Grado The Statement1 Wood Body Phono Cartridge

Optimized Transmission Line (OTL) Cantilever/Stylus Assembly
Grado's OTL provides an ideal transfer of the signal from point to point, e.g., stylus to cantilever to magnet to coils, etc. This has been achieved by eliminating resonance at each of these key junctions. The transmission line cantilever consists of separate sections that are telescoped into each other. All sections are made of different alloys, some sections hollow, other sections solid. These sections are bonded together with materials that act as dampers, and are coated with a black proprietary material which controls and absorbs resonances that travel on the surface of the cantilever (known as skin effects). The OTL stylus/cantilever design will make your records sound quieter, improve the height, width, and depth of the soundstage, and offer more detail than previously obtainable. Cartridge Holography does exist...and that is what Grado's OTL technology is all about, more performance.

Pivoted-Fixed Axial Cantilever/Stylus Generator
This design feature is basically quite simple. The "OTL" cantilever shaft is brought to a fixed axial pivot that supports the entire cantilever assembly. A miniature element attached to the end of the cantilever is allowed to move freely within the lines of flux of a stationary magnet and coil structure. This system of support is mechanically more accurate (more linear) than conventional "teeter-totter" designs that utilize an iron armature to balance the mass of the cantilever. The teeter-totter design is supported in the center with a rubber donut mounting. The fixed axial design has a very low tip mass, which results in lower distortion, improved transient response, and longer record life.

Flux-Bridger Generator System
The Flux-Bridger design uses four separate magnetic gaps that the miniature element of the cantilever bridges. The miniature element moves between opposing flux gaps creating an increase in flux in one gap while reducing it in the other. The four separate magnetic gaps create a highly efficient and perfectly balanced system. This design requires fewer coil turns than conventional designs.

The Anatomy of a Grado Phono Cartridge



Hand-Built in the USA With 100% Quality Control
Each individual cartridge manufactured by Grado is hand assembled and tested for frequency response, channel output, channel balance, phase linearity, inductance and resistance. This meticulous care in design and construction lavished on each Grado cartridge contributes to an unchallenged consistency of performance and guarantee of reliability.

The Reference and Statement Series Cartridges
These series of wooden cartridges are a fixed coil design, hand-crafted at our labs from a specially selected species of mahogany. An intricate procedure of curing is done between production steps to achieve optimal sonic quality. Unlike the Prestige series, these series generator/stylus module is not replaceable allowing a redesigned one piece magnetic circuit and a reduction of chassis resonances. The Statement and Reference series utilizes manufacturing and assembly techniques of fantastic accuracy and precision, the result is virtual perfection in a phono pickup resulting in the finest pickups in the world without exception. Should be used only with the finest equipment. Recommended tracking force 3/4 to 2 grams.

The Latest Version, the Statement1
GRADO RE-MAKES THEIR STATEMENT1! After years of careful thought and painstaking design Grado is very pleased to offer their upgraded flagship phono cartridge. We are so proud of this cartridge and believe that it has so much to say about Grado technology, that it was named the GRADO STATEMENT1. The STATEMENT1 utilizes reconfigured gold coil wires, a lower mass faster generating system, a boron cantilever and a diamond cut specially for Grado. All this is hand-assembled within a machined, new processed, Australian Jarrah wood housing. The output for the STATEMENT1 measures at 0.5 mV. The lowest output ever offered by Grado. The low frequency information and its portrayal of bass dynamics are solid, powerful and authoritative. The midrange is rich, complex and highly believable. Its top-end seems to extend forever with speed and remarkable delicacy. Imaging is detailed and precise with a sound stage that wraps its arms around you and draws you into the music. Michael Fremer commented in his Analog Corner, "It is among the finest cartridges I've ever heard at any price", Stereophile 3/99, pg. 41. While Jonathan Valin stated, "I'm going to keep the Statement in my reference system" The Absolute Sound, Issue 118. Anyone who was impressed with our previous top-of-the-line effort, the Grado REFERENCE, will have their eyes opened wide after listening to the GRADO STATEMENT1!

Comments on the Grado Statement

"Without question, this is the finest moving iron design I have ever heard!"

"The Statement consistently did a fine job of reproducing detail, and it was able to do so during both loud and complex passages."

"Sounds were located precisely within the soundstage and stayed in place with neither wander of placement, nor diffusion of image. The overall character was both open and airy."

"The nuance of how a string was plucked or bowed was readily obvious. The lower frequencies enriched the sound with a sense of space, and provided the forceful drive to the pace of the musical Statement."

"What truly impressed me was the recreation of the harp: with all to many cartridges, it either loses its identify or is lost almost entirely. The Statement did a great job in bringing it out, thanks to its clarity and resolution of detail." -Ultimate Audio / Jack English Vol.4, No.1

"I have stayed until the wee hours of the night using two state of the at systems and in every case LP reproduction was an unqualified joy." -Silvio Fernandez / Audio Consultant

"Listening to my Grado Statement cartridge through the PH-1 is like listening to a live performance, it puts you right there." -Mark Rivera - Saxophonist with the Billy Joel Band

"The texture, detail and accuracy of the Statement exceed my wildest dreams. I can hear significant differences in bass control. Mids are sooo sweet and the highs are magnificently delivered with timbre and transparency like no other has ever delivered." -Todd Green - The Vinyl Junkie

Grado Statement1 Technical Technical Data