[rcag_ils]

I am trying to identify a Grado cart. that came with one of my turntables. The color dot has faded to unreadable, but both sides of the metal are gold color, so is it a Grado gold?

[Wayner]

Well, there are actually 3 sides to the metal (aluminum) skin over the coil section of the cartridge and if it is indeed gold in color, then it is a Gold.

All other Prestige series of Grado cartridges are natural aluminum color.

Wayner

[pansixt]

Wayner,

My Grado cart has a natural aluminum skin, but the stylus is a gold replacement
stylus that I installed earlier this year.

The cart has the large JG back to back with Grado under that on the front.
I believe, it was originally a Prestige Silver.

Are the internals different (coil, etc) as well as the stylus on the Gold and Silver and so on?
Just curious.

James

[rcag_ils]

thanks Wayne for the confirmation, that's helps me to purchase the correct stylus.

[S Clark]

thanks Wayne for the confirmation, that's helps me to purchase the correct stylus.

If you need a Gold stylus, I have a new one somewhere around here.  I checked a couple of sources and it seems that they go for around $110.  I'll sell it for $80 and donate it to the fund for Bill Baker (see http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=98823.msg994996#msg994996)  You save a small bit, and the cash goes to a good cause. Let me know. 
Scott

[TheChairGuy]

Are the internals different (coil, etc) as well as the stylus on the Gold and Silver and so on?
Just curious.

James

James,

They are the same cartridge in every way.  The Gold's are selected from the silvers - they are the best specced of the silvers become Golds.

Grado never says what those specs are - not what parameters they use to judge the cartridges (measured electrically or styli conformity or hardness or ???).  It seems a bit of a ruse as there seems to be many more Golds sold than SIlvers...so how can Gold be premiere version of Silver (supposedly only 10% of Silvers become Gold)

Besides all this twisted and questionable grading process...the Gold (and newer Gold1) are probably my favorite cartridge in the world.  Bone stock it's okay - but add the Longhorn and it starts to track much better (if you don't know what a Longhorn is, do a search here in Vinyl Circle for it and several mentions come up)

Add a better stylus to it (older Grado G1, F1, F1, F2 and a couple other styli that are FAR better than todays choices of styli from Grado) and you have a sensational sounding cartridge.  The most natural, dynamic and enjoyable of any I've ever heard. 

Regards, John

[BaMorin]

James,

They are the same cartridge in every way.  The Gold's are selected from the silvers - they are the best specced of the silvers become Golds.

Grado never says what those specs are - not what parameters they use to judge the cartridges (measured electrically or styli conformity or hardness or ???).  It seems a bit of a ruse as there seems to be many more Golds sold than SIlvers...so how can Gold be premiere version of Silver (supposedly only 10% of Silvers become Gold)

Besides all this twisted and questionable grading process...the Gold (and newer Gold1) are probably my favorite cartridge in the world.  Bone stock it's okay - but add the Longhorn and it starts to track much better (if you don't know what a Longhorn is, do a search here in Vinyl Circle for it and several mentions come up)

Add a better stylus to it (older Grado G1, F1, F1, F2 and a couple other styli that are FAR better than todays choices of styli from Grado) and you have a sensational sounding cartridge.  The most natural, dynamic and enjoyable of any I've ever heard. 

Regards, John

The G1+ and the G2+ were nice styli.  the older series F1 and F2 were a bit slow. Neither of those though reached to "signature" status (sig 4 was top model in those days)  Everybody quits mentioning the Z1 and Z2 stylus before the movement to the prestige line. Nude 'ellipsoid" profile.........although the Z1 and Z2 carts are low output................which makes me believe the MCZ stylus and the Z2 stylus is the same, and then that 10% grado rule comes into play.........the 10% made it as a "signature stylus" and those that didn't got installed on the company "lab" brand.
I have a G1+ body that I have a near NOS original stylus, and I also mount the "new" 8MZ sylus. performance difference is really not noticed, except for compliance. the 8MZ is 20, the G1+ is 35.

[rcag_ils]

They are the same cartridge in every way.  The Gold's are selected from the silvers - they are the best specced of the silvers become Golds.

I don't think they are the same in every way, if they were, there wouldn't have been a different styli for gold and silver. Gold are the top 5% of the silver, and I don't think they mean styli alone. Maybe because the internal coils of the gold meet more strict spec. Not that you can just buy a silver and put a gold styli on it and make it a gold.

[Wayner]

I'm not sure of the grading process for determining if the cartridge is a gold or silver. The outer metal coil cover is a part added after the fact, and I don't think the stylus has anything to do with the grading. I believe the grading is based on a deviation from a specification in regards to mh induction values/coil resistance and those values in relation to each channel (channel balance).

Gold, Silver, Red and Blue use 4 pole Cantilever technology, while the Green and Black use 3.

When I test them when making Longhorns, I measure coil resistance and that value is almost always 440 ohms. Channel balance is usually within a few ohms, sometimes, they match exactly.

Wayner 

[pansixt]

Thanks everyone for the info.

I have considered the Longhorn option. Perhaps that and a more choice stylus
as mentioned would be an upgrade to try.

Of all the cartridges I have owned over the years, this has been one of the best.
I am sure that all I have learned about the care of equipment and vinyl in that time
has a lot to do with that.

James