Grado Reference 3 MC Cartridge

The vinyl playback experience relies on picking up every subtle detail from the record groove without introducing unnecessary vibration or noise. As a benchmark among Phono Cartridges, Grado uses handcrafted wooden body enclosures that damp unwanted resonances, delivering a warm, natural sound profile. Building on the performance of the Reference 2 series, this MC Cartridge design extracts subtle musical nuances from your records while keeping signal transmission remarkably clean.

Inside the housing, a refined five-piece OTL cantilever system lowers the moving tip mass significantly compared to standard moving magnet or MC designs. This reduced weight allows the stylus to trace intricate vinyl grooves with greater accuracy, providing swift transient response and revealing finer acoustic elements in your recordings. Combined with ultra-high purity long crystal oxygen-free copper coils, the signal flows smoothly to retain the original depth of your music, ensuring full harmonic detail remains instock across every playback session.

Featuring an individually calibrated diamond stylus, this design tracks record walls precisely to minimise tracking distortion and groove wear. The internal assembly is meticulously tuned by hand to ensure consistent channel balance and faithful stereo imaging. Whether integrated into traditional setups or high-output Phono Cartridges-MC configurations, the low-mass construction and pure copper winding provide a balanced, lifelike soundstage across all musical genres.

• Five-Piece OTL Cantilever: Reduces moving tip mass for precise groove tracking and clearer high-frequency detail.
• UHPLC Copper Coils: Delivers pure signal transfer to preserve natural musical warmth and low-level dynamics.
• Precision Diamond Stylus: Follows record grooves accurately to reduce distortion and protect your vinyl collection.
• Handcrafted Wood Housing: Damps internal resonances to provide a rich, balanced sonic presentation.
• Individual Calibration: Guarantees accurate channel separation and consistent audio performance across the entire soundstage.