Account
Make the record
Listen to the record
Where to start
A Meze Empyrean II resting on a turntable beside a spinning record with an orange label, its silver cable across the plinth

Everything in the shop

Headphones, records, cables and recording gear, on one page.
Close up of the black ribbed cup of a Meze headphone, lit low from one side

The condition scale

One standard for used headphones, instruments, amps and drums.
Read
How we work
Come in
Close up of the brass yoke against the walnut cup of a Meze 99 Classics

How we listen

What we listen for, and what a measurement will not tell you.
A Meze Empyrean II lying on crumpled black fabric, lit from one side, its cable running out of the frame

The listening room

Third floor at 215 E. Lewis Street in Livingston, by appointment.
Headphones
Amps, DACs and in ears
The Best Headphones Around $300

The HD 600 or the HD 650 is the whole question at this money.
The Best Desktop Amps and DACs Around $150

Five desktop amps and DACs around $150.

Cart

Your cart is empty

Continue shopping

Where to start

Buying guidesHeadphonesAmps & DACsCustom headphone cablesGradoMeze AudioGrace DesignRecords
Grado Opus4, pale maple wood body with the GRADO logo engraved on the front, seen from below
Grado

Grado Opus4

Price$300.00

Grado's moving iron in an American maple body, in high output for a moving magnet input or low output for a moving coil one.

Output: High output (4.0 mV)
Ordered from the maker when you order, then shipped usually inside two weeks and always inside thirty days. Shipping
Thirty days from delivery to send it back. Returns
Specifications
  • Type Moving iron, flux-bridger
  • Body American maple
  • Cantilever Aluminium
  • Stylus Bonded elliptical
  • Output High 4.0 mV or low 1.0 mV, stereo
  • Load 10k to 47k ohms
  • Coil wire 5N OCC copper
  • Tracking force 1.6 to 1.9 g
  • Weight 8.3 g
  • Series Timbre
Why it is here

The Opus4 is where Grado's bodies turn to wood: American maple, cut as a plain block with the Grado logo engraved on the front. It uses the same type of diamond and cantilever as the Gold4, a bonded elliptical on aluminium, and adds a choice of output, high at 4.0 mV or low at 1.0 mV.

It's heavier than a Prestige, 8.3 grams against 6, so check that your arm can balance it. It's also the only Timbre cartridge in the square-edged body. From the Platinum4 up, Grado reshapes the housing, which it says gives you a clearer view of the cantilever while you align it.

There's no P-mount Opus4, and Grado lists no stylus you can replace yourself for its wood-body cartridges. If you need either, the Gold4 has both.
How it is built

American maple body. Bonded elliptical diamond on an aluminium cantilever, 5N OCC copper coils, 8.3 grams.
What it is for

High output (4.0 mV) plugs into an ordinary moving magnet phono input. Low output (1.0 mV) needs a phono stage with moving coil gain, set to 10k to 47k ohms rather than the low load a moving coil usually gets. Either way, your arm has to balance 8.3 grams. Not sure what your phono stage is? Tell us the model.
Grado Opus4, pale maple wood body with the GRADO logo engraved on the front, seen from below
Grado Opus4High output (4.0 mV) Price$300.00
Before you buy
How I Listen, and What a Measurement Will Not Tell You

How I listen

A Grado headphone with cherry wood cups and a tan leather strap hanging on a curved cherry Grado stand against a pale concrete wall

The buying guides

A woman in a grey knit sweater listening on wood-cup Grado headphones, eyes closed and one hand raised to the cup, in a dark room

FAQ

Headphones on a pale wood desk striped with bars of afternoon sun, the cable coiled beside them

Shipping

A woman on a brown leather couch listening on Grado headphones, eyes closed and one hand behind her head, two stacked wood-cased amplifier units lit up on the table behind her

Returns

Jamey Warren waving hello in a recording studio

Can you help me choose?

Yes. Email us directly. The person answering has been in professional audio since 1997.

Email us