Green1 & Black1
The newly redesigned Black1 and Green1 have had their coil design reconfigured, and the effective moving mass of their generating system has been reduced by 17%. The Black1 and Green1 models use a three piece OTL cantilever technology, standard oxygen free wire in the coils and Grado’s specially designed elliptical diamond mounted in a brass bushing. The Green1 model is selected from the Black1 production run and meets higher test specifications. Approximately 15% of the production run will meet these standards and become Green1 models.

Joseph Grado, the founder of Grado Labs, sounds like a pretty interesting guy. He trained professionally as an opera singer. He reportedly invented the moving-coil phono cartridge, but made his mark producing cartridges of a much different basic design, at what can only be described as more-than-reasonable” prices. And only recently, in his late 70’s, did he retire from active participation in the company, turning the reins over to his Nephew John.

The Prestige (and upscale Reference) cartridges from Grado are the first released since the elder Grado’s retirement, but they mark an evolution, not dramatic change, of the classic Grado style. There are three basic levels in the Prestige lineup: Black/Green, Blue/Red, and Silver/Gold. In each of these pairings, the latter model is the same as the former, but is able to meet more astringent test specifications. The Green, for instance, is taken from the top 15% of the Black models production.

The Prestige Green is furnished with suitable mounting hardware and the unique tool required to separate stylus assembly from cartridge body. Separating the stylus assembly from the cartridge body with the tool can be tricky, so proceed with caution, lest you end up with the cartridge body in your hand and the stylus embedded in a nearby wall.

Mounting was not a major problem on the removable head to my Dual CS5000. I used the protractor that comes with the Dual and the Lyle Cartridges phono alignment tool (a good deal for $15.95). I tracked the Prestige Green at the suggested 1.5 grams.

The rest of the system has remained stable, the Dual CS5000 fed the Linn Majik-1 amplifier, which provided the moxie for the NEAR 50-me series II speakers through bi-wired 14-gauge zip cord. The Prestige Green was compared to my primary cartridge, a Joseph Grado Signature 8MZV($200), and A Shure V-15 Type V-MR($300).

Specs

Green1 & Black1: 
Frequency Response: 10-50
Principal: MI
Channel Separation at 1KHz: 30
Input Load: 47K
Output at 1KHz 5CM/sec.: 5mV
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.5
Stylus Type: E
Inductance: 45mH
Resistance: 475
Compliance CUs: 20
Stylus Replacement: U
Mounting: S/P
Weight: 5.5