Grado The Reference4 Hi-Fi Cartridge

Grado Reference4 Phono Cartridge — Top of the Timbre Series

The Grado Reference4 phono cartridge is the top model in Grado's Timbre Series of wood-body cartridges, representing the highest level of performance within that lineup. Built on the company's patented moving iron flux-bridger generator, this cartridge combines the transient speed and detail retrieval of moving coil designs with the higher output and simpler loading requirements of moving magnet cartridges. The Reference4 is available in high-output (4.0mV), low-output (1.0mV), and mono configurations to match a wide range of phono stages and listening preferences.

What Sets the Reference4 Apart in the Timbre Lineup

The defining upgrade over the Master4 below it is the nude Shibata diamond stylus — the most advanced stylus profile in the Timbre Series and the same profile used in Grado's flagship Lineage Series. The Shibata profile was originally developed for quadraphonic playback in the 1970s, and its narrow, elongated contact patch makes finer groove wall contact than an elliptical stylus. Combined with cryogenic treatment of the stylus assembly and internal body damping, the Reference4 delivers a lowered noise floor and improved channel separation across the frequency range.

Technical Specifications — Built for Precision Groove Reading

The Reference4's specifications reflect its position as the most resolved cartridge in the Timbre Series. The 10 Hz–60 kHz frequency response and 20 μm/mN compliance place it in medium-compliance territory, pairing comfortably with most modern tonearms.

• Body: American Osage wood — one of North America's densest hardwoods, providing natural acoustic damping for the generator assembly.
• Stylus: Nude Shibata diamond — mounted directly to the cantilever without an intermediate shank for faster, more accurate response.
• Cantilever: Machined boron — the stiffest and lightest cantilever material in the Timbre Series, pushing resonant frequency well above the audible range.
• Output (High): 4.0 mV @ 5 CMV (45°) — compatible with any standard MM phono input at 47kΩ, no step-up transformer required.
• Tracking Force: 1.6–1.9 g.
• Cartridge Weight: 9.6 g — pairs with medium-mass tonearms.

Who the Reference4 Is For

The Grado Reference4 is the right choice for vinyl listeners who want the highest level of resolution within the Timbre Series and who already own a quality phono stage capable of revealing its detail. The high-output version at 4.0mV works with any standard moving magnet phono input at 47kΩ, making it accessible to systems without MC gain. The low-output version suits phono stages with MC capability and offers a simpler coil path with lower inductance. Mono configurations are available for collectors with significant mono LP collections, where true mono generators eliminate vertical groove noise that stereo pickups reproduce as rumble.

Grado Labs — Hand-Built in Brooklyn Since 1953

Grado Labs has been making phono cartridges by hand in Brooklyn, New York since 1953. The company remains family-owned, with every cartridge assembled and voiced at the Sunset Park facility where Joseph Grado first began his work over seven decades ago. The patented flux-bridger moving iron generator — refined across decades of cartridge design — delivers the speed and detail of moving coil designs while maintaining the higher output and simpler loading of moving magnet cartridges.