Grado cartridges are actually moving iron, not moving magnet. Moving iron gives you most of the benefits of a moving coil cartridge, but at a far lower cost and are compatible with a standard phono pre-amp. I'm a big fan of vintage Stanton and Pickering moving iron cartridges.

My 2 favourite MMs are the Nagaoka MP110 & 150. Warmish but accurate.

Since you broke the news that Grado is is a family owned company in Brooklyn, maybe you can get a factory tour to see how these things are made, especially the styli. Make a great video. I worked in manufacturing and engineering all my life and how those diamond tips are made has always been confounding.

Great video! The comparison at the end convinced me to buy the black over the gold cartridge. Oh, and I am actually a subscriber!

Record ology I learn a lot from you about bying quality turntables new and used and phono cartrdges 🎉🎉my friend

When I bought my Rega P2 about 5 months ago I had the shop replace the standard carbon with an AT-VM540ML and I'm happy with it. The Rega replace my Technics SL-5 linear tracking TT that no longer turned on.

Hi great video At long last someone who lives in the real world regarding down to earth price's. For phono cartridges, keep up the great work

Record ology your utube videos are awesome my friend 🎉🎉🎉

back in tne day I had the AR turntable I bought when I was in Korea in the late 60's, I still have the records but that AR was given to a friend. I'm using the Nagaoka MP110 cartridge ($110 when i bought it)and am quite happy with the sound i get from it on my Rega RP3. I have heard some good things about the Goldring E3 but have not heard one yet.

#5 Totally agree! Low cost amazingly good ! Grado makes amazing cartridges and I want one of their Platinum 3's but it's around $500 lol

I remember using a Stanton 681 EEE in a Dual turntable (I think it was a 1219 model) and it sounding full and at the same time crisp with nicely detailed highs. Are Stanton and Dual still around?

Thanks for your video. You can try the Ortofon 300 or 500 series p-mount if you don't like the Audio-Technica. Stylii for the 300-series, 305, 310 and 320. Stylii for the 500-series, 510, 520, 530 and 540.

Great video! What was the record playing during the Grado segment?

👍🏻nice very nice awesome presentation 👏 😮

Ranking my cartridges using 3 characteristics. 1. Sound Quality 2. Trackability 3. Affordability Note: I own 6 cartridges, I very recently replaced the stylus on each, mounted on 6 headshells for quick, easy exchange: My favorite cartridge Ranking: 6. ATN-XP3DJ 5. Shure M91ED 4. AT-96E 3. Shure R47xt 2. Pickering XV-15 1. Stanton D6800-DL

Excellent show as always, i also use a AT 3600L as it has a carbon cantilever, but the mainstay of my carts are the Audio-technica vm series , the orange, red ml , and brown shibata , and i use these on my Technics sl 1200g , which is a superb yet expensive deck , so i don't buy expensive carts , as you proved with the wonderful Grado carts from bottom to top in the series you highlighted, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. I really enjoy your reviews. Regards from England.

I like these top five! Shure 27E, Grado Black 3, Audio Technica 92E, Ortofon Red

Love your reviews, I have 2 Sony turntables, a PS-LX300H and a PS-LX350H...both have an Audio-Technica AT-VM95C which i will eventually upgrade to the elliptical stylus.

Loved your video, especially your use in visual aids when describing the differences between elliptical and conical styli. The 2 fingers and the blue clock pen was the best. BTW, your problem with the p-mount AT 360 is not the cartridge (or stylus), it’s the geometry of the arm. Too short is my guess. You can check my hypothesis using a stylus overhang gauge. Why p-mounts came and went so quickly was just this problem. The p-mount tone arms were made to be as simple as possible with no adjustments available to screw up. But all too often the arms came from the factory pre-screwed 😮.

I'm pretty new at understanding all of this. I have a ion ttusb usb enabled belt drive turntable w/ a GT cartridge. No idea how old or use the stylus is. Which cartridge in your video would be the best replacement for the GT? Thanks!

If you play a lot of mono records (which I do), a mono cartridge is a must-have. I know that some TT have a control that switches between mono and stereo. You get crosstalk even with it switched to mono. It's like FM. A station that is far away you don't get good reception. Switch it to mono and the reception is fine. You've got a video (as well as ANA[DIA]LOG) on mono records. As soon as I got a mono cartridge I was amazed at the difference it made. Anyways, have a good Sunday.

