Grado
Platinum3 Phono Cartridge
Best wood-housed cartridge for audiophiles seeking enhanced clarity and musical depth.
The Grado Platinum3 Phono Cartridge represents a significant step up, utilizing a Jarrah wood housing and a twin magnet system for enhanced musical reproduction. Designed to bring greater clarity and depth to your listening experience, it features a modified four-piece OTL cantilever for a 10% tip mass reduction and ultra-high purity long crystal oxygen-free copper wire. The cartridge boasts a specially designed Grado elliptical diamond and a new two-step shielding process for a cleaner, undistorted signal with reduced mechanical noise. Hand-built in Brooklyn, its solid Jarrah wood housing effectively dampens resonant frequencies, ensuring stability and the signature Grado sound for systems ranging from entry-level to high-end.
$400.00
More Platinum Options
Owner Satisfaction
4.7
/ 5
Category Rank
173
/ 1640
#173 in Turntable Accessories
Price vs Category Average
-68%
Below average
Phono Cartridge Type
Moving Iron
/ Moving Iron
Who it's for
- Audiophiles seeking a warm, musical, and natural listening experience
- Budget-conscious listeners wanting high-end performance at a mid-range price
- Vinyl enthusiasts prioritizing long-term maintenance and cost-effective upkeep
Who should skip it
- Owners of unshielded turntables prone to electromagnetic interference
- Listeners who prioritize clinical detail and surgical transparency over warmth
- Audiophiles preferring a wide, expansive, and airy soundstage presentation
Performance breakdown
Resonance Control
The Jarrah wood housing effectively eliminates unwanted mechanical vibrations during playback.
Signal Clarity
Two-step shielding ensures a remarkably clean and undistorted audio signal path.
Tracking Precision
The modified OTL cantilever design offers excellent stability across complex grooves.
Frequency Range
Extensive 10Hz to 60kHz response captures subtle details in high-fidelity recordings.
Build Craftsmanship
Hand-built Brooklyn construction reflects a high standard of precision and care.
System Versatility
Multiple output options allow for seamless integration into diverse audio setups.
Key Specs
Phono Cartridge Type
Moving Iron
Body Material
Australian Jarrah Wood
Cantilever
Aluminum / Elliptical Diamond
Cartridge Weight
9g
Available Builds
High Output, Low Output, Mono
Output Voltage (High Output)
4.0mV @5 CMV (45°)
Output Voltage (Low Output)
1.0mV @5 CMV (45°)
Inductance (High Output)
55mH
Features
- Crafted with Jarrah wood housing for surgically precise clarity and depth.
- Features a twin magnet system for enhanced sound reproduction.
- Utilizes a modified four-piece OTL cantilever for reduced tip mass.
- Employs ultra-high purity long crystal oxygen-free copper wire in coils.
- Includes a specially designed Grado elliptical diamond stylus.
- New two-step shielding process ensures exact coil unison and a cleaner signal path.
- Hand-built in Brooklyn with a focus on precision and quality.
- Solid wood housing helps dampen resonant frequencies for steady playback.
What customers say
Customers consistently praise the Grado Platinum3 Phono Cartridge for its exceptional sound quality and rich musicality. Many highlight its ability to deliver a warm, detailed, and engaging listening experience, often describing it as bringing new life to their vinyl collection. The build quality is also frequently commended, reflecting Grado's reputation for craftsmanship. While it represents a significant investment, users generally feel its superior audio performance justifies the cost, making it a highly valued upgrade for serious audiophiles seeking an immersive and authentic analog sound.
Know before you buy
The Jarrah wood housing acts as a natural dampener for resonant frequencies. By minimizing these vibrations, the cartridge provides a more stable, clear, and undistorted playback compared to plastic or metal alternatives.
The choice depends on your phono stage. The High Output version is designed for standard moving magnet (MM) inputs, while the Low Output version requires a dedicated moving coil (MC) phono preamp or a step-up transformer to achieve proper gain.
The Platinum3 is designed to track between 1.6 and 1.9 grams. We recommend starting at 1.75 grams and adjusting slightly within that range based on your specific tonearm and listening preferences.
With a weight of 9g and a compliance of 20μm/mN, this cartridge is well-suited for most medium-mass tonearms. It is versatile enough to perform well on both entry-level and high-end turntables.
The modified four-piece OTL (Optimized Transmission Line) cantilever reduces tip mass by 10%. This reduction allows the stylus to track the grooves of your records with greater speed and precision, resulting in improved clarity and detail retrieval.
Grado cartridges are hand-built as a single, integrated unit. The stylus is not user-replaceable; if the diamond wears out, the entire cartridge must be sent to the manufacturer or an authorized service center for a rebuild or replacement.
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