Grado Prestige Black Phono Cartridge - NOS (New Old Stock)

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General:
The Grado Labs Prestige Black is an affordable MM (Moving-Magnet) cartridge offering great sound, along with an easily replaceable and upgradable stylus. It pairs well with many 'tables modern and vintage.

Super popular cartridge but sadly no longer in production. 

This Prestige. Black appears to be new with no signs of use as verified under our shop microscope. This will come to you complete with its original and manual.

Brand Background:
Founded in Brooklyn, NY, Grado Labs has been perfecting the art of sonic reproduction through headphones and cartridges since 1953. Through three generations the family has kept the tradition of putting sound first.

Ownership:
Single Owner

General Sound:
Smooth, uncolored, undistorted natural and clean

Cosmetic Condition:
8/10 = Very Good. Excellent front faceplate, one minor flaw on chassis side or top. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Included:
Exactly as pictured and described above.

Packing:
Original Manufacturers Packing

Specs:
Frequency Response: 10 - 55,000 Hz
- Principal: MI
- Channel Separation at 1 KHz: 30
- Input Load: 47K
- Output at 1 KHz 5CM/sec.: 5mV
- Recommended Tracking Force: 1.5
- Stylus Type: E
- Inductance: 45mH
- Resistance: 475
- Compliance CUs: 20
- Stylus Replacement: User replaceable
- Mounting: Half-inch standard

Weight:
5.5g

Testing Process:
We start by doing a detailed physical inspection under light magnification to asses the cantilever condition, its position in the cartridge body, and the condition of the suspension.

We also inspect any coil wires and the output connections to make sure it hasn't been strained. We then perform a light cleaning with specialized agents and very carefully blow dry with compressed air.

Following that, we conduct a thorough examination using our Wild Heerbrugg professional microscope. From there we can asses the wear and quality of the stylus and determine how much use it has seen, and if there are any mechanical issues. We can also identify if it needs further cleaning or care.

We then move the cartridge to a digital microscope where we take photos of the cantilever and stylus for future reference.

Next we move to the test bench where we can check for continuity of each channel and resistance.

On certain cartridges (or if the technician feels necessary) we install the cartridge on a turntable and run several test records to ascertain tacking ability, distortion, and compliance.