I concur with you as well.This cartridge had my wife twisting away in the living room to Boosa Nova.What a site that was.And no she's not an Audiophile,but I think I have her converted. |
If your happy with the warm sound that your presnet Grado produces. Then you'll absolutley love the Reference I've not heard a cartridge that can produce female vocals as eloquently as the Grado Reference. The Statemnet is awesome but not worth double the money.
I am very happy with my Reference and plan on keeping it indefinetly |
Well I finally have the Grado Reference Reference installed on myVPI MK3 Table ,Morch UP-4 Arm,and I must say this has been the largest sound quailty improvement then any other component change.
I will do a review on this web site as too my observations.
But if the Reference super charged my front end like this,
I'm sure the Statement must turbocharge it to levels unheard of by any cartridge just a few years ago.
I'm now spinning vinyl too the wee hours of the morning
and I'm sure I will keep Classic Records ,Acoustic Sounds, and Music Direct busy for a long time.
Happy Listening
Don |
Thanks for the info Paul.An Audiophile friend of mine whos
ears I trusted in the past told me the SONATA was a very special cartridge in the Grado line,and he thought it was one of their best period.But your saying that is not the case which I'm sure is true.I think he was just trying to sell me his used Sonata so what else would he say.
From what I learned from speaking to Grado directly is each step up in the line portrays more honestly what was recorded at the original event.
I will be buying a Grado Ref. Ref. High Output on the 1st of July which is compatible with my preamp,and will be a huge jump up from the Grado Silver I'm currently using.
I anticipate Audio Heaven with my VPI MK3 Morch UP-4 Silver wired Arm,cCJ-PV-5,ARC VT-60,and Martin Logan Quest z'S.
I've also evaluated several toenarm cables from FATWYRE and I'm leaning toward the Kimber Silver Ag.So I probably won't be leaving the house very much once I get the Grado cartridge and tonearm cable. |
I have the Statement. Prior carts included the Grado Sonata, an Ortofon and the Denon DL-103. I am very happy with the Statement. It is a significant leap forward over the Sonata ... which was quite good itself. Differences between the Sonata and the Statement include the Statement's greater ability to track high frequency passages without producing sibilants; greater detail and soundstage; more realistic decay; and deeper, more realistic bass.
As mentioned elsewhere in this post, this is all system-dependent and personal. In more laid-back systems, the edginess of the Denon's moving coil design might provide better synergy. My system is designed for detail with musicality: a modified Plinius 8200 MkII integrated; modified Plinius Jarrah phono stage; Nordost SPM cables; Lieder all silver ICs; Snell B Minor speakers w/ a Snell sub (powered by a 500 watt Hsu sub amp). With the silver cabling, what is elsewhere described as the "warm" sound of the Statement works very well. |
Sorry Doublebass; I did'nt read your post correctly......... on the other hand though maybe it would be worth your time to check out a different phono stage that would allow you to try a wider variety of carts???
Just a thought.
Chris |
I have the Statement for some time now and I like it a lot. It has its specialty - female vocals, and that is what I mostly use it for. I would not keep it if it was my only cartridge, but then again I have yet to hear one that I would have as my only one.
I am not sure if it is worth the price difference over the Reference - it is for me, but YMMV. |
Chris thanks for your helpful advise,But I'm not sure if I
made myself clear or not on my post. I need a cartridge with an output
of(5 Millivolts) NOT .5 Millivolts,or .45 Millivolts.
my preamp probably can't even handle a 2.5 Mv. output
from the Sumiko Blackbird which I almost bought but Conrad
Johnson told me that it would be marginal to even use
the Blackbird with my CJ PV-5.
I realized to begin with that the Grado Statement output wise was not compatible with my preamp,and that I would need to buy additional hardware to get it to work for me.
I was just curious about the sonic difference between the Ref. Ref. and the Statement Ref. which cost 2.5k
SDCAMPBELL answered the question I was wondering about on this post.
But the ZYX Top of the line for 7K must be one honey of a cartridge!If I get a huge rebate in the mail I'll buy one.
Take Care Happy Listening
Don |
Hey Doublebass,
I'll start out by saying that so much of this stuff is personal preference that it's hard to make an informed decision, especially on cartridges that you can't "take home for an audition". Having said that, I recently went from a Grado Statement/Reference (.5mv) to a ZYX Airy3-S. For me there was a pretty big leap in performance (OK, the ZYX does list for almost 3 times as much as the Grado).
You might want to consider an Airy 2 from Sorasound (Mehran). I think you can get one for roughly the same price as a Grado Ref. and they have a .45mv output version.
Just a thought..............
Chris |
Thanks sdcampbell for your input.I'm certain I will be buying the Ref. Ref. High output with my CJ PV-5.
I have the Wally Tracker to get the Azmith and overhang
dead on the spot with my Morch UP-4 Arm and VPI MK3 Table.
I'm sure I'll be spinnig many records once I get the cartridge after the first of July.
My front end system should be really singing then.I'm currently using the Grado Prestidge Silver Cartridge with a
high input of 5Mv. and it works just fine with the CJ PV-5.
I don't think my preamp can even handle a 2.5 Mv. output. |
I have VERY pleased with the Grado Reference ($1200, 4.5 mV output version). Many of my friends get fooled into thinking it's a very pricey moving coil cartridge. I have heard the Statement, and in comparison to the Reference I don't think it's worth twice the money. Just a personal opinion, but before I'd spend the money for the Statement, there are other cartridges I'd consider (Shelter 90x, Lyra Helicon, etc.). |
I'm starting out with the straight DL-103. Not sure where I'm going... |
I have a Grado "The Statement" sitting here on my desk. It's stated output is 0.5mV. So, the Statement won't work with your PV-5 without some form of stepup unit.
As for the sound, I haven't had the chance to cue it up yet because I just got my table going with a Denon 103D. I'd like to fine tune and get a feel for it's performance(over time) as a reference point before moving on to the 3 other carts I have.
Sometime in the next few months I'll be able to give decent opinion on it's performance against the legendary Denon, Music Maker III, and ZYX R100 Fuji FS (silver coil).
Hopefully, someone will chime in with an experienced opinion on the Statement's sound. There seems to be very few people who've taken the jump. |
The Grado Statement series won't work with your PV-5; the output is too low. The Grado Reference will, however, and costs $1200. The nomenclature Grado uses is VERY confusing. Nice cartridges, but I agree that their retip price is too high. That's because they don't actually retip them but send you a new one and throw the old one away, according to what I've heard. Good luck, Dave |
