Grado Red Cartridge
Want a Little More High-Frequency Extension?
Grado's affordable Red and Blue models use a four-piece
OTL cantilever for quicker transients, faster response and increased
extension. Both models use a four piece OTL cantilever technology,
standard oxygen free wire in the coils and Grado's
specially designed elliptical diamond mounted on a brass bushing. This
Red model is selected from the Blue production run and meet higher test
specifications. Approximately 10% of the production run will meet these
standards and become Red models.
"The Grado Prestige Red is proof that one does not have to spend large
amounts of money for good sound from a phono cartridge. More expensive
cartridges may well provide incremental improvements in one or more
areas, but the Grado performs at a level where such improvements will be
small."
-- James T. Frane, Sensible Sound
The Prestige series of
cartridges are designed for high output and excellent stability under
severe use. A considerable tip mass reduction results in a frequency
response to 50 kHz and beyond and tracking forces from 1-2 grams.
Acclaimed by experts as virtually the finest pickups in the world at
their price. All styli in the Prestige series are user replaceable.
Grado's Optimized Transmission Line (OTL) provides an
ideal transfer of the signal from point to point, e.g., stylus to
cantilever to magnet to coils, etc. This has been achieved by
eliminating resonance at each of these key junctions. The transmission
line cantilever consists of separate sections that are telescoped into
each other. All sections are made of different alloys, some sections
hollow, other sections solid. These sections are bonded together with
materials that act as dampers, and are coated with a black proprietary
material which controls and absorbs resonances that travel on the
surface of the cantilever (known as skin effects). The OTL
stylus/cantilever design will make your records sound quieter, improve
the height, width, and depth of the soundstage, and offer more detail
than previously obtainable.
The Pivoted Fixed Axial Cantilever Stylus-Generator is basically
quite simple. The 'OTL' cantilever shaft is brought to a fixed axial
pivot that supports the entire cantilever assembly. A miniature element
attached to the end of the cantilever is allowed to move freely within
the lines of flux of a stationary magnetand coil structure. This system
of support is mechanically more accurate (more linear) than conventional
'teeter-totter' designs that utilize an iron armature to balance the
mass of the cantilever. The teeter-totter design is supported in the
center with a rubber donut mounting. The fixed axial design has a very
low tip mass, which results in lower distortion, improved transient
response, and longer record life.
The Flux-Bridger Generator System design uses four separate
magnetic gaps that the miniature element of the cantilever bridges. The
miniature element moves between opposing flux gaps creating an increase
in flux in one gap while reducing it in the other. The four separate
magnetic gaps create a highly efficient and perfectly balanced system.
This design requires fewer coil turns than conventional designs. Fewer
coil turns allow Grado cartridges to have lower mass and lower
electrical inductance, making them insensitive to tone arm cable
capacitance. The four gap design is perfectly balanced and eliminates
magnetic residue which contributes to increasing distortion over longer
time periods. Grado cartridges reduce distortions that cause listener fatigue.