Analog Corner

For the Lineage Epoch, Grado specifies an output of 1.0mV; a frequency response of 5Hz–75kHz; average channel separation of 33dB, 10Hz–30kHz; inductance of 8mH; resistance of 90 ohms; and a mass of 12gm. The recommended vertical tracking force (VTF) is 1.5–1.9gm.

One issue that must be addressed with a low-output MI that produces the flattest measured response when loaded at 47k ohms is the choice of phono preamplifier. If your phono preamp offers only low impedances for its MC input(s), you're probably out of luck—or at least you won't maximize the Epoch's performance. That's also probably true if your MC input is transformer-coupled, depending on what resistive load the cartridge would "see." You could try the Epoch into the MM input of your phono preamp (if it has one), but with this cartridge's 1.0mV output, chances are good that you'll have a problem with noise with the 40–45dB of gain offered by most MM preamps.

In any case, I'm once more glad that I withdrew a hefty amount from my retirement fund to buy the CH Precision P1/X1 ($48,000, combined). It's the perfect phono preamplifier (though not the only one) to use with this ultra-high-performance cartridge.

In the Reed 3P tonearm, the Epoch tracked best at 1.8gm. I measured 30dB of separation with a difference of 0.5dB between channels with the cantilever's azimuth just a sliver to one side of perpendicularity. The stylus rake angle (SRA) was 92° with the 3P slightly below parallel to the record surface. In other words, you get the build integrity and measured performance you should get for your $12,000.

The Epoch's cantilever is tucked way back in its cocobolo body. This means that the cantilever and stylus are well protected against mishaps but it also makes alignment tricky, particularly zenith angle.

Sound
I hadn't listened to a premium Grado cartridge in a long time. My 1999 comment quoted at the beginning of this column might have been the last thing I'd written about one. While the Grados of that era were tonally neutral, smooth, and worthy of respect—and, like the Shure V15xMR, tracked really well compared to their MC contemporaries—they were kind of boring.

The Grado Lineage Epoch was the opposite of boring. Fresh out of the box, its sound was close to "Wow!" After proper setup and about 50 hours' worth of break-in, it was "Wow!"

The Epoch thrived in the smooth- and somewhat rich-sounding Reed 3P arm, but really came alive and into ideal focus in Graham Engineering's new Phantom III tonearm.

First, the Epoch took the tracking of grooves to new levels of quiet. It glided silently and smoothly through the groove like no other cartridge I've heard—as if every record I played had been treated with Gruv Glide or some other dry lubricant. The Epoch sailed through the "Tracking ability" bands of the recently reissued Ortofon Test Record, which contain a 315Hz test signal recorded at increasing peak amplitudes, up to lateral modulations of 100µm.

Better yet, what emerged from the "black" void combined what sounded to me like a smooth, flat frequency response with exceptional transparency—the kind of nonmechanical sound you hear from strain-gauge and optical cartridges.

The Epoch's reproduction of transients was nearly ideal. It avoided the overly soft, burnished attacks and polite upper frequencies some cartridges produce in the service of "easy" listening and romanticized versions of what music actually sounds like. At the same time, it completely dispensed with unnaturally hard edges, mechanical brittleness, and high-frequency bleach.

The Epoch's bottom end was full-bodied, very well controlled, and free of romantic midbass bloat. Its starting and stopping abilities in the low end were among its most impressive qualities, and helped produce its quiet backgrounds. Yet the bass was not overdamped.

With the 30dB, ±0.5dB of channel separation I measured, you might expect a wide, deep soundstage, and that's what I heard. On those stages were solid, well-focused images of natural specificity. I just wanted to lean into those pictures to take it all in.

What the Epoch did in decoding Cécile McLorin Salvant's absolutely superb Dreams and Daggers (3 LPs, Mack Avenue MAC 1120LP), mostly recorded live at the Village Vanguard, was nothing short of hair-raising and astonishing. This album was engineered last September by ValveTone (aka Damon Whittemore) and Todd Whitelock, both of whom have impressive résumés (for ValveTone's, see www.valvetone.com). It puts the listener pretty close to the stage. Salvant's trio—pianist Aaron Diehl, double bassist Paul Sikivie, and drummer Lawrence Leathers—are respectively arrayed at the left, center, and right of the stage.

This warm, intimate recording is destined to be a classic, like the two famous Bill Evans sets recorded at the Vanguard almost 60 years ago. What the Lineage Epoch did with it was magical in every respect: tonally, spatially, dynamically, however you want to judge it. The sassy, exuberant Salvant began to sing, and she was right there in 3D, as solidly placed in front of the trio and as believable as any live recording I've ever heard. The textures of her voice were silky and natural. The ambience of the club seemed to envelop and surround her, as if heard live. Her sibilants sounded natural, 100% nonmechanical. The double bass's attack, sustain, and decay just sounded right—no need to analyze. If the drums were a bit warmer than live, so what? The rest was so convincing and nonmechanical that I could sit back and feel as if I were at the show.

Dreams and Daggers, mastered for vinyl by Kevin Gray from high-resolution digital files and pressed at RTI, is so good it might sound as convincing played through a Crosley Cruiser, for at least one play. Okay, that's hyperbole.

Playing this album with the Lyra Etna SL ($9995) or Atlas SL ($12,995) provided somewhat different but equally convincing tonal and spatial perspectives. It was like the difference between the CH Precision P1 ($31,000) and, say, the Audio Research Reference Phono 3 ($14,000, footnote 4). The Etna through the Phono 3 probably would sound similar to the Epoch through the CH Precision. I don't think I'd like the Epoch into the Ref 3. Too rich! But your experience, system, and taste might make that combo just right.

My point is one I always try to make to people who wonder why anyone would want to hear vinyl pressings of digital masters: It's your system, and what's "right" really is how you wish to hear it. However, given the option to have both approaches, I'd go with the Epoch for classical and jazz, though it was more than great with The Clash (CBS 82000) and Eric Clapton's Unplugged (2 LPs, Reprise 468412-1). For rock, percussion, and bluegrass—and particularly the midbass, where kick drums reside—I'd go for the somewhat leaner, faster, more dynamic Etna SL or Atlas SL. But again, the Salvant album was convincing and thrilling through the Lyras.

Conclusions
There is no perfect cartridge or loudspeaker or anything else in audio—not even a DAC. While Grado Labs' very costly Lineage Epoch doesn't give you everything (you can get better overall dynamic slam and greater bass dynamics, for instance, from a few other cartridges), it is a dazzling- and exceptional-sounding performer that also measures well. Its overall musical balance is as knowing, sophisticated, and musically involving as that of any cartridge I've heard.

The Epoch did things I hadn't heard any cartridge do, especially in terms of how smoothly and quietly it tracked the groove, its remarkable freedom from mechanical artifacts, and a harmonic and textural richness laid on without too thick a coating of aural honey. It had enough bite to make brass convincing, cymbals sizzle, and air abundant, where appropriate.

The Lineage Epoch is obviously a labor of love for John Grado. If you want it, you'll pay dearly for it. Here's hoping that the Lineage Aeon, to arrive in the next few months, will be able to produce 75% to 80% of the Epoch's greatness at half the price. But for now, install the Epoch in the right system, put on an LP of the right music, sit down . . . and you're done.

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Footnote 4: See my review in the January 2017 "Analog Corner."