There ensued a continuing voyage of rediscovery and new exploration with TT mats, carbon-fibre brushes, record clamps, you name it. But one element has made more impact than any other and that is the vintage Grado cartridge I got from an Ebay auction. Having done quite a lot of research, it has dawned on me that this is something quite special;
It started with a humble Grado Prestige Green, an entry-level unit from the current Grado production. A lovely, crisp, open sound that sent my classic A&R P77Mg quietly into the shadows. Not least because the massive magnesium housing of the A&R is quite heavy and the lighter Grado simply worked better in the Syrinx arm.
Upgraditis ensued and the stylus was replaced with an 8MZ, the starter model from what is known as the 'Signature' series. Not knowing anything about these cartridges, I was just impressed by the improvement and then the chance acquisition of a 1988-vintage Signature MCZ cartridge has continued to blow my mind for the last few months.
Joseph 'Joe' Grado was a watchmaker (one of only two Master Watchmakers in the entire USA in the 1940's) in New York and in 1950 he started to make self-designed, record-playing phono cartridges on his kitchen table. Joe was a music-lover and a well-regarded operatic singer, soon his home-built cartridges began to get attention and a new business was born.
Grado remained a family firm in Brooklyn and their cartridges and headphones are still made by hand there. In 1990 Joe retired and handed over control of the company to his nephew John Grado. In his working life, Joe Grado developed and held about 50 patents in the field of sound reproduction including the invention of the Moving-Coil cartridge, which made him a lot of money in licensing fees (enough to buy a Lamborghini!). His preferred design was the 'Moving Iron' due to its lower mass and high sensitivity. The 'Signature' series cartridges were all hand-picked and individually checked by Joe himself, with the final, late 1980's run of MCZ, TLZ and XTZ representing the summum of his experience and knowledge.
Having found this out, I started to view my MCZ in a different light, a lovingly hand-built artefact from a master innovator, where had I heard that before? Oh yes, Richard Dunn and NVA! Special personalities with golden ears and a desire to make the music live.
The Grado Signature MCZ might not be the most detailed, neutral, 'perfect' cartridge in existence. But it does have a particular entrancing magic that gets to the heart of the music. And it is making me buy far too many LP's in order to rebuild my vinyl collection as EVERYTHING sounds better now than I have ever remembered it to be.
Thanks Joe.
