Grado Signature MCZ Cartridge

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Fretless
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Grado Signature MCZ Cartridge

Unread post by Fretless »

Exactly one year ago, I was praising my newly-acquired Denafrips Ares II DAC for its gorgeous analogue-like sound and superb price/quality performance. Then I got my ancient turntable running again as a lockdown project and discovered to my horror that years of painstaking tinkering with digital audio sources had, in fact, got me nowhere - the LP still ruled the sonic waves.

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;

Image

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. :guiness;
These users thanked the author Fretless for the post (total 3):
CN211276 (Mon Feb 28, 2022 6:06 pm) • Latteman (Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:46 pm) • antonio66 (Tue Mar 01, 2022 2:13 am)

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: Cube2 + LS6+ Sabaj A10a (2) + Little Bear MC2
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 (phono)Aiyima A07 MAX (2) + Arcam One
HP: Allo DigiOne + Sabaj A10d + AQ NightOwl
Office: Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith 887 + German Maestro GMP 450

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Re: Grado Signature MCZ Cartridge

Unread post by CN211276 »

I have fond memories of a budget Grado cartridge I used with my first ever system. A big fan of their headphones now.
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Fretless (Mon Feb 28, 2022 6:41 pm) • michalakim (Mon Feb 28, 2022 8:51 pm)
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Lindy cat 6 US ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Black

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Re: Grado Signature MCZ Cartridge

Unread post by Fretless »

Still have soft spot for the SR225e.

:music-listening:

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: Cube2 + LS6+ Sabaj A10a (2) + Little Bear MC2
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 (phono)Aiyima A07 MAX (2) + Arcam One
HP: Allo DigiOne + Sabaj A10d + AQ NightOwl
Office: Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith 887 + German Maestro GMP 450

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