Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Grado Statement series Statement Phono Cartridge by the analog kid

I was fortunate enough to recently score a new Grado Statement series Statement cartridge, from a friend of a dealer who got it as show demo. For those of you unfamiliar with the new Grado offerings, Grado now has a "Reference" line with the previous models (e.g., Sonata, Reference) as well as a "Statement" line of cartridges, with the top-of-the-line being their new Statement Statement (talk about redundancy!). For those interested in the technical details, please check the Grado website, under "updates" (also see the new Stereophile, in Michael Fremer's column). I'm going to stick to my first-hand experiences as owner and user.

First off, this cartridge is lower output than any previous Grado, and the previous Statement, so owners should be careful about system matching. My phono amp/preamp front-end (see system details) has no problem driving this to sufficient levels, but this may be an issue for some systems. Fresh out of the box, this cartridge is gorgeous to look at, with the wood being a different grain than other Grado offerings. Mounting it was a snap, and it (similar to other Grados) tracks at 1.5 gm. During break in, it sounded a bit closed in (typical new sound), but even in the first couple of hours I was struck by the tonal richness it imparted to every recording with which it was faced. As it broke in, it dramatically opened up, without sacrificing its tonal quality.

Comparing it with my previous reference, the Grado Reference, is quite informative. For those of you familiar with the latter cartridge, the Statement is similar in terms of top-to-bottom coherence, and overall rich character. But there are at least three points which make the Statement DRAMATICALLY superior. First off, the transient energy it conveys bests the Reference substantially. The leading edge of attacks is crisply delineated and sharp. Correspondingly, the decay of notes is much longer, and more natural sounding, than the Reference. This is most notable with cymbal crashes, and female vocals, where onset is lightning fast, and the resonance following the note lingers on and on. Wonderful! Second, the Statement simply picks up more information than the Reference. Bits and pieces of recordings that I never knew were there emerge. For example, on the excellent original U.S. pressing of Pretenders II (one of my all-time fave records), I for the first time noticed an acoustic guitar overdub on the track "Talk of the Town," buried in the mix. Lastly, the overall TONE is simply amazing. It is hands-down the richest, most natural sounding cartridge I've had the good fortune to own. For example, Ringo's tom work on my Odeon red vinyl mono pressing of "Revolver" sounds like the toms in my kit sitting to the left of my listening room, rather than 1-dimensional flat BLATS as through lesser cartridges. On the exceptional Classic pressing of Sarah McLachlan's "Fumbling Toward Ecstacy," the tonal quality of Sarah's voice through the Statement is nothing short of astonishing. I had a thesis proposal meeting this morning with a student of mine, and ended up being 10 minutes late because I simply couldn't bring myself to raise the needle from the groove!

I haven't had the opportunity to A/B this cartridge against expensive MC's in its price range. I can imagine that there are cartridges that provide more high-frequency zip than this cartridge. Its highs are not rolled off, but are natural, not etched. Interestingly, its bass is VERY sharply defined and crisp. If there was one identifiable "shortcoming," it would have to be the lack of intense, razor-sharp high-frequency energy. OTOH, I'm with the Triode Guild on this one: I believe that TONE RULES. And the new Statement is King of tone. If natural, organic, LIFE LIKE musical reproduction is what you dig, this cartridge is for you.

REVIEW: Grado Statement series Statement Phono Cartridge Review by the analog kid at Audio Asylum