rexrider
Active Member
I had recently tried out a Grado Black which I talked about in this post here
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=405538
When I set out on this little endeavor to find out what Grados were like, I had to decide whether I would start at the bottom with a Black, or go for a Gold right out the gate. I chose the Black so I could find out as cheap as possible if I had any hum issues or simply did not care for the sound.
As I posted, I am certainly impressed with the Black. It’s not perfect and does not quite stand up to my 2M Blue. But, for the money, it is certainly an excellent value.
It was also my intention that if I liked the Black, I was going to upgrade the stylus with an 8MZ. Which I did order a week after receiving the Black.
Now there are plenty of threads for the 8MZ. So there is not much need for me to repeat everything already said about the 8MZ. But I will throw some comments into the mix.
Wow.
That is pretty much what went through my head (via ears) after swapping the Black stylus for the 8MZ. Everyone said you will get deeper lows, higher highs, and more detail. Indeed, that is the case.
I even went back to the Black stylus just to make sure I was not fooling myself. Nope, the 8MZ really delivers.
The base is awesome. This cart really has some punch now. But it’s a really clean punch. The higher end detail that I knew I was missing with the standard stylus is most definitely there now. The midrange is of course as good if not better than the black. But the gains really came from the low and high ends.
The Black/8MZ is equal if not a tad better than the 2M Blue. The Grado actually does do base better than the 2M Blue. No contest. That’s saying a lot since I thought the 2M Blue was very good to begin with.
This now left me with a dilemma. Which cart do I run? Well, it did not take me long to decide to just use both. I now have two turntables set up for regular use (thank you IKEA).
The 2M Blue is staying on the 1210M5G, the Grado Combo is now at home on my SL-1301. The Grado is running on the 1301 because there is absolutely no hum. While on the 1210M5G, there is a low level hum. Nothing that interferes with the music, but I don’t want it to show up when I record to the PC.
Some general observations:
The Black/8MZ combo tracks very well. No issues with IGD.
After relocating the 1301 to a more stable platform and backing off the anti-skate, I have not seen any “Grado dance”.
No listening fatigue whatsoever. It’s a cart that makes keep pulling records off the shelf (which is not a good thing when the wife is waiting to leave for dinner).
I am sure the 8MZ is handicapped but he Black body. But I have a feeling the improvement with a Gold or Silver body will be marginal.
All I can say is the 8MZ stylus throws the Black body into a whole other class of carts.
Cheers
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=405538
When I set out on this little endeavor to find out what Grados were like, I had to decide whether I would start at the bottom with a Black, or go for a Gold right out the gate. I chose the Black so I could find out as cheap as possible if I had any hum issues or simply did not care for the sound.
As I posted, I am certainly impressed with the Black. It’s not perfect and does not quite stand up to my 2M Blue. But, for the money, it is certainly an excellent value.
It was also my intention that if I liked the Black, I was going to upgrade the stylus with an 8MZ. Which I did order a week after receiving the Black.
Now there are plenty of threads for the 8MZ. So there is not much need for me to repeat everything already said about the 8MZ. But I will throw some comments into the mix.
Wow.
That is pretty much what went through my head (via ears) after swapping the Black stylus for the 8MZ. Everyone said you will get deeper lows, higher highs, and more detail. Indeed, that is the case.
I even went back to the Black stylus just to make sure I was not fooling myself. Nope, the 8MZ really delivers.
The base is awesome. This cart really has some punch now. But it’s a really clean punch. The higher end detail that I knew I was missing with the standard stylus is most definitely there now. The midrange is of course as good if not better than the black. But the gains really came from the low and high ends.
The Black/8MZ is equal if not a tad better than the 2M Blue. The Grado actually does do base better than the 2M Blue. No contest. That’s saying a lot since I thought the 2M Blue was very good to begin with.
This now left me with a dilemma. Which cart do I run? Well, it did not take me long to decide to just use both. I now have two turntables set up for regular use (thank you IKEA).
The 2M Blue is staying on the 1210M5G, the Grado Combo is now at home on my SL-1301. The Grado is running on the 1301 because there is absolutely no hum. While on the 1210M5G, there is a low level hum. Nothing that interferes with the music, but I don’t want it to show up when I record to the PC.
Some general observations:
The Black/8MZ combo tracks very well. No issues with IGD.
After relocating the 1301 to a more stable platform and backing off the anti-skate, I have not seen any “Grado dance”.
No listening fatigue whatsoever. It’s a cart that makes keep pulling records off the shelf (which is not a good thing when the wife is waiting to leave for dinner).
I am sure the 8MZ is handicapped but he Black body. But I have a feeling the improvement with a Gold or Silver body will be marginal.
All I can say is the 8MZ stylus throws the Black body into a whole other class of carts.
Cheers
