I went through this too, with the same combination as you.
I had trouble getting the Grado Sonata to sound very good with the VPI arm. Eventually I got a VPI head weight (from Musical Surroundings, I think) which gave me the best sound. The Grado has a rich midrange, and sounded fairly tubby with the EAR phono stage I had. When I switched to a Benz Lukaschek PP-1 phono stage, I thought the combo was really quite nice. The Lukaschek is crystal clear and fast, and really helped me appreciate the Sonata. Although it is designed for low output MC cartridges (why I bought it), it actually sounded great with the Sonata.
Eventually I wore out the Grado and moved on to a Shelter 501-II, which had some definite advantages (clarity & extension) over the Grado, but didn't have quite the same sense of drive. Again, I needed the head weight to get a cartridge/arm resonance that was workable and would track records well. I've been running that quite happily for a couple of years. The Shelter needs a re-tip now, so I'm exploring other options.
Earlier this week, I bought a Dynavector 20xL, which I haven't yet received. Said to be a great match with the VPI. We'll see.
Hope you find a solution that works for you. Anyway, I'd recommend the head weight (maybe $20?) and the PP-1 phono stage which you can find at $5-600. I sold mine when I got an Aesthetix Rhea phono stage, but that's another story.
I had trouble getting the Grado Sonata to sound very good with the VPI arm. Eventually I got a VPI head weight (from Musical Surroundings, I think) which gave me the best sound. The Grado has a rich midrange, and sounded fairly tubby with the EAR phono stage I had. When I switched to a Benz Lukaschek PP-1 phono stage, I thought the combo was really quite nice. The Lukaschek is crystal clear and fast, and really helped me appreciate the Sonata. Although it is designed for low output MC cartridges (why I bought it), it actually sounded great with the Sonata.
Eventually I wore out the Grado and moved on to a Shelter 501-II, which had some definite advantages (clarity & extension) over the Grado, but didn't have quite the same sense of drive. Again, I needed the head weight to get a cartridge/arm resonance that was workable and would track records well. I've been running that quite happily for a couple of years. The Shelter needs a re-tip now, so I'm exploring other options.
Earlier this week, I bought a Dynavector 20xL, which I haven't yet received. Said to be a great match with the VPI. We'll see.
Hope you find a solution that works for you. Anyway, I'd recommend the head weight (maybe $20?) and the PP-1 phono stage which you can find at $5-600. I sold mine when I got an Aesthetix Rhea phono stage, but that's another story.