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Editors' Choice Award 2024 – The Absolute Sound Magazine
Grado's Most Affordable Wooden Body Cartridge
Bringing extreme levels of clarity over the full frequency range, the Opus3 phono cartridge from Grado Labs is the easiest way to enter the Grado family of wooden-body cartridges.
The Opus3 was built specifically to bring Grado's entry-level and the mid-range phono cartridges closer together, creating an even tighter ecosystem of cartridges. Grado engineers worked on the Opus3 knowing they wanted to have a cost-effective wooden cartridge while at the same time taking advantage of the techniques and processes used in the higher-end models. If taking a step up in your turntable setup is on your to-do list, start here with the Opus 3.
Award-Winning Performance
The Absolute Sound magazine honored the Opus 3 with an Editors' Choice Award for 2024.
"Grado’s entry-level offering in the new Timbre Series is a little like going home again to a pre-digital age. With its midrange tonal beauty and unvarnished musicality, its warmer overall signature and rich midrange, this is classic Grado."
"There are still notes of dark chocolate in its voicing—a complex bittersweetness that favors resonant wooden instruments like cello and acoustic bass and winds. The primary strength of the Opus3, however, is its resolution of timbral distinctions, its verdant naturalism, and its harmonic richness. Pure and simple, a celebration of LP playback."
"Bargain of the Year"
"Unexpectedly chunky and punchy sounding, yet also quick, clear, and warmly engaging, the Grado Opus3 is a compelling alternative to similarly-priced cartridges from both musical and technical standpoints," reports >Ed Kobesky, positivefeedback.com, March 30, 2022.
"It sounds as good as or better than most any vintage Grado, or the immediate price competition," reports Danko Suvar, enjoythemusic.com, November 20, 2020. In a way, for a sound quality achievable with it, Opus3 is a bargain of the year"
First of its Kind
When it comes to the Opus3, there are a few 'firsts' to talk about. This is Grado's first cartridge built with a maple wood housing, as well as the first to use what Grado learned with its high-end cartridges and apply that knowledge to an entry-level price. The housing is a new shape, but it still keeps the wood working in tandem with the cartridge inside. This is also the first cartridge built specifically with the Timbre Series in mind.
Extreme Precision
Grado has combined newly developed coil winding techniques with decades-old disciplines. A new two-step shielding process brings not only exact unison between the four coils but also an unobstructed path for a cleaner signal. The music is allowed to travel undistorted through the coils, greatly reducing mechanical noise. There is an extreme clarity over the full frequency range, with absolutely no stridency or shrillness. Precisely hand tipped with a diamond, each cartridge is the end product of a great amount of care.
"Two Thumbs Up"
"Presence, tone, texture, and detail have to be present or it’s just some flat rendition of something that doesn’t engage you at all. The Grado Labs Opus3 succeeds in every way with the kind of vocals that I enjoy listening to and that makes it a keeper," raves Ian White, ecoustics.com, July 12, 2022.
"The tonality of the Opus3 is natural and musical and the resolution can stand toe to toe with the big boys," reports Gary Alan Barker, headphone.guru, July 13, 2020. "All in all, the Grado Opus3 is a first-class cartridge that I can heartily recommend to anyone setting up a medium to high-end turntable ensemble or upgrading an existing system. Two thumbs up."
The Sound of Wood – Built from Maple
The Opus3 is nestled inside a maple housing, which a cartridge has never done before. After years of working with maple from Grado's Heritage and Statement Series headphones, Grado decided it was time to bring it to a phono cartridge. Maple produces a vibrant and luscious sound, while staying consistent and clear. Through a variation of thermal aging processes, the housing gains the ability to better dampen and control the resonant frequencies.
"Has to be Heard to Be Believed"
"There are reasons why Grado Labs phono cartridge have been around since 1953. The company may be better known these days for making some of the best headphones in the world at really good prices. The same can be said about their phono cartridges. I am purchasing this phono cartridge and keeping it installed in my newly acquired Music Hall mmf-1.3 turntable," notes Byron Baba, dagogo.com, November 2022
"The Opus 3 is flat out the best buy at that price and quite a bit above," observes reviewer Café Latte, audiokarma.org, December 2, 2021. "Really, really good, very wide with lovely MC mids and highs with huge bass… Has to be heard to be believed."
Hand-Built with Love in Brooklyn
Each Opus3 is hand-built by the Grado team in Brooklyn. Fine-tuned for everything from entry-level turntables up to the highest-end stereo systems, the solid mass of the wood helps keep the Opus3 steady and producing the Grado signature sound. Grado started building cartridges on a kitchen table in 1953, and every experience since then has led to the creation of the Opus3.
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