Coytee Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Which Grado cartridge has an "S" and ONLY an S on it? This one has that and I can't figure out which one of these it might be: http://www.needledoctor.com/Brand-Stores/Grado-Cartridge-Reference-Series;jsessionid=0a0101421f43fb408eb590df4d5e873dabb98f5c277b.e3eSc3iSaN0Le34Pa38Ta38Och10 Is it the $3,000 "Statement" Wood body Is it the $1,500 "Statement Reference" Is it the $1,000 Statement Master" or the $600 "Sonata" Wood Body? Maybe the $350 Statement Platinum? Here's picture of it and it sure doesn't tell me anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Good luck with that Richard, I've been looking at those at the ND site and got even more confused then my normal state of mind. But time now for NASCAR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I've have a "Grado Sonata" - and it looks absolutely identical to that picture. How do you like that Grado, Mark? As you can see I'm using two drastically different pickups. I've never used a Grado before and it's nice to see they're still around....that must say something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triode Pete Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 All of the wood bodied Grado's look similar; I have a Sonata as well & it's a great cartridge for the money. It has a very high output, so you won't need a MC step-up device. Grado's mate very well with VPI & Well Tempered turntables. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 Mark, can you look on the bottom and see if it has an "S" on it? You can evidently also remove the cartridge from the shell but if you have good eyes (and I'd imagine you do) then it's also embossed right near the base of the needle. It's a small S on a black band on this particular one. If it helps anyone, I'm suspecting this is one of their moving iron type since it was plugged into a little Pro-Ject amp. I called them one day to ask about the wood bodies and little did I know that they have a plethora of styles within the wood body style so the only way to know for sure was to tell them what the letter was. Now I know the letter and of course, it's Saturday and they're closed [] This is all part of the estate that I'm helping with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrop Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Except if you send it back for a retip: "Any Wood Body cartridge can be upgraded or downgraded to any other WoodBody cartridge for the price of the Retip. Simply select the desiredRetip and send the used cartridge to the Needle Doctor." My master HO cart looks just like that, I spoke w/ ND and they also said it was very confusing as within each model statement and reference are also used to differentiate whether it is HO (5.0MV) or LO (0.5MV) where reference is HO and statement is LO so I have a master reference cart at 4.0 MV (MM input) ALL Grado carts are moving iron carts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 I've have a "Grado Sonata" Turns out this one too, is a Sonata. I called Grado this morning and told them what the letter was and she gave me the name. Mark, I'd speculate that yours should have this same "S" on its underside. It's hard to see though, at least it was for me until the light hit it just right. Seems these retail for about $600 but I don't know if that is MSRP or street prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 THEY must have some way to identify them, My understanding is, they engrave (or burn?) it into the TOP of the cartridge however, if installed, will be obscured by the headshell. They then also put it underneith for reasons I do not know. So, each cartridge should have the designation in two places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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