Grado Statement 1


Will the new Grado Statement 1 work properly with a Hovland HP-100 phono? The MC phono on the Hovland presents a 450ohm load. I've been told that the Grado really wants a 47Kohm load?
stickman451
The Grado Statement 1 works best at 47K ohm.
The Hovland HP-100 could originally be fitted optionally with either the MM or MC phono stage, not both. You have the MC phono stage installed which loads at 450 ohm, which Hovland thought was ideal for most MC cartridges. If available, you could install the Hovland MM phono stage, or use an outboard MM phono stage capable of loading at 47K ohms through the AUX input. However, the Hovland MM phono stage loads at 1 megaohm, not 47K ohms. Not sure how that would sound with the Statement 1.
Jazzgene, are you able to load your Statement at 450? What differences vs 47k do you hear?
I tried it at 100, 200, 1k, and 47k. For me, 47k sounded the best. Air and detail was better and the lower loading seemed to put a veil to the sound. 1k was okay but I still preferred 47k.
Stickman451 - The Grado Statement is a fantastic cartridge designed to sound best at 47K. Anything else will detract from its magic. There's no way around it unless you are willing to accept less.
It sure is. I had tried Benz, Nagaoka, and Koetsu before. I really enjoy the Statement1. I just went over to Grado in Brooklyn one afternoon and picked it up.