An Interview With John Grado

[invisiblegun]

he is from New York no?

[invisiblegun]

yeah

[acp6s]

very interesting. i love my grado sr60s although i would like to see grado make some phones that were more suitable for exercise/active.

[Zanth]

Originally Posted by acp6s

very interesting. i love my grado sr60s although i would like to see grado make some phones that were more suitable for exercise/active.

iGrado

[Syler]

Very interesting and well writen(like always) review Zanth. I love Grado and maybe one day I will have interview with John him self. Is RS-1 a big improvement over 325i?

[Zanth]

Originally Posted by Syler

Very interesting and well writen(like always) review Zanth. I love Grado and maybe one day I will have interview with John him self. Is RS-1 a big improvement over 325i?

thanks for the compliments. For my tastes I personally feel the RS-1's are an improvement but I also believe they were designed with different tastes in mind. The 325i's are very snappy, in your face rockin' phones. They have very nice tight bass, a wonderful midrange (as all Grados seem to) and the highs, though less edgy than the previous version, are still very much forward sounding. For some this is a desired trait. For others they may prefer the same extension but not as forward in the highs (and well the entire sound spectrum) so one could turn to the RS-1's for this. As well, the RS-1's are warmer and richer sounding, and they exhibit a tone and timbre that no phone can supercede in my opinion. The RS-1's also offer a wider headstage, something that is very much desirable for some.

[Syler]

Hmmm sounds like my headphone!!! I really need to make my mind up between RS-1's or GS-1000 but as I like rock I think that RS-1's are cans for me because I just can't imagen GS-1000 being same as the rest!!! they are different, their drivers are far away from the ear which never happened in Grado before at this stage. I don't think that GS-1000 will put me right there in the stage....but about 3-4 rows back and THAT is not what Grado is about....but if i want to know the truth then i need to find shop where they sell them i try them on my self!!! Thanks for the answer Zanth

[Zanth]

It is true that the on-stage presence is not there with the 1000s unless of course one removes the large pads and puts on some bowls or flats. But then the spectrum gets all messy in my opinion. The GS-1000s do rock, they have solid pounding bass, its just that the presentation is disctinct from other Grados and it takes more power to get them to the same level of rocking out as the other phones.

For instance, the Ear HP4 which I use outputs 1 W. That is a heck of a lot of power for headphones, any headphone really save for the AKG K1000s. For nearly any headphone I've used, I don't go past 9 O'clock on the volume control. For GS-1000's, if I want to approach the same db I have to hit 12. Big difference in what they require then to get REALLY LOUD. But I like listening at low volumes and their finesse really shines between 9 and 10 on my amp.

[romanalexander]

I look forward to auditioning the GS-1000's someday. They look gorgeous.

[ZepFloyd]

I just got my pair of SR-80's, I decided to re-read this interview, this particular quote stands out most to me:

"John did decide to do something unique (not that he feels he is a celebrity, but felt it added a personal touch to at least the early run of phones), by signing some boxes. I have not kept up with the HF-1 threads, and perhaps he has signed more than the first 25 boxes, but the fact that he signed any of them is cool in my book and certainly others felt the same."


thats is freaking awesome, i'm new to the board, but that rules. i think i'm going to shoot grado an e-mail thanking them. it really sounds like they put the time and effort into hand crafting such amazing headphones.