Grado Master3

Grado Master3 Cartridge

Some practices Grado reserves for cartridges near the top of the line, and it starts here. To achieve their desired sound, they experimented with multiple longer curing processes that differ from the Opus3, Platinum3, and Sonata3 while using more modified materials. Each Master3 is individually calibrated after being built.

To make the Timbre Series work as a whole, Grado created a way for Jarrah, diamonds, and a twin magnet system to integrate with our Flux-Bridge™. Unlike the cartridges before it, we modified our five piece OTL cantilever technology to achieve a 5% tip mass reduction over the Prestige Series and use ultra-high purity long crystal (UHPLC) oxygen free copper wire in the coils. The Master3 uses a specially Grado designed nude elliptical diamond.

Grado has combined newly developed coil winding techniques with decades-old disciplines. A new two-step shielding process brings not only exact unison between the four coils but an unobstructed path for a cleaner signal. The music is allowed to travel undistorted through the coils, greatly reducing mechanical noise while improving tracking. There is an extreme clarity over the full frequency range, with absolutely no stridency or shrillness. Precisely hand tipped with a diamond, a great amount of care go into each cartridge they build.

After the Platinum3 cartridge is crafted, it is then placed inside a Australian Jarrah housing. Jarrah is necessary for the majority of Timbre Series with its ability to produce surgically precise clarity without losing any depth. Through a variation of thermal aging processes, the housing gains the ability to better dampen and control the resonant frequencies.

Each Master3 is hand-built by the Grado team in Brooklyn, as it has been for decades. They are fine tuned for everything from entry-level turntables up to the highest-end stereo systems, the solid mass of the wood helps keep the Master3 steady and producing the Grado signature sound. They started building cartridges on a kitchen table in 1953, and every experience since then has led to the creation of the Master3.