Reference4
Reference4 is a moving iron phono cartridge in Grado's Timbre Series, built in an American Osage wood body with a Shibata diamond on a machined boron cantilever. It is aimed at vinyl listeners who want a detailed, controlled sound and is offered in high-output, low-output and mono builds.
- Moving iron design with fixed coil structure
- Nude Shibata diamond on machined boron cantilever
- American Osage wood body
- High-output 4.0mV and low-output 1.0mV versions
- Mono builds are special order, no returns
- 6N OCC copper coils, cryogenically treated
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Sell one like thisDescription
Reference4 is a wood-bodied moving iron cartridge from the Grado Timbre Series. It uses Joseph Grado's flux-bridger principle, in which the coil structure stays fixed while a low-mass moving element generates the signal. The stylus is a nude Shibata diamond on a machined boron cantilever, and the body is made from American Osage wood.
The internal signal path uses 6N OCC copper. Each cartridge goes through cryogenic treatment and internal damping to limit resonance. The housing has been reshaped to give a better view of the cantilever during setup, which helps with alignment and fits a wide range of tonearms. The cartridge is not sensitive to capacitive load.
It comes in high-output and low-output stereo versions to suit different phono stages, plus mono variants of each. The mono versions are special order and non-returnable. Owners of another Grado wood cartridge can use the Wood Cartridge Upgrade Program to move to a different model at adjusted pricing.
Specifications
- Brand
- Grado
- Model
- Reference4
- Category
- DJ gear › Cartridges and styli
Electrical
- Output (High)
- 4.0mV @5 CMV (45)
- Output (Low)
- 1.0mV @5 CMV (45)
- Inductance (High Output)
- 55mH
- Inductance (Low Output)
- 6mH
- Resistance (High Output)
- 660 ohms
- Resistance (Low Output)
- 70 ohms
- Input load
- 10k-47k ohms
- Capacitive load sensitivity
- Non-sensitive
Audio
- Channel separation
- Average 30db - 10-30k Hz
- Controlled frequency response
- 10-60 KHz
- Compliance
- 20μm/mN
- Tracking force
- 1.6-1.9 grams
Stylus and Construction
- Generator type
- Moving iron
- Stylus
- Nude Shibata diamond
- Cantilever
- Machined boron
- Body
- American Osage Wood
- Coil wire
- 6N OCC copper
Physical
- Cartridge weight
- 9.6 grams
Versions
- Builds
- High Output, Low Output, Mono
- Series
- Timbre Series