Grado Timbre Opus3 Cartridge ( 4.0mV Stereo High Output ) Moving Magnet MM
2023 TAS Recommended Components
PHONO CARTRIDGES Under $500 Grado Timbre Opus
£239 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 highly resonant wooden instruments like cello and acoustic bass and winds like clarinet, oboe, and bassoon.
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
From a company known for exceptional performance and value, the Grado Opus3 resets the bar. Pure and simple, a celebration of LP playback." – Neil Gader, The Absolute Sound
In a way, for a sound quality achievable with it, Opus3 is a bargain of the year.".- Enjoythemusic
$4000 SL-1210GAE with the Grado Labs Opus cartridge worked well and sounded really sweet and well-detailed. Have a listen Now the sonic picture was “Grado-like”, which means richer, warmer and fuller, with added body and weight behind the transient attack Michael Fremer Analogue Planet
The Opus3 was built specifically to bring the entry-level and the mid-range phono cartridges closer together, creating an even tighter ecosystem of cartridges. Grado worked on the Opus3 as a cost-effective wooden cartridge while 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.
The Opus3 is nestled inside a Maple housing. After years of experience with Maple from the Heritage and Statement Series headphones, Grado decided it was time to bring it to a turntable. 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.
Body: Maple Wood
Cantilever: Aluminum / Elliptical Diamond
A Grand Entrance
Bringing extreme levels of clarity over the full frequency range, the Opus3 bridges together entry-level and mid-range. The Opus3 is the easiest way to enter the family of Grado's wooden cartridges.
Bridging the Gap
The Opus3 was built specifically to bring the entry-level and the mid-range phono cartridges closer together, creating an even tighter ecosystem of cartridges. Grado 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.
First of its Kind
When it comes to the Opus3, there are a few "firsts". This is the first cartridge built with a maple wood housing, as well as the first to use what Grado learned with their high-end cartridges at such an entry-level price. The housing is a new shape but 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 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, a great amount of care go into each cartridge Grado build.
Built from Maple
The Opus3 is nestled inside a maple housing, something a cartridge has never done before. After years of working with maple from our Heritage and Statement Series headphones, we knew it was time to bring it to a turntable. 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.
Hand-Built in Brooklyn with Love
Each Opus3 is hand-built by Grado's 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. We started building cartridges on a kitchen table in 1953, and every experience since then has led to the creation of the Opus3.
Technical Specifications
Body Maple Wood
Cantilever Aluminum / Elliptical Diamond
Input Load 10k-47k ohms
Cartridge Weight 8 grams
Tracking Force 1.6-1.9 grams
Compliance 20μm/mN
Channel Seperation Average 30db - 10-30k Hz
Controlled Frequency Response 10-60 kHz
Capacitive Load Sensitivity None
Builds High Output, Low Output, Mono
High/Low Output Comparison
High Output Low Output
Output 4.8mV @5 CMV (45) 1.0mV @5 CMV (45)
Inductance 55mH 6mH
Resistance 660 ohms 70 ohms
For over 50 years, Grado has been manufacturing some of the World’s great phono cartridges. One of the oldest family owned companies in the audio industry, Grado have been the leaders in design engineering for the high-end audio and recording industries.
Holder of 48 patents, company founder, Joseph Grado is credited as the inventor of the stereo moving coil phono cartridge. He is responsible for more innovations in phono cartridge design than any other person in our lifetime and was inducted into the Audio Hall of Fame in 1982.
Time honored manufacturing know how and painstaking attention to design detail result in previously unattained levels of pitch control, harmonic accuracy and bass quality to be achieved. All Grado cartridges are handmade to Grado's full performance specifications... nothing leaves the factory unless it sounds pure Grado.
