I really want to say something inappropriate. I’m going to bed now.
Grado Cartridges and Stylus - Questions and Advice.
- Thread starter RenegadeMonster
- Start date
I really want to say something inappropriate. I’m going to bed now.
I’m going to state this ad clearly as I can, then I’m out.
If you like what you have, stick with it.
If you want the easiest upgrade, get an 8MZ for your Black1.
If you want to upgrade your cartridge, get whatever you want. I would have thought that hearing similar advice from Rich Grado would have proved the point.
Splunders
Well-Known Member
Oh nice! Hopefully you get the 2 week notice when his manager does too, so you can stock up.
Looking at this again @Mather it looks like I meant something homophobic, so I’ll elaborate, because it isn’t meant that way at all.
I used to chase discounts. And I was usually disappointed.
Discounts are cool. I get it. But if you get a discount on something you don’t love compared to paying full price on something you do love, which is the better bargain? You have a perfect turntable for a Grado. But you bought a 2m series Ortofon because of a “deal” - as we discussed a couple of years ago.
I realize you live in Canada. I know a place to get a discount on Grados- which given our new member I will not disclose. In any event, we are talking a $40 discount on a Gold. If it helps you and you want one, I’ll buy it and ship it to you and you can settle with me after you get it.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
"worth" is relative, everyone's idea of value and worth is different. To justify that comment, I had a U-Turn Orbit with a Grado Gold and 8MZ stylus and it was fantastic, and in my opinion well worth it.
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Mather
Unknown Member
Ha it's all good, I appreciate the offer but I put some thought into building my system and have actually upgraded the amp, cart and phono stage several times throughout the process. And I know you dislike the 2Ms but the Black is pretty widely considered to be a very good if not overpriced MM cart so I had no issue purchasing it at half price. While it's true I've been sticking with a few different brands due to discounts I was pretty conscious of what I was doing as I was putting everything together so that all the pieces would play nice with each other. I'm exceedingly happy with the sound quality I get from my rig so really any upgrades at this point are just fiddling to see what parts I can adjust here and there. I may come to find a Grado in my system at some point, Likely I will. But I'm in no rush.
Ha it's all good, I appreciate the offer but I put some thought into building my system and have actually upgraded the amp, cart and phono stage several times throughout the process. And I know you dislike the 2Ms but the Black is pretty widely considered to be a very good if not overpriced MM cart so I had no issue purchasing it at half price. While it's true I've been sticking with a few different brands due to discounts I was pretty conscious of what I was doing as I was putting everything together so that all the pieces would play nice with each other. I'm exceedingly happy with the sound quality I get from my rig so really any upgrades at this point are just fiddling to see what parts I can adjust here and there. I may come to find a Grado in my system at some point, Likely I will. But I'm in no rush.
Cool. Should you decide you want to try a Grado on the future or another piece of gear where it makes sense financially, the offer stands.
Mather
Unknown Member
I appreciate that, thank you and I may take you up on that..
Ha it's all good, I appreciate the offer but I put some thought into building my system and have actually upgraded the amp, cart and phono stage several times throughout the process. And I know you dislike the 2Ms but the Black is pretty widely considered to be a very good if not overpriced MM cart so I had no issue purchasing it at half price. While it's true I've been sticking with a few different brands due to discounts I was pretty conscious of what I was doing as I was putting everything together so that all the pieces would play nice with each other. I'm exceedingly happy with the sound quality I get from my rig so really any upgrades at this point are just fiddling to see what parts I can adjust here and there. I may come to find a Grado in my system at some point, Likely I will. But I'm in no rush.
I don’t dislike the all of the 2m series. I like the Blue, although I prefer the A/T VM95ML more for less money or the Grado Gold3 more for a bit more money.
Your 2m Black is a horrible value here in the US at $755 when you can get one from Germany for $550. With your family connection, you did well.
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
Every time I see one of these, I think two things -
1) Damn, that is just beautiful.
2) How the hell do you play a record with a Lincoln Log?
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
@RichGrado - Thanks for popping in here. Your presence is most appreciated.
Guess I'll ask the question everyone is thinking since you so graciously joined our community - is there the possibility of a discount code for N&G members on your fine products?
Guess I'll ask the question everyone is thinking since you so graciously joined our community - is there the possibility of a discount code for N&G members on your fine products?
Nee Lewman
बैस्टर्ड
Isn't there a dude around here with a cart that blows all of ours out of the water on a u-turn?
@apholden was running a moving coil on his, but I can’t remember which one. He’s running a Grado now.
trickyseven
Well-Known Member
I've got a Gold2 on my uturn and I'm really happy with it. When it's time to replace the stylus I'll try the 8mz. I went back and forth on if that was the direction I wanted to go or get a black with an 8mz down the line. Ultimately what got me was that if I did the black/8mz now and in the future I wanted to try gold/8mz, I'd have to buy a gold in either case. For me though, I knew that's the direction I wanted to go.
Also, if I ever decide to upgrade my table, I'd prefer to run a gold rather than the black. Being able to upgrade things selectively while still maintaining the character of the system is important to me.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
......also, there is something to be said about the "$ Pool", meaning when building a system components in the same price range tend to "fit" better together. I've decided you need to eliminate (IMO) speakers from that equation because the variety and price range for good speakers now a days is amazing. That being said, looking at TT, Phono, Amp and cart, keeping those in the same price pool is a nice rule of thumb to subscribe to.......so going with that formula, adding a $260 cart to your $350 TT isn't out of line.
Conversely, what do you think about those of us who are adding $260 carts to our $2k TT? Are we crazy? Cost and performance don't always line up the way you think they will
trickyseven
Well-Known Member
One other thing I'll mention. A component that can scale up effectively with other gear when I upgrade has more have to me than the dollar figure attached when I bought it.
How much of a jump in performance did you experience between the Black1 and the Gold2?
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
I remember back in the Orbit days, the jump from the Black to the Gold was pretty significant. I would think that would still stand.......we'll wait for confirmation
trickyseven
Well-Known Member
Sorry that was unclear. I went from the AT CN5625AL. The question for me back then was whether to go to the black or jump straight to the gold.
The jump from the AT was significant. The sound was more musical and just better overall. It made music sound like I thought it should sound. Tracking was much much better too.