Mini Comparison: Grado Reference Sonata vs Shelter 501 MkII

Well, I've been living with my first MC for a while, a very clean Shelter 501 MkII. Thought I would share my experiences with it in comparison to my long-term reference standard, a cryogenically treated Grado Reference Sonata. After a selection of various types of music, ranging deep-groove mono jazz Blue Notes, Argo classical LPs, Mercury Living Presence, the wonderful Speakers Corner re-releases (which are consistently outstanding, BTW), and the Music Matters Blues Notes, some clear patterns have emerged.

The Grado Sonata is, IMHO, richer, rounder, with perhaps fuller bass and a more full-bodied presentation, but it does not have the detail, inner detail and resolution of the Shelter. It seems to have more imaging depth than the Shelter, though I haven't played a lot with the setup of the Shelter.

The Shelter is faster, with cleaner transient response, and presents better detail and transparency than the Grado...instruments and images are more clearly delineated, but not as full or 3-dimensional-sounding as on the Grado. The Shelter tracks better, and as a result, is better at keeping the separation and cleanliness of instruments distinct on heavily modulated passages.

Both cartridges do remarkable things on rendering the nuance of instrument and vocal timbres and shadings, so I would say they're even on that front, with the edge going to the Shelter for detail and resolution, and the edge going to the Grado for warmth and instrumental and vocal body and "bloom".

So, like many things in high-end, especially choices in vacuum tubes, I would say it's six of one and half dozen of the other where these two cartridges are concerned. Which one a listener would prefer is more subjective than objective. Both are very fine instruments of LP playback. The big surprise to me is just how good the Grado is compared to a cartridge costing twice as much. The Stereophile review that said that the Sonata provides "a window to what the best moving colls can do" was quite accurate. The Sonata can clearly hold it's own with the entry level MCs in the $1000-$1500 price range.

I would say that for classical, especially chamber music, or solo acoustic instruments, the edge would go to the Shelter, with it's abillity to render strings and woodwinds in complex musical passages very cleanly and accurately, with a sweet and extended highs that the Grado just barely misses.

For jazz, it's a toss-up, both are great, but in different ways. The Shelter tracks better, scales faster, has more detail, but lacks the degree of the Grado's warmth and musicality. Not that the Shelter is not warm or musical, but not to the degree the Grado is. I would agree that nothing can do the human voice like a wood-bodied Grado. It has a way with the human voice that is beguiling like no other.

For rock, I would give the edge to the Grado, with its fuller bass and overall presentation. Rock doesn't have the musical subtleties and delicacies that jazz or classical has, and so the bigger swagger and presentation that the Grado provides wins the day here.

My overall conclusion is that I'd love to have a cartridge that combines the best of both of these cartridges...perhaps I'll send the Sonata in for Soundsmith ruby retip, and with the higher specification cantilever and stylus, I'll be able to get closer to the best of both worlds.

Setup: Gyro SE MkII with SME V with damping in place. Grado tracking at 1.5 grams, Shelter at 1.8 grams. Phono stage is an EAR 834P, Pre is C-J PV12 with NOS Mullard CV4003, amp is C-J LP70S with stock tubes, and speaks are Dynaudio Contour S3.4s. Grover's ICs and phono cable, and Anti-Cable speaker cables.

 

Thanks for the well written review!

 

Puma,

Is your Sonata from the new Sonata 1 series by Grado or an older model?

 

Lee,

No, my Sonata is a model just prior the new Sonata 1 series. Might be worth investigating as I know the new Sonata 1 has a 17% stylus tip mass reduction. Might just make all the difference.

 

Thank you for this nice review.

 

I think going up the grado line would get you the best of both worlds.

 

Nice write up. The Shelter sounds quite interesting.

 

I have a Grado Platinum (one step down from the Sonata in the Grado Reference line) and a Shelter 501 II and based on my listening, your comments are spot on.

 

Well done. Thanks for sharing.

 

It's good to know they're not just a figment of my imagination!

 

I have little cartridge experience but I've owned both of these. I'd say the review is spot on.

 

I recently went from a Prestige Gold to a Shelter 501, too, and I, too, would say your experience is very similar to mine. Nice review. Thanks.
-Bob

 

Thanks, just curious. I have heard the Shelter 501 and my listening impressions match yours.

 

The Master is a significant step up from the Sonata in terms of high frequency detail and resolution, I'm sure in part due to its more sophisticated stylus.

 

Excellent review.

 

Nice write up. The Shelter 90x was a really nice cartridge that took the 501's strengths to new levels. I was trying to find a used one or one in need of a retip, but no luck so I just picked up a used Shelter 501 to give me an alternative to my Virtuoso Ebony.