You're awesome man

Using a Grado red on my Thorens TD 318 and a Shure M97xE on my Thorens TD 160 turntable. Both sound pretty good.

Hi there, I currently have a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with an Audio Technical AT100E cartridge. I'd like to upgrade the cartridge as I feel it is a bit rough around the edges, and the bass is really sloppy for my taste. I'd like tighter bass, better detail retrieval and an overall more balanced and musical presentation. Can you recommend some no-fuss carts I can install on my Debut Carbon? Debut Carbon is feeding a Sansui AU-555A which is powering a pair of Celestion Ditton 551. Many thanks, Dana

Last month, I bought an Audio-Technica LP-60 variant bundled with headphones and a headphone jack. From listening to the 3600 so far, it sounds warm to my ears.

Hi! What do you think about at3600 vs at91?? Which is better?

I have the audio technica in 95e and ML and SH, I love the sound.

Do you know if there are 'house sounds' on the (MM) cartridges? Does price level mean more in common across brands, than (if) any 'house sound'? I am thinking of buying second cart. (orotofon, but moreso I am looking at Sumiko, Goldring, Nagoaka) to change off to spare existing cart. from wear; Vintage Shure that will be tough to get a another replacement stylus. Comments appreciated, though budget will be $600 to $800.

My new turntable came with the Ortofon 2M Red and I was pleasantly surprised. But with a completely new system I decided to try a moving coil for the first time and am really impressed with it. I'm not one to bounce around with different components once I've found something really good, so this cartridge will possibly be the last for me. Oh, and I prefer a micro-line stylus myself.

i have an audio technica 3472 and it looks similar to the 320 but it tracks quite well

Hi, I'm from the Philippines and I'm interested in T4P Grado cartridge but according to a post, it's only for US sale. Is there a way for you help buyers from other countries?

You are right it is all subjective for sure. I use to have a Grado Gold Prestige, then I went with the 2m Red, which for me, I liked a lot better, then I upgraded to the 2m Blue, and never looked back. I know there are a lot of people that don’t like the Ortofon 2m’s but I am not one of them. In fact I am currently running the 2m Blue on both my turntables, a 25 year old Dennon DP47f and my Fluance RT85.

If you love music you must go with Grado. I have had most of them since the mid seventies culminating with my present black, green, blue and Gold. I also have AT's and Ortofon Blue. But the Grados rule. The fact that you appreciate the Grados makes you a competent reviewer in a sea of so called experts. My compliments.

@Record-ology There is also another cartridge called the Sanyo MG-29D that you can buy off of China for around $15 to $25. Goldring rebranded it after Sanyo was not doing too good as the Goldring Elektra. The only difference is is that it has an elliptical Stylus and still beats the at95e and the at3600l

What's that record btw? Loved it

I have a suggestion how about top five red tip Needle for the record player?

I got two Shures. ...................... RX6, Radio Shack version. And a M70EJ. Where to I get stylus?

the AT-95 is very popular but it's even better with an aftermarket (hyper-elliptical and/or microline) stylus, available from at least two online vendors. I also have a Grado-blue. Great sounding cart (especially for jazz music) but finicky to set up properly..especially the VTA adjustment.

It'll set you back a bit over $200, but throw a nude elliptical Stylus 20 on that Ortofon 5E and it'll sound amazing without being finicky like the fine line and shibata styli can be.

wow i did not think you could top last show i was wrong this was just as good I remember hearing of grado carts but they were out of my price range always used audiotechnica carts I remenber when I bought the atlp-120 TT it came with the95e cart it sounded better than the 3600 cause of the eliptical stylus then when I got the crosley c-10 it had the ortophon ome5 cart now that sounded great so then I got one for the lp-120 tt it was not expensive the 3600 is a great cart and it is good for dynagroove albums which were made especially for the old TT's that had the conical type stylus which a lot of the ceramics had ,I bought a garrard mpk autoslim tt it came with a ceramic cart a sonotone type I switched it to a mag 3600 cart from ebay for under 20.00 the amp that I hooked it up to was from the later 90's they cannot handle the ceramic carts the bass response on these amps are very limited compared to the early 70's amp which could handle them but that cart worked out fantastic its perfect cause this tt had a tracking force adjustment and I do not know how this works but the antiskate is perfect I am thinking that since the sonotone was tracking at 4 grams it was set for that I cannot explain it I have no reason to try another cart for now the audio technica and ortophon are what works for me ,I would not mind the grado knowing that is made in USA I would like to know how they sound ,as for moving coil carts in my opinion they might sound better and just saying might they are too expensive close to 1000.00 from last I saw but to hear and extra ting !!! from a song you are listening to is a waste of money ,once the stylus is worn you got to send it out the whole cart to replace stylus now how many of regular people have an extra 1000'00 to buy a back up moving coil cart not to mention the extra money for the old cart while the old one is being replaced ,only a snooty audio phile who has money to waste and does not understand what it is to work for a living and I was one many years ago not anymore JRo

@Record-ology The one that I mentioned on the Victrola record player is definitely NOT the same one as the Sanyo MG-29D.

