GRADO REFERENCE PLATINUM 3

Pre owned. Comes with original packaging.

The Grado Reference Platinum 3 cartridge is the result of a blend of craftsmanship and engineering research, designed and entirely handmade at Grado Labs in Brooklyn. Its body is crafted from Australian Jarrah wood, selected for its natural acoustic properties. This wood undergoes a specific thermal curing process — a delicate and complex phase aimed at optimizing its sonic response, giving the cartridge clarity and musicality that express balance across the entire frequency range. The result is sound reproduction that preserves both detail and naturalness: deep and solid bass, rich and full midrange, and highs that are always precise yet never fatiguing.

The Reference Platinum 3 incorporates a modified version of Grado’s signature OTL (Optimized Transmission Line) technology. In this model, the cantilever is lighter than that of the Prestige series, reducing tip mass by 10% for improved tracking and dynamic precision. Inside, the coils are wound with ultra-high purity, long-crystal, oxygen-free copper wire, ensuring an extremely clean and interference-free signal flow. The stylus features a specifically designed elliptical diamond tip, carefully hand-mounted to guarantee consistency and long-term reliability.

Each cartridge undergoes individual testing and calibration, a process that ensures superior channel separation and tonal coherence compared to average standards. The Reference Platinum 3 maintains compact dimensions compared to other wooden-bodied cartridges in the same line, making installation easier even on mid-range turntables, while remaining aimed at high-end audio systems. The recommended tracking force ranges from 1.6 to 1.9 grams, a value that ensures perfect groove contact and consistently controlled sound reproduction without ever sounding aggressive or unbalanced.

Technical specifications:

• Body: Australian Jarrah wood
• Cantilever: aluminum / elliptical diamond
• Output: high 4.0 mV @ 5 CMV (45); low 1.0 mV @ 5 CMV (45)
• Inductance: high output 55 mH; low output 6 mH
• Resistance: high output 660 ohms; low output 70 ohms
• Input load: 10k–47k ohms
• Cartridge weight: 9 grams
• Tracking force: 1.6–1.9 grams
• Compliance: 20 μm/mN
• Channel separation: average 30 dB – 10–30 kHz
• Controlled frequency response: 10–60 kHz
• Insensitive to capacitive loading