Grado Reference3

The Australian Jarrah wood serves as a natural dampening material. It effectively controls and minimizes resonant frequencies, which helps produce a cleaner, more stable sound compared to plastic or metal housings.

The Reference3 is designed to be non-sensitive to capacitive load variations, making it quite versatile. It works well with standard 1/2-inch mount tonearms and supports an input load range of 10k to 47k ohms.

Choose the High-Output version if you are using a standard moving magnet (MM) phono stage. The Low-Output version is designed for systems paired with a dedicated moving coil (MC) phono preamp or a step-up transformer.

The Reference3 should be set to a tracking force between 1.6 and 1.9 grams. We recommend starting at 1.75 grams and adjusting slightly based on your specific tonearm and listening preference.

The OTL (Optimized Transmission Line) cantilever technology reduces the effective tip mass of the stylus. This allows the cartridge to track the record groove more accurately, resulting in better high-frequency detail and reduced distortion.

No, the stylus is not user-replaceable. Because each unit is individually calibrated at the factory for optimal performance, the cartridge must be sent to Grado for professional retipping or replacement.