Grado Prestige GOLD-3
Grado Prestige Gold-3 moving magnet cartridge, with four-piece OTL cantilever and elliptical diamond stylus, resulting from a strict manual selection of Silver3 cartridges.
Description
The Prestige Gold-3 is a moving magnet (MM) cartridge from Grado's Prestige range. Designed to equip a turntable, it stands out through a rigorous manual selection process: it comes off the same production line as the Silver3, but only units meeting higher test specifications earn the Gold label, representing around 5% of production.
This cartridge is built around a four-piece OTL (optimised transmission line) cantilever, paired with a Grado-specific elliptical diamond stylus mounted on a brass bushing. This design aims to limit unwanted resonances and reduce distortion, preserving the fundamental frequencies and harmonics of the musical signal while reducing noise generated by the cartridge's motor system. The internal ultra-high-purity, long-crystal (UHPLC) OFC copper wiring, along with a machined turned generator, further support this pursuit of transparency and low distortion.
The magnetic circuit is based on a dual-magnet system, with tight manufacturing tolerances across all parts, aimed at achieving precise channel-to-channel balance. Grado's patented Flux-Bridger design contributes to a low moving-mass generating system, intended to deliver balance across the entire frequency range. The ultra-pure copper coil winding techniques, inherited from the development of the Lineage series, aim to harmonise the cartridge's four coils for a coherent stereo image. Assembly is carried out by hand in Brooklyn by technicians, some with over twenty-five years of experience.
This cartridge is aimed at vinyl enthusiasts seeking a carefully executed MM cartridge, capable of rendering nuance and detail without excess, for attentive listening to voices and instruments. It will suit a phono setup already equipped with a preamplifier suited to moving magnet cartridges.
What to check before buying used
The elliptical diamond stylus is the point to examine closely: wear, chipping or dust build-up compromise groove tracking and increase distortion. Check that the OTL cantilever is not warped or detached from its brass bushing and that the output wires, very fine on this type of cartridge, have not been bent or torn during disassembly. The internal suspension of the dual-magnet system may also have sagged over time, affecting compliance and channel balance.
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