Grado Opus3 review

[cafe latte]

I am aware the blue up to the gold are almost identical. The difference is in tolerances and diamonds l believe. I myself have a blue2 with a xtz stylus which performs flawlessly in my Yamaha GT2000.

Ask your friend what the 4 pieces of the cantilever are, it would be a vey interesting answer....
All have MI disc both 3 and 4 piece so we cant count that or other common parts, so one is the soft internal rod, two is the "cup" it sits in, and part three is the cantilever itself. Old ones this was two tubes new gold it is one tube. All have damping ring (epoxy) all have a diamond so what gives where is part 4?
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

I just set up my Blue3 and, sorry, but there is no comparison to the Opus 3 at all. I know it’s a small sample group but the differences were obvious from the needle drop. Blue 3 has very strong bass compared to the Opus 3, but it was quite direction less and flabby. Highs compared to the Opus three were somewhat veiled and suffered lack of fine detail. The Opus 3 bass is tight, highs are clean, clean, clean crisp and articulate eand Opus 3 is voiced in the mids whereas the Blue 3 seems to be voiced more in the mid to low bass.

I have not played much with the 3 yet too new wondering what differences there can possibly be. I will compare tips when I get them in.
Chris

 

[DaveyW]

I just set up my Blue3 and, sorry, but there is no comparison to the Opus 3 at all. I know it’s a small sample group but the differences were obvious from the needle drop. Blue 3 has very strong bass compared to the Opus 3, but it was quite directionless and flabby. Highs compared to the Opus 3 were somewhat veiled and suffered lack of fine detail. The Opus 3 bass is tight, highs are clean, clean, clean crisp and articulate and Opus 3 is voiced in the mids, bass also very tight and well controlled with unusual energy and clarity—and as someone else said, “palpable.” The Blue 3 seems to be voiced more in the mid to low bass. Seemed muddy. I will play with it some more, but I don’t even like it as much as I liked the 2 series.

OK That seals it

Sounds just like the majority of Prestige styli I’ve heard
The potted Z+ deserves better

And although I’m spinning with a repaired Opus 3, I’m happy with the surgery and reasonably convinced it’s giving damn close to factory performance

Will fill my Grado listening needs with this for the time being while pondering options for the Z+

 

[Redd House]

HOLD THE PHONES:

Okay, I have to admit something: I set the Blue 3 up using a Joe Grado decoupler like a do with all my Grados. Well, Marc was right: there were some cartridges according to his notes that it just does not work with. He used them on his older Grados and sang the decoupler’s praises. But on others, he noted flabby bass and a confused sound. The 3 series Prestige and the decoupled DO NOT MIX.

I tried the Blue 3 today sans decoupler and the high end was much more like the Opus 3. And while the voicing of the Blue 3 is much bassier than the Opus, it was far from the flabby mess I heard last night.

That out of the way, the Opus 3 still to my ears, trounces the Blue 3. The balance is much better for me. If you have a bass weak system, then maybe go for the Blue 3. While the high end cleaned up a lot, I still observe the Opus 3 to have a cleaner more engaging realistic high end.

On the other hand, the darker character reminds me a lot of the ZYX sound that so many people flock to. So keep that in mind. If the ZYX sound is your cup of tea, then choose the Blue 3 over the Opus 3.

Grain of salt: this is based on one listen with one of each cartridge. There could be wide variance sample to sample. Observations limited to my own particular cartridges on my equipment with my ears.

Your earlier post... I was gonna say...
I love my Blue3. As I said before, I consider it my workhorse cheapie cartridge.

 

[Jbl Joe]

I just set up my Blue3 and, sorry, but there is no comparison to the Opus 3 at all. I know it’s a small sample group but the differences were obvious from the needle drop. Blue 3 has very strong bass compared to the Opus 3, but it was quite directionless and flabby. Highs compared to the Opus 3 were somewhat veiled and suffered lack of fine detail. The Opus 3 bass is tight, highs are clean, clean, clean crisp and articulate and Opus 3 is voiced in the mids, bass also very tight and well controlled with unusual energy and clarity—and as someone else said, “palpable.” The Blue 3 seems to be voiced more in the mid to low bass. Seemed muddy. I will play with it some more, but I don’t even like it as much as I liked the 2 series.

To get ablue to complete with Timber serires it needs a stylus upgrade prehaps a tlz

 

[Grenadeslio]

To get ablue to complete with Timber serires it needs a stylus upgrade prehaps a tlz

Not sure about the TLZ, but I have the Blue, Green, and G1, none with the 8MZ will compete with the Platinum.

