Grado Labs Prestige Black2 phono cartridge coming to me for review. List price, $75.00.

This seem cool, but, I'd like to know the difference between the Green and Black versions. It would answer the question if it's worth $20 for the upgraded version. Also would be good to do a swap out of the 8MZ stylus, to see what a $150 upgrade will do.

 

I doubt the difference will be worth $20...

 

Ditto here. Ol' Red is pushing 20, so why not. Just don't know what to get. I've certainly enjoyed the Red, so another one seems reasonable, but a Black-8MZ combo is the wildcard. Questions, questions...

Speaking of questions, would it be a fair assumption that both the bodies and styli have been changed or just the former or..?

In the two-cartridge tag teams, they say that the best performing 10% become the Green/Red/Gold. Would that likely be the top 10% of the bodies or styli?

I wonder if the Green included with the VPI Cliffwood is the new one?

 

I have a 10-y-o Gold cartridge, the stylus is toast. Is there a stylus further up their range that fits the Gold and maybe improves it?

 

Never heard or tried a Grado, but then I've only been into HIFI for a few years and limited with how much gear ive bought/smuggled in the house without her noticing.

I think im right in saying that Grado receive part of every sale of EVERY MC cart sold due to having the patent they hold on it. Always nice to have some extra income I suppose

 

The 8MZ stylus ($150US) has a more refined tip than the Gold stylus.

The MCZ stylus ($200US) is further refined, but will require the resistive loading be pushed down to around 24k when used with a Prestige Series body.

Either styli should improve any Prestige Series body, and will fit nearly all Grados made since the '70s.

 

According to Grado, the MCZ, TLZ, and XTZ are now all .3 x .7 elliptical styli. The differences are the way the cantilever is attached to the rest of the stylus assembly/housing, with the more expensive ones being "more precise".

 

That would seem to make them much less attractive. That's a LOT of money to spend for a .3X.7, although I also know there are some beautiful cartridges out there using basic stylus cuts. Is the 8MZ also using the .3X.7 cut as well, according to what you gathered?

 

Yes of course it is a lot of money for a basic cut. I'm wondering what the real advantages are of a "more precise" cantilever fitment. I was trying to find out if there was a way to get a hyperelliptical or line contact on a Grado Prestige body, but I guess not, at least not at the current time, unless you are okay with going to an aftermarket cartridge retipping specialist.

I didn't ask Grado about the 8MZ. From recent discussions, it would appear that the 8MZ used to be a nude stylus, whereas now it is a bonded stylus.

 

Well, that is disappointing info, if accurate.

Source, please?

 

The source is the horse's mouth, Grado themselves.

 

Wow.

 

I would love to be wrong on this, but that is what I was told, straight up. If someone else has additional very recent info, direct from Grado, I'd love to hear more on the topic.

 

I will send them an email. I've gotten inconsistent info from their customer service desk before.

 

The Gold is what you want. That's their top of the line Prestige stylus. You could buy a Reference Platinum or Reference Sonata cartridge as an upgrade. More money, of course.
-Bill

 

Bill, the 8MZ or MCZ is (was) a known upgrade over the Gold (unless what patient_ot was told is accurate - but that would be a recent development).

 

It should be noted that regular dealers don't seem to have the MCZ, TLZ, or XTZ in stock. From what I can tell those are mainly sold through shops such as LPGear and Needledoctor.

 

If it's made by Grado, a Grado dealer can get it. The thing is that no one wants stuff that old for the most part. Hell, I have been in business for 20 years and have sold Grado since then, and I think the Gold was available back then, not the 40 year old stuff. The Prestige series (Gold, Red, Black, etc) is in it's third generation now. I just ordered a stylus for a vintage Grado and was told that the Red stylus would be the best current product match for it.
-Bill

 

Has anyone noticed that the supremely intelligent people at NeedleDoctor have redesigned their website so that it is no longer possible to search for/purchase a product?

 

Indeed. The government couldn't have done worse.

 

Grado just told me the same thing. So I next asked them what distinguishes an 8MZ and MCZ stylus from a Gold stylus, and the response was "the generator size."

 

Interesting. Did you ask about nude vs. bonded? Did they say the generators on the more expensive styli were lower in moving mass? Just curious.

Here is a picture of a diagram of the internals of a Grado cartridge that I found online:

 

I'm pretty sure they're bonded nowadays.

 

Indeed. I like the older Grado soundstage better than what followed (give me sweeter, more forward treble and it's just right)

 

You might like an early '80s G1 or G2, which have the old soundstage but a more forward tonal balance.