Grado Black3

Name: Grado Black3
Brand: Grado
SKU: 6396518f9f72479b37739db6
Rating: 3.7 (36 reviews)

Budget Pick

in Phono Cartridge

Based on 36 reviews

The Looria Grade (A - F) accounts for multiple factors, including sentiment, helpfulness, and more. Learn about our sources and ranking.

Great seat travel extension without sibilance

Natural sounding with beautiful harmonics and tonal inflections

Good bass performance

Easy to install and align

Spacious soundstage

Not able to handle significant bass

Some users report hum issues

Some users report poor tracking on new vinyl

Verdict

Overall, the Grado Black3 cartridge receives mixed reviews. Many users praise its natural sound, beautiful harmonics, and good bass performance. However, some users report issues with hum, poor tracking, and difficulty installing the cartridge. The foam pads on the Grado headphones are also a point of contention among users. Despite its flaws, the Grado Black3 is considered a good budget cartridge option by many.

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Grado info and reviews

Reviews

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MM Cartridges US$70-80, Grado Black REVIEW

Great seat travel extension without the sibilance, natural sounding with beautiful harmonics and tonal inflections, moving vocals, great details, grea...

Cheap Cartridge SHOOTOUT!

A very pleasant and listenable cartridge, but can hum on a DD turntable. Cost - $99CDN (sale).

Positive

ScooterMcTavish

3 years ago

reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile

sound OK

Wait till breaks -in... but so far on par with AT 95E,but installing AT carts - piece a cake , same with Ortofon and Sumiko Don't think wud get another Grado ... Installing - is a different story. The worst installing process I came over with was that cart. Those who a looking to get that cart may f...

The other new addition to my collection - VE Monk Plus

And oh my god, it did. As much as I am not a fan of foam pads on Grado or Koss headphones, the foam on these is much softer and smoother to the touch. It’s very comfortable, and makes them sound a lot better.

Positive

szymonhimself

3 years ago

reddit.com/r/headphones

Doesn't really know how to rock...

The media could not be loaded. It it IS well made, and is absolutely excellent with classical music but it really can't handle significant bass. Note how its fine through the 3rd level on the test record, begins to fail at level 4, and crashes completely on level 5. I bought this directly from the c...

I can agree with this. I haven't heard Senns yet, but as soon as this next Massdrop ships...

So far, Grado is my favorite. I like my DT88O's for some things, but they're too lean for what I mostly listen to.

Positive

Zonda68

3 years ago

reddit.com/r/headphones

Meh

Way lower output than expected & is also microphonic. Sounds about as good as a less expensive Ortofon.

Just picked up these babies for 20$, my first audiophile-ish headphones. Excited for the journey!

Hey, I also got my Grado Headphones recently, from amazon France! Got the sr125e (refurbished as new) for 100 euros, which is a really nice price, they usually sell at 160 to 200 euros. Not gonna lies, it takes some times getting used to it, and there is a lot of music style they would not sound great with. But once you stumble across music made for them, god they are awesome.

Positive

Nabooh

3 years ago

reddit.com/r/headphones

Lots of Midrange and Lows - Not So Much On The Highs

I bought this for $80, specifically to see how a budget cartridge would sound. If you've installed a new cartridge before, I found this one easy to install and align. I have NOT had any hum issues as reported in some of the older reviews. The first thing I noticed was Grado's focus on the mid and lo...

I actually really enjoy Grado. I will say, though, that I would use them almost exclusively for Rock and Metal. They have a little "grit" that seems to compliment that kind of music.

Positive

Separate-Sky-1451

2 years ago

reddit.com/r/headphones

Specs

Brand

Grado

Connectivity Technology

Wired

Color

Black3

Motor Type

DC Motor

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Grado Black3

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