Grado Statement series carts

I would definitely avoid the use of a SUT with most or all Grado cartridges, as well as avoiding the use of most phono stages which utilize a SUT internally as their input stage for low output cartridges.

If a SUT is used the load impedance seen by the cartridge will be the load impedance that is applied to the output of the transformer by the phono stage (typically 47K) divided by the square of the transformer’s voltage step-up ratio. Typically a 0.5 mv cartridge would be used in conjunction with a voltage step-up of approximately 10x, which would mean that the cartridge would see a load impedance of 470 ohms. Way too low, at least for results that are anywhere close to being optimal.

So if you choose to go with a separate phono stage you would want to choose one having a solid state or tube input stage, providing in the rough vicinity of 60 db or so of gain assuming the gains and sensitivities of the rest of the components in your system are not unusually high or low.

The lower gain version of the highly regarded Herron VTPH-2 ($3650 new) would be a great choice IMO/IME.

Regards,
-- Al

Hi Yogiboy,

It’s not possible to define a simple "yes" or "no" answer to your question, as there are many equipment-dependent variables that are involved.

Phono stage gain of 47 db is a little bit on the high side for most high output cartridges, and significantly on the low side for most low output cartridges. It might be just about right for some Grados that are spec’d in between, at 1 mv.

With a higher output cartridge (e.g., one rated at say 4 or 5 mv or more) a risk would be that in combination with the relatively high 18 db gain of your line stage you might be forced to use your volume control at undesirably low settings, depending on the gain of the power amp and the sensitivity of the speakers, and on the characteristics of the volume control mechanism. Or, if the design of the line stage is such that active circuitry is "ahead" of its volume control in its internal signal path, depending on the line stage’s maximum input spec it might be overloaded on the high volume peaks of some recordings. Or there might be some cases in which the phono stage itself may be overloaded by a cartridge having particularly high output, on the high volume peaks of some recordings.

But it’s entirely possible, and perhaps probable, that none of those risks would materialize in many cases.

With a low output cartridge one risk would be that to achieve satisfactory volume on some recordings you might find yourself wanting to turn the volume control higher than its max setting, depending on the gain of the power amp and the sensitivity of the speakers. And depending on the sensitivity of the power amp you may not be able to turn the volume control high enough to utilize a good deal of the amp’s power capability, should you want to do so. Although the relatively high 18 db gain of your line stage works in the direction of minimizing those risks, unless the cartridge has an especially low output (e.g., significantly less than say 0.5 mv). Another risk, though, that is perhaps more significant, is that a phono stage designed to provide 47 db of gain may not be designed to provide noise performance that is good enough to be suitable for use with many low output cartridges.

So as I say the answer to your question is complex, and involves many variables that are specific to each system.

Regards,
-- Al

The Statement 1 apparently had a rated output of 0.5 mv. My suspicion is that the reference to 0.5 mv in the description of the Statement 2 is simply a mistake, perhaps the result of the person who created the description of the Statement 2 doing that by working from the description of the Statement 1. Or perhaps the description of the Statement 2 was written early in its development, when it might have been anticipated that it would have an output similar to the Statement 1, but in the end it turned out to be a 1 mv cartridge.

But yes, in many cases Grado has over the years offered both low output and high output cartridges under the same model designation. Although in most or all of those cases the high output version has been rated considerably higher than 1 mv., and the low output version considerably lower than 1 mv.

Regards,
-- Al