I have a Nagaoka MP-50 set up with a VPI Aries 3. I really enjoy this cartridge. I went from a Grado Sonata. I really liked the Sonata and will receive my Statement 1 this coming week. |
I just bought Grado's The Statement. It is mounted on a Linn table. I really like the sound on Magnepan 3.6s and on B&W 801s(older ones). I have not tried the other cartridge and I am going to spend more on one. |
Hi Darkmoebius,
I have the Phantom II with the DV1s already loaded and a spare titanium arm wand if you'd like me to do the comparison?
Are you in Australia like I am as I don't want to pay for shipping abroard?
Regards
Henry |
Hi Halcro. Unfortunately, I'm in the good old USA. Los Angeles, California to be exact. I cannot understand why there as only been one review of this cart in the last 5 years. Luckily, Robert Levi perfectly sums up it's qualities and compares it to the Dynavector XV-1s, ZYX Airy 3, and Koetsu Rosewood Signature in Positive Feedback Issue 44: With ground breaking lifelike imaging, state of the art precision and grainlessness, and flawless tracking at only 1.6 grams, the truly outstanding and unique Statement1 is a Grado cartridge like no other that has come before...
This isn't just reconstituted master tape sound like some makes claim. The Statement 1 produces a dynamic energy within the imaging that creates musical space in both the front and back of the instrumental image on quality LPs. It starts out as a vividness that's really quite nice as the cartridge breaks in. Then the magic happens at about 50 hours. Any sense of grain vanishes and you hear this expansion of the sound field accompanied by extraordinary definition. You are drawn into the music with an emotional connection rarely heard in any other medium other than really great LP.
I have heard bits and pieces of this kind of enthralling organic imaging with my gray Decca Select cartridge in 1978 and my current Koetsu Rosewood Signature. The Dynavector XV-1S has the purity and some of the energy of the Statement 1, but none of these have quite the excitement and holographic imaging I'm hearing from the Grado. One of my audiophile brethren commented that it was like listening in 3-D!...
The Highs
The airy ambient top end of the Statement 1 is thrilling and so very open. The best part is that the musical ambience makes sense. There is no stray reverberant sound that does not belong to an instrument. LP after LP confirmed that what I thought was over dub sweetening was really hall or instrumental ambience unaccounted for by another cartridge. The Statement reunified and reorganized the sound field into an organic whole. Vocals and acoustic instruments made more sense and sounded more like they were in the room. I consider this a break-through in the performance of LP cartridges. Much of these qualities are present in the Koetsu and Dynavector, but not to the extent of the Grado. Amazing!
The Mids
This is where the music lives and breathes. Just wait until you hear the Statement 1 play your Sheffield LP masterpieces. Direct to disk is a case of the best keeps getting better. Instruments, horns of all kinds, project into the room. The sense of depth is as good as it gets with the clarity of the images at the back wall as clear as those at the front of the stage. Your speakers no longer create any boundary for the sound to cross. Yes, I checked the phasing of the cartridge. The affect is most exciting and involving. Layers of violins are enhanced and right to left spread is full and wide in dynamic energy. The Statement1 is fuller and fleshier than any other cartridge I have heard with snap as fast as my lightening quick [but lean] ZYX Airy 3. Even my wonderful Koetsu Rosewood Signature is somewhat less organic than the new Grado. No Grado has ever sounded like this before. Must be the gold wire. The Statement1 is also the best tracking Grado ever!
The Bass
This has always been a strong suit of the Grado, but the Statement 1 takes the bass response to a new place. The solidity and textural nuance of the bass is equal to any moving coil. It's certainly ground-breaking for a Grado and it enhances the enjoyment of the state of the art mids and highs. Kick drum and bass fiddle are separated and nuanced. This is killer bass for phono and very organic, too. The projection of the bass into the room is just stunning and ambience retrieval in the bottom octaves is most exciting. The bass fully matches and compliments the fabulous mids. There is no disconnect or lumpiness at any frequency and my reference system is fairly flat from 22Hz to 45kHz.
The believable sonic images and the superb pacing of the Statement 1 set this cartridge apart from the competition. Its $3000 price is steep, but much, much lower than its European and Japanese competition since it's made in America. I am overwhelmed by the Decca-like dynamics, the Dynavector-like delicacy and purity, the ZYX-like speed, snap, and tracking ability, and the Koetsu-like textural layering. It all adds up to something new and thrilling for phono playback... He really nails my impressions of The Statement. I used the Zyx R-100 FS(Silver) in my system on my Scheu Premier turntable w/ 80mm platter using Scheu's top of the line Tacco tonearm for a short time. The Zyx was refined, delicate, and fast, but lacked the full body and impact of the Grado(which has those other traits, too) in that setup. Of course, this is all a matter of personal taste. Some prefer Rieslings or Pinots over Cabs, Flemish masters over Caravaggio, Audry Hepburn over Sofia Loren. I am definitely of the latter camp. |
Just to throw another stick into the water, but I moved from a Grado Platinum to a DV 20X-H to a DV XX-1 and now have a Transfiguration Temper. There's more similarities than differences between the Dynavectors and Transfiguration. If you like the DV sound then you could check out these as well. the Grado's are going to sound very different overall. |
