An Interview With John Grado

[Covenant]

I'll join the bandwagon eagerly awaiting the interview write-up, as well as salute Zanth yet again on his awesome awesomeness

Ahh, what i wouldn't give for a nice long chat with John Grado over a cup of coffee. /me envies Zanth

[Zanth]

Okay, just about 3 am here...I'm beat. I posted. I left out only a tiny bit about cartridges, but I'll do that another day, I figured since this is Head-fi carts would not be on the top of the list of stuff to read..so I opted to include that later and get this up now. I may have missed some answers to questions I asked, I tried to write this in a way that was not Q1: A1, etc, particularly because the conversation did not go that way.

[MrXpress]

Certainly looks like a lot to read, thank you so much for your efforts in this!

[Yellowjacket]

I have only owned Sennheisers since I entered into the audiophile world...

But that interview makes me want to try some SR60's



Anyone wanna sell me a pair?

[deadlierchair]

This only makes me start itching more to get at some 325i's...

Zanth, that was well written and very clear to me throughout. I enjoyed how you were able to combine what you drew from the interview with your personal judgements that make things more accessible to readers. I'd love to hear more (hah! who wouldn't?) but take a good break after that, you definitely deserve it.

This reminds me...I've got to figure out how turntables work. I'd never feel bad giving Grado my money, especially after this.

[kramer5150]

Very interesting reading, THANKS!!

Wow!! He listens to wood block Xylophones and Ella Fitzgerald too!!! Gonna have to get myself that Clapton unplugged now.

I love how my MS2 does Xylophone tones. You can feel the mallet strike and impact, hear the wood resonance and room reverberation and feel the note as it decays. Its a beautiful thing that only a Grado can do right.

This makes me want to go out and get an RA1

[F1GTR]

Originally Posted by kramer5150

Gonna have to get myself that Clapton unplugged now.

A must have for any collection. "Alberta" gets my toes tapping everytime.

Thank you so much for the incredible read Zanth. Your time and efforts are extremely appreciated.

I've never heard any Grado phone but after reading that I'm going to have to sample the RS-1's soon. I really like his philosophy of being all about the listener/client and not cratering to big corporations like Circuit City and such. That is integrity to the nth degree and I have a massive amount of respect for that attitude. He sounds like a man that knows how to appreciate the fine things in life and the family is definitely at the top of that list.

[Covenant]

Thank you for that review, Zanth. Only heightened my respect for John and his fine work, and increased my understanding of the well-oiled machine that is Grado.

...oh, and elevated my already difficult-to-resist temptation to grab an RS-1 i can't really afford. Damn you Zanth!

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Thanks for the read Zanth. I appreciate your efforts.

Biggie.

[recstar24]

Originally Posted by kramer5150

I love how my MS2 does Xylophone tones. You can feel the mallet strike and impact, hear the wood resonance and room reverberation and feel the note as it decays. Its a beautiful thing that only a Grado can do right.

Ha, you should hear that impact, wood presence, and decay on a RS-1, now that's magic

The first time i got rs-1's, well that was one happy birthday. I marvelled at simply how magical they can sound - they are tuned to portray music in a very live-oriented manner: you feel as if you are right there. Transients are impactful and that decay is extended and sounds like you are in a concert venue. The mids are lush with vocals upfront, the bass is somewhat wooly and the highs are very smooth. Simply put, they reproduce music in a live way, how you would hear it live in concert. The HP's however reproduce music in a very studio oriented manner, very linear and clean, precise and accurate to a fault, very neutral and transparent.

Thank you Zanth for pointing out that john's approach was somewhat different, and I feel he sought to produce a sound that was fun and engaging, as if you were sitting right in the venue itself. Thank you john for creating something truly unique and special.

[Xanadu777]

Very nice piece of work and I certainly appreciate both John's and your efforts on putting this together.

While it's all very interesting and well written, I find the fact that from the sounds of it, just 2.5% or less of all HP1000's are created less than equal of much interest to me. Throws the whole HP3 quality issue out the window to me. Even if you have an HP3 it's probably an HP2, haha...

I know there was a Grado "Jr" speaker since I have a pair, but had no idea there were 5 speakers designed. I wonder how many of those designs made it to production besides the "Jr". Maybe that's more a Joe question.

An electrostatic hybrid would be the bee's knees. Not sure how it could be pulled off other than a side by side (for a true electrostat). Doing that would create some sweet soundstaging though.

It always seemed to me that John wasn't looking to get filthy rich, but providing a nice sounding product. Nice to read it confirmed too. I like the retro product line rather than the spacey looking junk some others are putting out. Keep it real and functional and keep the main cost to equate to sound quality.

I was hoping for a new top end can to replace the PS-1 and approach HP status. I'll keep hoping...

I'm honored that John doesn't mind me modding his cans, though I had heard that previously. I'm sure he knows a product can/will increase in sales when there are aftermarket options available. If the product wasn't a fine one in the first place, there wouldn't be any options, at least not from me. Grado's are my favorite cans to mod without question.

The RS-1's definitely have a magic that very few cans have ever attained.

I wasn't clear on what is built out of house, is it just the wood housings and leather or everything?

Thanks again to both Zanth and John for some fine reading and info

[Cerebral_Mamba]

Thanks, it was a great read, though I am a little dissapointed that new products are not going to be out. i was hopping tah in a years time, i could save up and be in time to grab their highest end latest offering

But NO MENTION OF ALESSANDRO.

Also, since almost every year Sennheiser is churning out new models, wouldn't not working on new products or improvements to the present line become an issue when others surpass what the Grado provides today. I mean, I am sure there were no competition to the RS1 and SR60s at their time of release, but now, the margine is steadily reducing. Hmmm. I guess i was just hoping for something new to buy.

Thanks again to Zanith and John for the interview.

[diredesire]

True thanks to both parties for allowing us the pleasure of a read. I'll burn through it tomorrow, but it's now 3:00 on the west coast, and i think i'll hit the hay. Too bad there's no mention of alessandro (assumption fromthe post above)

[Rob N]

Originally Posted by Cerebral_Mamba

Thanks, it was a great read, though I am a little dissapointed that new products are not going to be out. i was hopping tah in a years time, i could save up and be in time to grab their highest end latest offering

But NO MENTION OF ALESSANDRO.

Also, since almost every year Sennheiser is churning out new models, wouldn't not working on new products or improvements to the present line become an issue when others surpass what the Grado provides today. I mean, I am sure there were no competition to the RS1 and SR60s at their time of release, but now, the margine is steadily reducing. Hmmm. I guess i was just hoping for something new to buy.

Thanks again to Zanith and John for the interview.

Just think you'll be saving money

John obviously feels he can't improve on the sound at present.Some companies bring out new products every few months (eg MF) whereas others only bring out new products after many years (think SME who have just released their first new tonearm since 1987).

Anyway thanks for a great interview,Zanth.

[robzy]

_Amazing_ interview Zanth.

I read it while listening to Jack Johnson through my MS-1s and enjoying every single bit of them. I now appreciate these cans more than i ever have. Just to know the legacy that is behind them.

Rob.