Grado Gold4

Grado Gold4 – The flagship model of the Prestige series
The Grado Gold4 represents the pinnacle of performance within Grado’s Prestige series. After decades of development and fine-tuning, the Gold4 delivers a balanced and deeply musical sound that combines rich detail, control, and long-term reliability—qualities that define Grado’s cartridges.

With Grado’s moving-iron design, the Gold4 offers a fast and stable signal with low moving mass and consistent performance over time. The injection-molded housing ensures precise assembly and provides optimal operating conditions for the internal components. The Gold4 is available in both standard 1/2” mounting and P-mount, making it compatible with a wide range of turntables and tonearms.

Performance
The Gold4 is a high-output moving-iron cartridge designed to work with a wide range of RIAA preamps. Its sound character is characterized by high resolution, control, and refinement. Details are reproduced with precision while the treble remains smooth and well-balanced.

The midrange has natural presence and texture, while the bass is delivered with clear definition and authority. Even complex and dynamic recordings are handled with stability, good separation, and a cohesive stereo image that allows the music’s character to emerge naturally.

Diamond, cantilever, and stylus
The Grado Gold4 is equipped with a bonded elliptical diamond mounted on an aluminum cantilever. The elliptical cut ensures effective contact with the record groove and reliable tracking, while the aluminum cantilever contributes to stable and controlled reproduction across the entire frequency range.

The stylus module is user-replaceable, simplifying maintenance and ensuring a long service life. All styluses in Grado’s Prestige series are compatible across models, offering flexibility for upgrades without compromising performance.

Moving-iron design
All Grado cartridges are built on a moving iron design based on Joseph Grado’s patented flux-bridger principle. By keeping the coils fixed and minimizing moving mass, a precise, fast, and stable signal with high harmonic integrity is created.

The design combines dynamics and control with the robustness and long-term stability often lacking in traditional moving coil systems.

Coils and Internal Construction
The internal signal path is constructed with ultra-pure 5N OCC copper, selected for its high conductivity and consistent quality. Each cartridge undergoes cryogenic treatment and internal damping to reduce unwanted resonances and preserve the purity of the signal.

The result is sound reproduction that remains cohesive, balanced, and dynamically responsive over a long period of time.

Specifications
Output: 4 mV @ 5 cm/s (45°)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 55,000 Hz
Channel separation: 25 dB on average (10 – 30,000 Hz)
Stylus type: Elliptical diamond
Recommended load: 10 kΩ – 47 kΩ
Inductance: 50 mH
DC resistance: 660 ohms
Cartridge weight: 6 g
Recommended tracking force: 1.6 – 1.9 g
Mounting: 1/2” screw mount