off of the front, which can’t be from using the Technics alignment.

12k for a cartridge is ridiculous. I mean, a record only holds so much information. You can't bring out sounds and frequencies that aren't there. That being said, I do like Grado, and love their headphones. I might get a Grado cartridge someday. Probably at or below the $300 mark.

Fascinating review…thank you.

Well, for your $12k you get 24k gold coils and a sapphire cantilever. I bet there are similarly priced carts with less costly materials. And I'd love to hear some Glass played by that cart!

Damn you got me, I wish I could hear that Grado cartridge☹

Steve, why is reviewing super high end not your thing? As an audiophile and a diehard Audiophiliac viewer, I love hearing about this stuff. It's a vicarious thrill. It's also part of the spectrum of what's out there. An enthusiastic thumbs-up/like for this video!

Grado make superb cartridges. I love them

Seems like Grado is "damned if they do, damned if they don't" based on the viewer comments.

Truth, the 3rd LP I bought back in the early 70's. Great stuff. 1st was Rolling Stones Through the Past Darkly, 2nd was Joan Baez One Day at a time. Still love them to this day.

When you hear what a world-class turntable can do, it’s astonishing. No other medium, except maybe R2R tape, can capture the feeling of ‘being there’ like vinyl on a world-class TT. Unfortunately, that means a 6-figure investment. You may get very pleasing, very nice sound; but don’t kid yourself - a 6-figure table is much much better. It’s not ‘diminishing returns’… only your bank account diminishes. 😂

Just get a CD player, you'd save so much money that much is clear .

I briefly had a Grado cartridge back in the 70's. It sounded very nice but unfortunately it's output was too low for my preamp so I swapped it for an Empire cartridge of similar cost. Had a Garrot brothers stylus fitted to it which took it to another level.

What headshell do you use for the 1200? I've got a 1200 as well, and am thinking getting a Grado myself. Thanks in advance

Just replaced my Sumiko Moonstone with the Grado Timbre Platinum 3. Your review nailed it! Thank you from IATSE Local 336!

The Epoch cartridge is not designed like most others; it is a moving iron (MI) design. This eliminates most of the moving mass associated with either moving magnet (MM) or moving coil (MC) designs. Both the coil and magnet are fixed, and what moves is a tiny piece of iron that wiggles between the two --- this causes a voltage variation (signal) in the coil. This is all the mass that's added to the cantilever, which allows it to track the groove to a much higher degree of accuracy than the other two designs. SoundSmith also makes MI cartridges and I recently acquired one. I can say that it reveals details from the record I have never heard before even though it's less than half the price of the Epoch. And one of those details (to me) is the decay of sound in a recording; to me it's one of those qualities that adds to the realism of sound. I wish Steve has mentioned this point, as it is not trivial and a vital detail in the performance of the cartridge.

I’m looking to upgrade my Grado which I love, the Master V3 sure looks interesting. Wonder how it compares to these two reviewed. 🤓

Thanks for your info and excitement on the Grado Epoch 3. I'd love to know your thoughts and any related experience re comparison between this Grado and The Hana Umami Red and the Dynavector XV-1s. These are obviously all top high end carts each with their respective followings and raving fans. I've been very oriented towards Dynavector on a Linn LP-12 for some time. Presently i have the more modest 10x5 which I love but looking to upgrade soon to a high end cart still with the LP-12.

I have a SL-1210G with a Musical Fidelity M3X stage. I'm raking it with a Nagaoka MP-500 but looking for something a bit more special. 12K is a bit of a stretch but I might check out some of the more affordable Grados.

you mention the distinct "grado sound", it would be nice to hear what its characteristics are. How is surface noise, background blackness?

I worked for a dealership that sold Grado and back up as would many many) that John is one of the nicest guys in Hifi. Really glad the headphone thing came in before people went back to platters.Now what I'd ike to do is get the chance to compare the Grado Lineage series Master3 at $3500 with the Aeon3 at $6K and stretch my budget beyond my current $1K Master.BTW Herb Reichert also described the the Koetsu Aeon as out-psychelic-ing his Koetsu Rosewood Signature which is similarly priced.

