Hi-Fi Cartridges | Phono Cartridges

Notes: Successor to the classic Nagaoka MP11 cartridge, here pre-mounted in a headshell for ease of setup. An excellent upgrade to the standard cartridges supplied with most turntables.

Supplier notes:
The Nagaoka MP-110H the successor to the highly acclaimed and classic Nagaoka MP11 phonograph cartridge, the new Nagaoka MP-110 H phonograph cartridge extends and strengthens its predecessor's prowess and talents to a new level of radiance. You'll hear more music, more detail refinement to enjoy and savor. The Nagaoka MP-110 is the cartridge to start with and to keep for a long time.

Features:
-Superfine polished eliptical diamond bonded stylus
-Powerfull samarium cobalt magnet
-Lightweight aluminum alloy cantilever for high fidelity
-Carbon fibre reinforced plastic shoe
-Anti ferro magnetic permalloy shield casing

Stylus replacement: Nagaoka JN-P110

The stylus replacement interval varies depending on the using conditions. But for general use at home, the reference time is between 150-200 hours in which the stylus begin to wear and the tone quality deteriorates. Recommend replacing the stylus as aerly as possible to enjoy clear tone for a long time and not to damge the disc grooves.

Notes: One of the most trustworthy names in hi-fi delivers a premium version of the excellent Blue3 cartridge, hand tested and selected in Brooklyn for higher performance and better sound.

Supplier notes:
The Red3 uses a four piece OTL cantilever that has a Grado specific diamond mounted on a brass bushing.

What's the difference between Blue3 and Red3?
Approximately 15% of the Blue2 production run meet higher specifications. These are hand selected from the batch and designated as Red3.

Grado's OTL, or optimized transmission line, technology provides an ideal transfer of signal from the surface of the LP to the generator of the system. This technology rejects unwanted resonances and lowers distortion preserving the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of the music. This also helps keep noise generated by the motor system in the cartridge to a minimum.

Grado's OTL stylus/cantilever design makes records sound quieter, improves the height, width, and depth of the soundstage, and present more detail than previously obtainable.

The Red3 is hand assembled by Grado's team in Brooklyn, with some builders having over 25 years of experience. This updated series of cartridges offers excellent tonal balance, dynamics, and realism, for a most rewarding reproduction of vocals and instruments. The coil winding techniques using ultra high purity copper wire, which were honed during the development of the Lineage Series, have let the electrical circuits achieve unison between the four coils in each phono cartridge. This allows for a precise balance between channels and accurate stereo imaging.

As in all Grado phono cartridges the Red3 is powered by a twin magnet system that optimizes the balance between stereo channels. All internal magnetic circuit parts are held to extremely high tolerances creating the desired stereo imaging. Grado's patented Flux-Bridger design allows the Black2 to have one of the lowest effective moving mass generating systems while creating an excellent balance throughout the full frequency range.

Notes: Representing the pinnacle of E Series engineering and performance, the E4 is the ultimate upgrade for every turntable enthusiast.

World-famous analogue audio specialist Goldring introduces its new flagship E Series moving magnet cartridge: E4. Designed as the ultimate upgrade for any modern budget or midrange turntable, E4 represents the pinnacle of E Series engineering and performance.

E4 is designed to be compatible with all medium-to-high-mass tonearms of the type found on the majority of budget to midrange turntables. And because it's constructed using the same high-quality core as the other E Series cartridges in the range, E4 is ideal both for those who wish to upgrade an obsolete cartridge in its entirety or those who want to boost the performance of their existing E Series cartridge by replacing the stylus.

New super-elliptical nude diamond stylus

The E4 features a 'nude' super-elliptical stylus of just 7.6 x 18 microns (0.3 x 0.7 mil), cut and polished from a single homogeneous piece of diamond. This makes for a lower effective tip mass of improved rigidity, which in turn means its ability to retrieve high-frequency detail is dramatically improved when compared to the 'bonded' elliptical stylus alternative. It's far less likely to 'mis-track' or overshoot when tracing high-frequency groove modulations, and because of its finely polished 7.6-micron profile it can more effectively fit into closely packed inner grooves. Lower distortion, improved transient response and a flat frequency response all contribute to superior fidelity when compared to any price-comparable alternative.