 

[Jbl Joe]

Not sure about the TLZ, but I have the Blue, Green, and G1, none with the 8MZ will compete with the Platinum.

8mz and tlz are not in the same league...the xtz is the ultimate

 

[Jbl Joe]

Not sure about the TLZ, but I have the Blue, Green, and G1, none with the 8MZ will compete with the Platinum.

Don't know how this went off the rails from a simple review of the Opus3

 

[patient_ot]

Couple years ago I asked and was told MCZ, TLZ, and XTZ have the same bonded .3 x .7 stone. That was straight from the horse's mouth.

 

[cafe latte]

Not sure about the TLZ, but I have the Blue, Green, and G1, none with the 8MZ will compete with the Platinum.

An 8Mz is the same bonded elliptical as the rest so not surprised your platinum sounds better. Give the prestige a really decent tip and things change.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

Don't know how this went off the rails from a simple review of the Opus3

Reviewing and comparing with other Grado is hardly off topic.
Chris

 

[Jbl Joe]

Reviewing and comparing with other Grado is hardly off topic.
Chris

What vtf and anti skate do you use for your Opus?

 

[Jbl Joe]

Couple years ago I asked and was told MCZ, TLZ, and XTZ have the same bonded .3 x .7 stone. That was straight from the horse's mouth.

Xtz is now different

 

[Grenadeslio]

Don't take my comments here thinking I don't like Grados because I do, the Platinum is a very musically engaging cartridge.

The G1 with the 8MZ stylus has a sweet presentation with plenty of slam, extended highs without a hint of graininess where so many seem to be in your face.

If I hadn't found a few NOS Grace cartridges a Grado wood body would be on the Grace arm.

 

[cafe latte]

I said from the start I dont yet have an Opus.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

Xtz is now different[/QUOTE
You also said the Opus was nude and the gold had a 8Mz stylus, neither were correct so I remain sceptical.
Chris

 

[Jbl Joe]

Don't take my comments here thinking I don't like Grados because I do, the Platinum is a very musically engaging cartridge.

The G1 with the 8MZ stylus has a sweet presentation with plenty of slam, extended highs without a hint of graininess where so many seem to be in your face.

If I hadn't found a few NOS Grace cartridges a Grado wood body would be on the Grace arm.

The Opu3 weights 8 gram...much lighter than the other woodies...using 2. 1 in Linn LP12 1 in Audio Technica ATLp7.

 

[Redd House]

Seems like a lot of misinformation regarding current Grados in this thread... Not sure what to think about all of this... But I WILL eventually get an Opus3, wear it out and get it retipped.

 

[cafe latte]

Reviving an old thread, I now have an Opus 3 and I have retipped 5 so far with my usual boron and Micro ridge.
I still dont own a green blue etc 3 but I will be getting them soon to compare test and retip.
First my I would like to say that I am seriously impressed with the Opus 3. It is bonded as I said from the start, its stylus is identical to the blue 2 I have and also identical to an unused AT95e which are 0.3x0.7 I just checked so stylus is nothing special. That said is the Opus 3 better than a blue 2 with no retip answer is a resounding YES!! Not sure what Grado have done when they made the Opus, but something massive is different. I listened to my Statement reference and I much preferred the much cheaper Opus 3 which was a bit of a shock even before retipping Opus3. Not retipped the Opus 3 mids are amazing soundstage is massive and really extended highs just some confusion in fine detail and a tiny bit clangy and overall not as clean as the retipped version. This is me being critical the Opus 3 is a bargain considering how it sounds. I still though have not heard the blue 3 or any in the new Prestige range so cant comment on those yet. My opus and the ones I have retipped have been low output too so it wont really be a fair comparison but it will be interesting all the same. The retipped Opus 3 is faster and highs are improved big time like retipping any of the Grado's. The clangy muddle in highs is gone, and this now is one of my fav carts close to my Decca so a serious bargain. Bit like a nice MC sound but a fraction of the price.
I have been looking at other mods and damping but that is for another thread..
Chris

 

[Redd House]

I grabbed a low and a high Opus 3 and I expected to send them off immediately for retipping and they sound so good right out of the box that I won’t have a problem wearing down the original stone first. They are very different. I also have a Blue 3. I really like the 3 series, but the Opus, whatever Grado did, is a full step above the Prestige. It’s seriously up there with the previous Grado woodies up to $1,000 and it completely changed my expectations of what can be done with a bonded diamond or how a bonded diamond is “supposed” to sound. It’s voodoo.

Quick review of the differences (if any besides the obvious) between the low and high versions of the Opus3?