Ennio Morricone was among the foremost composers of the last 100 years of cinema. How he weaved so many thematic ideas into his scores is remarkable. While his scores for the “Spaghetti Westerns” like “A Fistful of Dollars” are among his most iconic works, my personal favorite is “The Mission”. I would love to hear that on the Cornwall 4s. 👍🏻 Good presentation SG!

Hi Steve. Based on your review I purchased both S L 1200GR and Grado Platinum 3. It sounds amazing! I still have my Mitchell Orbe though. I have a question: what vtl setting you had with Platinum?

John Grado is a stand up guy. I'm on cart 5. You can keep everything else.

Steve- thanks for sharing a product in the upper end of Hi-Fi quality, very insightful. And yes, Jeff Beck and company “Truth” should be in every collection- it is a milestone work.

I owned a Grado cartridge once. Long ago; back in the mid to later 80's. G2+ maybe? I can't recall al the model numbers anymore of everything that I owned and either wore out, sold off or upgraded. I recall two things about this cartridge though... it was about $295 back then, BIG dough for a 24 or 25 year old not making a lot of money, and I loved it on my beautiful Denon DP55K. I'm 61 years old, out of the vinyl game for a couple of decades now because it all became overwhelmingly difficult to carry up and down stairs with each move and to have to store it all. And to hear of a $12K cartridge gives me another reason not to miss vinyl. To each his or her own, but I won't look back.

After choosing the $12K cartridge you realize that you'll get about a year/year and a half with the cartridge and that it'll need replacing. Suddenly the $400 cartridge starts to make more sense...

Hey Steve someone hint hint needs to review some of the mid priced Grados. Like the Reference maybe.

Would love to hear your take on the Hana SL low output cartridge?

Hi Steve, what Headshell and cartridge leads/wires are you using from the cartridge on your Technics SL-1200G?

Thank you for the great review. I have a Sl-1200gr on order and am considering the Grado Sonata 3. I was worried about potential installation/alignment issues with the GR, but you’ve clearly been able to make the Grado carts work.

What might be an interesting comparison (to me) would be comparing a record with the EPOCH 3 to the same album in a very good (audiophile) hi-res digital version, played through a DAC in the $1000-2000 range.

This is probably the most difficult thing to achieve, trying to match a turntable with a cartridge, with speakers, with the rest of your components! You could spend tons of money, trying to get that perfect sound! But we all love that challenge!

How much is the Grando platinum 3 replacement cost? Because I'm getting this to upgrade my Victrola T-1 turntable I'm also using Emotiva phono preamplifier.

How do you enter the audiophile system of the week?

Only $12,000? Ha ha ha, that is chump change to me! I am the richest muskrat on planet Earth.

There's a moving coil cartridge the has the coils iin back of the stylis. I think its a audio technica.

Did at least get the chance to keep the cartridge or you have to return it?

You went from champagne to lager beer. How do these two grados compare to a good chablis or shiraz?

Love the review, but I have a question about the Platinum3 is that a Low or High output?

Would love to know the markup on such an item. Must be eye watering.

I'd love to see a scratch DJ working with this.

Nice review Steve. Curious why you didn't pair the $12k cartridge with the Van Den Hul preamp that I think is in your rig? Seems like it would be a better match with super premium Grado cartridge than the $3k Parasound...

Somebody, somewhere will be laughing 🤣 all the way to the bank with each one sold. 💰💰💰

Cool. keep it Steve

there's another grado that would appeal to masses even more: Grado Opus 3 (around 290€$). Would love to know what you think...

I noticed a rack filled with headphones. Something like 28 that I could count. Are those all yours or are most of them under review?

Betcha the $12K one is more finicky and less reliable than the $400 one!

The $12,000 cartridge is for those who live in a padded cell strapped to a chair.

