Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Grado Statement Series Sonata Phono Cartridge by AnalogJ

Model:	Statement Series Sonata
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$500.00
Description:	low output version of the Reference Series Sonata
Manufacturer URL:	Grado
Model Picture:	View

Review by AnalogJ ( A ) on December 22, 2003 at 14:27:25
IP Address: 152.163.253.3

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for the Statement Series Sonata

As I stated in my review of my current Grado Statement Master cartridge, I have never heard a Grado cartridge sound good out of the box. The mid-range may be sweet, but the music is stiff, lacking dynamics and the bass lacks depth and definition. There is almost no soundstage to think of. ALL of their cartridges need a good 15 hours just to sound human, and another 20 or so to start sounding their best. Reputation has it that they really take their form after 50 hours. A friend lent me his Statement Sonata that had only about 14 hours on it.
I have the pleasure of being an acquaintance of Harry Weisfeld and after recently purchasing one of his Scout tables, he suggested that I listen to the new Statement Sonata series cartridges from Grado, citing their superiority over the Reference models and having an incredible mid-range. Harry listens to a lot of vocal music and vocal music through Grado cartridges is to die for.
The mid-range was, indeed, to die for and there was such humanity coming out of the speakers, almost no matter what kind of music came through, MUCH more so than what came through with the Glider, my previous cartridge. The Glider was fine, but could sound a bit etched and bright sometimes, certainly compared to the Sonata. Compared to the Glider, there is a wholeness with the Sonata, a holistic aspect to the presentation. I end up listening less to the audiophile aspects of this and that, and more to the performance, to what the performers are communicating.
The detail on the mid-range made listening to vocalists soooo cool to listen to. I have a Motown pressing of Al Green's "Live in Tokyo." There is a part of one of the songs where Al and a couple of backing vocalists clearly step away from the microphone to sing. I was sitting on the edge of the seat of my couch listening to them sound so distinct, real, full-bodied and compelling, even though they were clearly several feet from the microphone.
While listening to the Sonata, I could hardly tear myself away from my listening sessions. I don't think I ever quite experienced that with the Glider. The Sonata's weaknesses were relatively minor but were there. The message of the music always came through, yet THE most difficult and complex passages weren't always resolved with the most clarity. I heard this most with complex orchestral works, YET the humanity of the music always came through anyway. I remember listening to a luscious recording of the later recording of Boult and the LPO doing Holst's, "The Planets." In spite of not resolving the most difficult of passages with the greatest of ease, the performance never felt pinched or compacted. The loudest swell of the "Mars" section blew me away emotionally.
Also, while there was great detail in the mid-range, always resulting in mid-rangy instruments such as vocals and saxes having a you-are-there-quality, the high-end lacked the same detail. This latter aspect meant that some of the ambient information didn't get conveyed. Additionally, some of that higher frequency detail which delineates one vocalist from another or one instrument from another didn't get conveyed. Listening to an original UK pressing of Peter Gabriel's "Us," the distinction between Sinead O'Connor and Gabriel on "Blood of Eden" wasn't as clear as I remembered while listening to it with the Glider. Also, while the soundstage was deep, it was not especially high. If you have ever sat in a theater under a balcony, have you ever noticed a vertical compression to the sound? Kind of like that. Like a bit of a lid to the height.
All-in-all, once I got used to the lack of the some of the resolving power and high frequency definition, I just let the cartridge do what it does best and that is communicate music. Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar sounded real and his playing compelling and musical on a US original press of "In Step." All vocal music had the vocalist not in my living room, but had me be in their engineering studio. The presentation was relaxed and laid back. Rather than the overly analytical sounding detail of the Glider, music just flowed easily. On a red/black label Impulse/ABC of "Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane," Hartman sounded real, emotional, whole and full-bodied (as though he were talking to ME), while Coltrane's fills sounded velvety and sang. Acoustic bass, rather than being propelled forward, just anchored the rhythm section near the back of the soundstage.
Once broken in, it lacks neither transient speed nor dynamics. According to John Grado, the moving iron design requires neither the moving of the coils nor the moving of magnets - the moving iron supposedly requires the least movement of mass for a stylus, hence its quickness. The reduction in the length of coil required in the Statement series allows for a much larger diameter coil. The result of only 7 feet of coil and a larger diameter coil is more detailed and dynamic sound. I would have been absolutely happy with the Sonata. Overall, It delivers a tremendous amount of musicality for the $500 list, but I could see certain audiophiles quibbling over the lack of high frequency detail. Well, you can't quibble about that with the Master. There is much more detail all over the spectrum, perhaps partly resulting from the narrower tip descending deeper in the groove, but the detail NEVER sounds etched. It has all of the Sonata's qualities plus more.
While the Sonata's images were never Viewmaster flat (instrumental body always was palpable), the soundstage could collapse and get a bit confused on the most demanding passages. On the other hand, it never lost the musical message and that's THE most important thing here. With the Statement Master I have now, there is more top end shimmer to cymbals, but I wouldn't have missed it in the long run as the Sonata makes music so well.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this one to the rock and roll crowd as I sense that etched high frequency is a requirement and you won't get it here. With all other music-types, this is music making of a very high order. If you haven't ever heard the Grado mid-range, hear it for yourself before you buy your next cartridge.

Product Weakness: Not the best at resolving the densest passages. While soundstage is deep, it's not particularly high. Incredibly true and revealing mid-range detail does not extend to the highest frequencies.
Product Strengths: Lyrical musicality - Performances are rendered in a compelling way. Real, full-bodied instrumentalists and vocalists due to that famous Grado mid-range. Quick transient response and excellent micro and macro dynamics. Seamless, coherent presentation. Deep soundstage.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Unison Research Unico
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	none
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Scout/JMW-9 tonearm
Speakers:	Castle Edens
Cables/Interconnects:	Discovery phono cable/Audioquest type 4 speaker cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Various
Room Size (LxWxH):	12' x 14' x 11'
Room Comments/Treatments:	Roomtunes Corner Tunes
Time Period/Length of Audition:	30 Hours of listening beyond the initial 15 on the cartridge
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster Cable 2500
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	Not the best at resolving the densest passages. While soundstage is deep, it's not particularly high. Incredibly true and revealing mid-range detail does not extend to the highest frequencies.
Product Strengths:	Lyrical musicality - Performances are rendered in a compelling way. Real, full-bodied instrumentalists and vocalists due to that famous Grado mid-range. Quick transient response and excellent micro and macro dynamics. Seamless, coherent presentation. Deep soundstage.