Also can you put the grado cartridges on a Fluance 81+? I’m sorry if that’s a dumb question. I just got into vinyl’s and this is my first record player

I think the 320 may be specifically setup for linear tracking turntables. In a regular pivoting arm it will be out of alignment at the outer and inner tracks of a record.

what is the name of the LP you played while showing the Grado Gold?

Did you hear blue at3600 with elliptical stylus from "LP Gear" company? Better than standard at3600 or marketing?

I would highly recommend the most recent AT-VM95e is a more rounded cartridge. As an upgrade, the AT-VM95ML is amazing. On first listen the E and the ML have a very similar profile, however the ML can bring some bad pressings (i.e. cheap polystyrene 45 rpm singles) back to life as well as some records with light surface scratches as it is playing deeper in the groove. It also has something like 4x the playing time of the E. Depending on what you are doing, both are in the best bang for your buck category. As far as the woes with the P mount cartridge, I just put a brand new Audio Technica AT-85 on my 1981 Technics SL-Q3 turntable as it sounds amazing and tracks very well. It replaced the old AT-92 that was on it from 1981 and while I considered just replacing the stylus on it, the AT-85 is slightly better regarded by most people on the forums. As far as the AT-3600 goes, I agree it is a nice sounding cartridge, however not that big into conical styli, so I found an after market eliptical which improved the sound considerably.

The problem I have with Grado cartridges is that they tend to sound harsh at the inner grooves of a record. I'm very careful with aligning the cartridge in the headshell for my Technics 1200mk2, and this happens on any Grado I use. My current favorite cartridge is the Audio-Technica AT-VM95SH. Tracking at 2 grams, this cartridge pulls out detail from my records that I've forgotten was even there. Stereo separation is wide and clean, which also bodes well when playing matrixed quadraphonic records. I highly recommend this cartridge.

I have been interested in trying a Grado Prestige Green 3, but a lot of reviews I've read suggest that these carts are finicky on tracking and something about "grado hum". I currently run a AT VM95ML mounted on my SL1200 MKII and running that into a pair of klipsch R51 PM (powered speakers) and running a R120SW by klipsch. So, my question is this. Does the Grado require a low mass tone arm for proper tracking? Alos, does Grado Hum exist or is it a unicorn? I'm supposing that my mid mass SL1200 tone arm would be acceptable for a Grado Prestige? Thanks in advance

There is definitely a difference between the Grado Black, Blue, and Gold. There was a distinct difference in sound imo as you went up the chain. The Blue body slammed the Black and the Gold just opened up more than the Blue

why does it say audio technica OM5 in the indexing? I prefer the AT95 with the conical AT93 stylus

I'm getting an Electrohome Montrose soon, and am already looking at upgrading the cartridge a year down the road. You already know it comes with an Audio Technica AT3600L Cartridge. You do feel the Audio-Technica AT95E is better sound? I'm dealing mainly with my parents' and my in-laws' records so that elliptical needle sounds good for possibly reducing some surface wear. I also wasn't clear on if you were ranking the Grado Black over the Audio-Technica AT95E, too. Do you put the black and / or the blue over the AT95E, too? (BTW, looks on their website now they are calling them the "Green3," "Red3," and the "Gold3.") ...HOLY CRUD, they make a $12,000.00 cartridge!!! 😯 (Put that on my list of "things I'll never own.")

I have the AT 95e which is fine for me.

My turntable has an AT-VM95C on it.

What’s the name of the vinyl you were playing for the grado?

The atvm95c is a beautiful conical cartridge and is available for $50!!! Lot of bang for the buck and easy on your well loved albums! Try lpgear replacement for your audio Technica p mount. Pretty sure you have reviewed the lpgear stylus outfitted on a 3600l. Also, it might just be the nature of p mount tonearms to get the inner groove distortion. I have a similar Technics turntable and will set it up and see if I notice that with 45's.