Help me decide Steve, no need to further explain. In the same price range: 1. SUMIKO Songbird Low 2. DYNAVECTOR 20X2 L 3. GRADO Master 3 Low Matching: VPI Prime Scout with Sutherland KC Vibe phono amp.

Would be nice if some of the Ipoch’s technology was filtered into their lower priced models. It’s hard to see $12, in parts and labour? I would guess there was a lot of development cost. Keeping production locally is great. Personalizes the product.😊

I can see the extra cost for a cartridge made out of walnut or granite or even cast iron. Lead would probably be the best.

Do you have enough headphones? All kidding aside, I find in general that MI type cartridges, the best of them, are preferred over even very good MC types.

It would be interesting to explain WHAT it is in an item as SMALL as a cartridge that makes it worth $12K? Certainly not the materials. You could have a cart made of solid gold and it would not be worth that much. Does it take two years, perhaps, to make the cartridge and dozens of engineers? It is just hard to wrap ones mind around that price. And the fact that Mr. Grado himself is mostly responsible for the sound is not enough. One would expect a mulit-million dollar sound lab with a team of sound engineers and exotic material facilities to be involved in such a production. Just because one can set a price does not necessaily mean the item is worth that. In other words, why not $6K, or $4K, of $2K. What is it that makes it $12K? I'm not questioning the idea that something can be worth HUGE amounts of money, but just HOW those items are priced, the process. The Justification.

You have so much expensive gear, with all those Pass Labs units, & Klipsch Cornwall IV speakers. You've got a $4K turntable. You could easily justify a $2K cartridge for it as your daily workhorse cartridge. You could have justified an $8K cartridge on the SME you had. Your JC3+ is worthy of any cartridge I expect. My theory on vinyl playback cost, is thirds. One for the deck, one for the arm, one for the cartridge. I can't afford my own theory unfortunately.

What percent of a turntables sound is the cartridge? For example, would it be stupid to put a $12,000 cartridge on a $500 turntable or do you have to put it on a high end table?

That's what digital lacks........

Can anyone describe the Grado “sound” ? I have never owned anything Grado. I currently use Goldring G2500 and love the sound, wondering if I should try a Grado…

Does it have a wooden stylus? Watch out for termites! Your $12k cartridge might get eaten! Lolz

This cartridge is so amazing, you'll hear the pops and clicks of vinyl as you've never heard them before! And for only $12K! Wonders never cease.

I love my Grado SR125X headcans and the company's story but with the constant squealing in my ear holes I can only go so far🤣🤣

Lol!! Crazy money isn’t the word. Crazy how they ask for something so cheaply made

$400 to $12k is a huge jump. Would have been nice to hear opinions on something in the middle ground from the same manufacturer?

12k is a little too rich for me. But I will try a 1k one, just for fun...

$12K for a cartridge ? I guess Grado can now claim bragging rights to having one of the most expensive cartridges which now puts Johnin that elitist club of manufacturers. 2 questions for Steve - is the Epoch 3 cartridge (at 30 times the price) 3, 4, 5 or 10 times better than the $400 cartridge ? I guess not, huh ? When does reality bite ? Having been in this business for close to 50 years, IMHO, the high price is the placebo - it always creates the impression and perception of quality and superiority.

Ok maybe the sky blue.

However exotic the materials, many hours research and other factors that price is 10 times what anyone would spend.

highest price per size item in audio. gasp. mind boggling. I imagine my hand shake when cueing the cart. 12000/1000 hours thats 12 dollars an hour of music

Really, really well-done review.

