Reference MI Phono Cartridge Features Custom Diamond Stylus, High Output, Cocobolo Wood Body: Grado Epoch3 Delivers Euphoric Resolution and Performance

Providing reference-level across-the-board performance distinguished with distortion-free purity, the Grado Epoch3 MI phono cartridge features a custom-made diamond stylus, sapphire cantilever, and a four-step shielding process that isolates the wire turns in the coils, allowing for unprecedented clarity in the signal path. With Epoch3, the music travels without any obstruction through the coils and eliminates any mechanical distortion. Along with final assembly by John Grado and the lowest effective moving mass of any Grado model, it's one of myriad unique features, properties, and hand-selected details appointing an expert tracker that belongs in any conversation pertaining to the finest-sounding phono cartridges designed. Making no small claims about its abilities, Epoch3 mines every last bit of the critical information – instrumental definition, air, depth, nuances, transients, dimensionality, hues – on LPs that most cartridges simply cannot reproduce. And on the rare occasions when the latter manage to convey them, they lack balance, neutrality, and shape. Not with Epoch3.

As the latest generation of the Stereophile Editors' Choice Award-winning and Class A Recommended Component original Epoch, Epoch3 works the equivalent of analog miracles, even significantly reducing surface noise and distortion. Its exceedingly high output at 1mc allows your phono preamplifier to sound even purer and more powerful. A specially shaped stylus, long sapphire cantilever, and dense, thermal-aged cocobolo wood body that lends superb resonance control throughout the cartridge are all responsible for the euphoric end results. As should be expected of any product of its grade, Epoch3 touts perfectionist-minded engineering – coil-winding that yields exact unison between the four coils, 24-karat solid gold wiring, Swiss screw-machined and molded metal magnetic circuit parts, Grado's patented Flux-Bridge generator – that provide exceptional balance throughout the frequency spectrum, see-through clarity, beguiling channel separation, and immersive resolution.

The hand-assembled Epoch3 even provides additional peace of mind in the years to come. If it needs repair or adjustment, simply send it back to Grado in Brooklyn. Not that we think you'll want to part with Epoch3 under any circumstance. We wouldn't, either.

Harmonic Materials
A major step forward in phono cartridge design, the sapphire, diamond, and cocobolo work in harmony to bring this cartridge to life. The specially designed diamond stylus is mounted on a sapphire cantilever that connects to the stylus generating system. Epoch3 features a unique system that has the lowest effective moving mass of any cartridge, providing wonderful tracking on your turntable. Grado's patented Flux-Bridger generator design creates a superior balance throughout the full frequency spectrum with superb resolution and clarity, which produces an overall truer picture of the music.

Extreme Precision
Grado has combined newly developed coil winding techniques with decades-old disciplines. All of the internal magnetic circuit parts are Swiss screw machined or molded metal, which have tolerances on the order of the best Swiss-made watches. A new four-step shielding process brings not only exact unison between the four coils but an unobstructed path for the cleanest signal in any phono cartridge. This creates precise balance between channels and accurate stereo imaging. Epoch3 is wound with the finest properly sized and annealed 24-karat solid gold wire, the ultimate conductor for the transmission of the music from your record.

Built from Cocobolo
Epoch3 is nestled inside a cocobolo housing, adding solid mass and a bold yet revealing signature sound. Cocobolo, known for fine instruments and those chess sets that look too nice to touch, is some of the most beautiful and tonally pleasing woods we have ever used. This specially selected species of cocobolo goes through a variation of thermal aging processes and enhances its ability to better dampen and control the resonant frequencies throughout the cartridge. Its denseness and grain is a primary reason why it produces such a unique sound.