I will also add mastering will make or break the sound of a record (especially new recently released vinyl) no matter how premium a cartridge one uses. Once in awhile I’m pleasantly surprised. The new Morgan Wallen album “One Thing at a Time” (Yes it really is 36 songs on 3 records. lol ) actually sounds better on LP than CD. Sterling Sound did the mastering with the initials JNH in the dead wax. That engineer knew what they were doing and it was properly mastered for vinyl. I’ve bought other new recent releases that were disappointing sound wise compared to vintage LPs.

With that NASA cap, are you in Huntsville, AL, where I now live?

Record ology my hobbies are painting 🖼 and listening to shortwave and ssb I have 5 shortwave receivers iam thinking about getting my ham license 🎉

Record ology Iam going to san Diego CALIFORNIA in October 2023 19-23 for five days with my cousin and his wife we are flying there

Grado reference sounds like the Led Zeppelin is in my living room

Vwestlife is correct. They are also less sensitive to the capacitive loading of the pickup (cartridge head) cables. The Grados of the past, and I assume today, have a flatter midrange and even table than most cartridges, as measured by Consumer Reports in years past (the olden days now). It is better to get the second one up from the bottom because in the past, the second one up was made of the top 10% of the bottom one. Grado no longer states this on their website, so it might no longer be true. The Grados need a little more tracking force, 1.5 grams, compared to the Shures and Audio Technicas. Most of the Audio Technicas will peak some in the treble, though the 95e is an exception. The Audio Technicas do track well, however. The Denon 110 (don't get the more expensive 130-it peaks in the treble--Iv'e seen the measurements from a British Hi-Fi magazine in the past) is a good high-output moving coil. The Sumiko Blupoit is also a good high-output moving coil, but it costs a lot now, like F400. I got mine when they were only a $100.

The best part of owning an A/T95E, or a Grado Prestige is that you can make a significant improvement simply by stepping up in stylus. BTW, do NOT clean the black "goop" when you change your Grado stylus.

Can I also recommend the Sumiko Pearl. Outstanding cartridge. A true giant killer. I also have the AT3600, AT95E and Orrofon OM5 on other turntables but the Sumiko is miles better.

Grado Prestige series are amazing, and I believe you can still get them in P mount (I have the green that I used on an old TT). I use the blue nowadays on a U-Turn TT.

Did he say "moving pomeroy?" What is that? I have the Ortofon 2M Red and I'm not very happy with it. I kid you not but I like the AT3600L better.

I agree whole heartedly on Ortofon and definitely Audio technica, I can really boogie and some of the other cartridges I can puke

Record ology my other hobbies are listening to rock Record and county music and 50 60 70s and 20s 30s and 40s music 🎶 🎵 🎉😅😊

The Grado Black is Elliptical! The Blue the same but a nude stylus!

I agree that the Audio-Technica AT3600 is quite good for the price. I understand that the AT95e has been replaced by the AT-VM95e. As for your AT320 p-mount? That’s not entirely the fault of the cartridge. Your issue is the fault of the p-mount turntable system of that era. I remember hearing cartridges like that on regular tonearms and they sounded good. If I remember correctly, the p-mount cartridges were meant for the early 80s “linear tracking” turntables. Those had that short arm that tracked straight across the record instead of the normal pivoting arm. I thought that they sounded good WHEN THEY WORKED. In other words, those linear tracking turntables were very unreliable.

Grado cartrtidges are made in brooklyn,New York

Since you like Grado, why not get a Black with p-mount? They do make them.

go Denver!!!!

I have some machines with a good needle......but experience with amstrad needles but sound and so called record wearing ratio

Is anyone else having an issue with the sound not quite syncing with the video?

I know . the cartridge[atn3600] is very under-rated the output is very clean

I’m with you on the AT3600, but I’m not a fan of the AT95. It’s just too flat and boring.

Don't give the manufacturers an idea to raise the price. If you like it, they like you for doubling the price. LOL I had a Grado back in the day. It had a white cap holding the stylus. The entire cartridge came in a case larger than a square bracelet box in gray.

AT OM5? Well ... no such thing.

Why buy cheap cartridges and don't hear what's meant to be heard. Makes no sense. May as well listen to cds and that's horrible

Sadly most cartridges are way over priced

@Record-Ology please read the very first one. I sent you an email regarding the Sanyo/Goldring Elektra