Grado Labs Prestige Black-3

The newly redesigned Black3 and Green3 have had their coil design reconfigured, and the effective moving mass of their generating system has been reduced by 17%. The Black3 and Green3 models use a three piece OTL cantilever technology, standard oxygen free wire in the coils and Grado's specially designed elliptical diamond mounted in a brass bushing. The Green1 model is selected from the Black1 production run and meets higher test specifications. Approximately 15% of the production run will meet these standards and become Green1 models.

Joseph Grado, the founder of Grado Labs, sounds like a pretty interesting guy. He trained professionally as an opera singer. He reportedly invented the moving-coil phono cartridge, but made his mark producing cartridges of a much different basic design, at what can only be described as more-than-reasonable" prices. And only recently, in his late 70's, did he retire from active participation in the company, turning the reins over to his Nephew John.

The Prestige (and upscale Reference) cartridges from Grado are the first released since the elder Grado's retirement, but they mark an evolution, not dramatic change, of the classic Grado style. There are three basic levels in the Prestige lineup: Black/Green, Blue/Red, and Silver/Gold. In each of these pairings, the latter model is the same as the former, but is able to meet more astringent test specifications. The Green, for instance, is taken from the top 15% of the Black models production.

The Prestige Green is furnished with suitable mounting hardware and the unique tool required to separate stylus assembly from cartridge body.