Hollow aluminium cantilever

To complement its low tip-mass stylus, the E4 features a hollow aluminium cantilever tube. The light weight and superior stiffness of the material allows the stylus to trace medium-to-high frequencies with greater accuracy, while simultaneously reducing distortion and mis-tracking.

Magnetic Duplex Technology

Stereo information is contained in a single 'V'-shaped groove that has perpendicular sidewalls angled at 45 degrees. Conventional cartridges, which use a single large magnet interacting with two vertically mounted coils (one for left-channel information, one for right) to extract a stereo signal from the groove, can permit high levels of crosstalk - and consequently only a modest amount of left- and right-channel separation. E4 uses Goldring's Magnetic Duplex Technology that positions two low-mass magnets at the same angles as the coils - so each magnet interacts only with its partnering coil. This allows the E4 to transcribe the information in the groove more accurately, and results in greater stereo separation and a more accurate soundstage.

Expert adjustment facility

'Azimuth' describes the angle that the vertical centre line of the stylus makes with the record's surface - it must be exactly perpendicular to the groove. Owners of budget and midrange turntables usually have no facility to adjust the azimuth, so it's vital the cartridge has been precisely adjusted before it's fitted to the turntable's tonearm - badly adjusted azimuth can cause increased crosstalk and uneven channel balance. E4 is designed to allow micro-adjustments to be made during the production process, ensuring each cartridge leaves the Goldring factory needing no further azimuth adjustment.

Technical Specifications

Frequency Range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Channel Balance: < 1.5 dB @ 1 kHz
Channel Separation: > 20 dB @ 1 kHz
Sensitivity: 3.5 mV (1 kHz @ 5 cm/s)
Static Compliance: 20 mm/N
Vertical Tracking Angle: 20-
Stylus Radius: 7.6 micron (0.3 x 0.7 mil)
Stylus Type Nude: elliptical
Load Resistance: 47 kO
Load Capacitance: 100- 200 pF
Internal Inductance: 400 mH
Internal Resistance: 410 O
Cartridge Mass: 6.9 g
Fixing Centre: 12.7 mm (0.5 in)
Playing Weight: 1.5 - 2.5 g (1.75 g recommended)

Notes: Excellent value upgrade to standard hi-fi turntable styluses. Designed for smooth sound with a balanced tonal presentation. Hand built in Brooklyn by experienced audiophile specialists.

Supplier notes:
The Silver3 uses a four piece OTL cantilever with a Grado specific elliptical diamond stylus mounted on a brass bushing. A machined turned generator is used to achieve a lower distortion and greater transparency.

What's the difference between Gold3 and Silver3?
Approximately 5% of the Silver2 production runs meet higher test specifications. The cartridges that exhibit these specs are hand-selected to become a Gold2.
Grado's OTL, or optimized transmission line, technology provides an ideal transfer of signal from the surface of the LP to the generator of the system.

This technology rejects unwanted resonances and lowers distortion preserving the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of the music. This also helps keep noise generated by the motor system in the cartridge to a minimum.

Grado's OTL stylus/cantilever design makes records sound quieter, improves the height, width, and depth of the soundstage, and present more detail than previously obtainable.

The Silver3 are all hand assembled by our team in Brooklyn, with some builders having over 25 years of experience. With the recent development of the highly received Lineage Series of cartridges, we were able to have a trickle down of technology and bring some new techniques to the Silver3.

This updated series of cartridges offers excellent tonal balance, dynamics, and realism, for a most rewarding reproduction of vocals and instruments. Our coil winding techniques, using ultra high purity copper wire which were honed during the development of the Lineage Series, have let the electrical circuits achieve unison between the four coils in each phono cartridge. This allows for a precise balance between channels and accurate stereo imaging.

As in all Grado phono cartridges the Silver2 is powered by a twin magnet system that optimizes the balance between stereo channels. All internal magnetic circuit parts are held to extremely high tolerances creating the desired stereo imaging. Grado's patented Flux-Bridger design allows the Silver2 to have one of the lowest effective moving mass generating systems while creating an excellent balance throughout the full frequency range.

The development of the Epoch in the Lineage Series gave us an in-depth experience with using an outer housing as a damping device. This led to the creation of a process which de-stresses the chassis and dissipates unwanted energy & resonant frequencies, allowing the desired signal to travel freely.