It must be easily15'ish or maybe even 20 years ago when i bought a wood bodied Grado Platinum model something M.I. cartridge that cost me £220 (G.B.) after a £30 discount they gave me as a time'served good customer of that hifi dealers, (when the exchange rate was about 1.6'ish Dollars per 1 G.B. Pound sterling) I bought it as i'd heard the very same Grado model sound excellent on a friend's Eminent Technology L.T. tonearm/ t/table system. Straight away after i fitted it on my tonearm, i noticed it made a "fu fu fu fu.." fluttering sound superimposed on top of the music, with a time period of about the same speed or slightly faster as you'd read that phonetic description of the unwanted added sound. I instantly recognised this as a cartridge /tonearm missmatch to my Alphason Xenon tonearm i had at that time. (& still have stashed away after a later upgrade) Usimg blu-tack, i tried incrementally adding mass to the Alphason tonearm & quickly realised it was the tomearm that was too high a mass to match the Grado properly & drilling holes through the one piece titanium tube/headshell of the tonearm was a no-no. Instead of taking it back for a refund to that particular dealer in my Cambridge u.k. hometown where i bought it from, as he'd gladly done before with some items. (Ah, those good old trusted hifi dealer days) I thought i'd first let a good friend who'd recently spoke to me of improving on his own Goldring something model of M.M. cartridge that was a bit too harsh sounding in the upper mid range, which i also agreed it was on some music. So i took the Grado around his house & fitted it for him which he was keen to hear. He had an SME Series III tonearm that was known for it's relatively low'ish mass & with an alternative arm-tube of higher or lower mass than the one he had the Goldring on. So i fitted & aligned the Grado Platinum to the spare armtube & we sat & listened & that Grado lifted the quality of his stereo, which i was used to the sound of, to a far higher level & with perfect cartridge to tonearm matching i.e. with absutely no "fu fu fu ..." sound as it played various genres of music & we were both impressed. I was so impressed that i was sad it had not matched my own higher mass Alphsson as it sounded superb to me tho i said nothing so as not to seem i was trying to make a sale. I left it with him for 2 days for him to make up his mind & with the 2 tubes he could have compared the Grado with his own Goldring. After i returned a 2 or 3 days later, he said he couldn't possibly go back to his Goldring mow, which itself was no cheapie at £210 with the top costing stylus option he bought it with, so we were both happy & i ended up putting the £220 he happily gave me for the Grado towards a Denon M.C. that suited my Alphason tonearm very well. But i did gain a newfound respect for Grado cartridges which i'd not heard for some years nor heard their then new wood bodied M.I. cartridges. Just a pity it didnt suit my own Alphason Xenon tonearm's mass but i enjoyed music much better when i visited that friend who bought it off me i, he was delighted with it as it kinda slayed his older & only slightly cheaper Goldring cartridge.

good work for the 2nd or 3rd time going here :) lol

Very good to get an idea of what it might be like to own a much more expensive cartridge than I have. Thanks Mr Gutenberg.

Very on brand that you would try to push people towards the $12K cartridge.

John Grado wanted to compete and surpass with the likes of Koetsu and Lyra $10000 priced cartridges so he made one that sells it for $12000.🙄 It makes sense in the audiophoolery world of listening with the "price tag"...😁

a bulldog woofer?

would sound even better on the SME shame Steve sold it

Ive got powaqqatsi on vinyl too! One of my favs

It supports the philosophy that putting money closest to the source is the way to go. Why have a $12,000 table and a $ 3000 cartridge?

Hello Steve, I have been following your channel for a while now. First looking for help deciding on what components to consider but more and more for the music choices you bring up. At some point you mentioned a record with drum soli recorded in a church which I really enjoyed. I even believe you mentioned that you were present when it was recorded. Great record!! Unfortunately I lost the recording and even the name. Can you help me? Cheers

That's the most silly thing I've ever heard. A block of wood with a toothpick?

I hate this kind of reviews. $12.000 cartridge WTF? You have to share some percentage on sales or be a very, very, very close friend of the maker to not to emphasize that price is just crazy. Not worth it. They charge that amount just because there's always some "poor" guy that buys it, expecting miracles. Specially if a reviewers says something like "I hear things I never heard before" or "with other cartridge you hear the recording, with this one you hear the musicians right in there".

I had a woodie Grado years ago. It sounded OK but did not track inner grooves that good for me, and also had the Grado curse of picking up motor hum in the same region of the record.