Mr. Phillips wrote:


dave said:

On 14 Aug 2003 05:53:54 GMT, in rec.audio.opinion you wrote:

I'll second the suggestion re. Grado cartridges. I've used Grados for
years,
and have always considered them to be very good value for the money. Of
course, they make models at a very large number of different price points.
I've only heard of hum problems occurring with Grados when used with Rega
turntables, but as you suggest, it would be good to check this out first.
FWIW, I've often seen various Grado cartridges, "new in box" for sale on
eBay
and sometimes on Audiogon at significant savings.

They are also known to have issues with AR turntables as well.

I didn't know that about Rega. Origin Live, the leading Rega modders,
recommend Grado on their website.

Grados can definitely cause hum problems in Regas, but it appears that the
wooden-bodied Grados are much better than the Prestiges and the older models
in
this respect. A lot of tweaking (i.e. very careful set-up) can also
ameliorate
the hum.

I've also had a few people report that Grados can hum with some Music halls.














I've had no problems, however, with Grados and VPI turntables (VPI Jr., Mark
IV, or Aries). I've used, over a period of time, the Grado MCZ, Platinum &
Reference. While the last 2 are wood-bodies, the MCZ was not, and even that
cartridge performed satisfactorily on a VPI Jr. I agree that careful attention
to setup and grounding definitely helps.



Bruce J. Richman