Grado MI Sonata4

The Grado Sonata4 is a high-end moving iron (MI) phono cartridge part of Grado Labs' Timbre Series. Handcrafted in Brooklyn, New York, it sits near the sweet spot of Grado's mid-to-upper-tier wood-body lineup.

It uses Grado's patented Flux-Bridger moving iron operating principle, which provides low moving mass (like a moving coil design) while maintaining high generator stability.

Standout Features & Design

• Mediterranean Olive Wood Body: The wood body undergoes a special thermal aging process to optimize dampening and tame unwanted internal resonances, imparting Grado's signature warm, organic tonal balance.

• Nude Elliptical Stylus Step-Up: Unlike the lower-tier Platinum4 (which uses a bonded stylus), the Sonata4 upgrades to a nude elliptical diamond. This reduces tip mass, yielding significantly improved detail retrieval, transient response, and tracking precision in complex inner grooves.

• High vs. Low Output Configurations:

  • • High Output (4.0mV): Connects directly into standard Moving Magnet (MM) phono preamps.

    • Low Output (1.0mV): Reduces internal coil turns for even lower moving mass and lower noise, designed for phono stages with flexible gain options or high-gain MM inputs.

• Reshaped Body: The Sonata4 body housing features a revised shape over previous generations to make the cantilever more visible during installation, making tonearm alignment easier.