An Interview With John Grado - Page 13

Boodi, What I meant was all the good stuff, meaning the PS-1 details, the remarks about the pads adn the HP-1000 lore has already been posted, what remains is primarily about the carts, the inclusion about the Allesandro stuff and maybe some clarification on things since I wrote this over two days and both times late at night. I didn't edit, I just went with it and figured I could edit later.

Regarding custom phones for Head-fi. I don't know if this is a possibility in the least. When I mentioned 200-250 of the PS-1's were made or are going to be made total, I'm not certain if this was the original maximum number or what is turning out to be the total number. It was once mentioned that as long as there was sufficient demand, Grado would build them. Perhaps then, the anticipated sales was larger than what it turned out to be? If so, and 200-250 are tops, then it may not have been worthwhile (complete speculation on my part). I don't know if John would go through the hassle of doing a custom Head-fi phone. However, if that ever were to happen it would be pretty cool. Yet, does anyone realize how much bickering would come of it? Some would want the PS-1's but cheaper and with a Head-fi logo, others would want an HP-1000 type phone, others would want a PS-1 driver in an Rs-1 body, others would want something totally different. It would be utter insanity. With the German distributor there was one guy and John. German guys says I want X and John builds X. Trying to come to a concensus on these boards is nearly impossible

I don't know what part you don't understand? Imported goods are more expensive than their domestic counterparts. Imported goods are cheaper in their originating country. In order to protect dealers, distribution networks need to be controled, and they are, through binding contracts. Each distributor is able to sell to their respective zone, which happens to be by country in most cases. The US is fortunate in that they are able to purchase directly from Grado Labs. This cuts out a middle man. The price then is cheaper. Grado sells the phones to the distributors of other countries at a lower price than he sells to the dealers in the US. He makes less money with the international sales. If for example, Tyll sold via the internet to folks in Germany, the German distributor is cut out of the equation as are the potential German dealers. If the German dealers feel they can't compete with online sales from US dealers who get their phones at a better price, then they will stop carrying the Grado line. This means fewer people will have access to Grado products through those stores. Grado has built up its business around "brink and mortar" stores, not online sales outlets, and out of appreciation to them, John insists on protecting them. This also means that the industry has a greater respect for Grado products and they will then likely more readily want to sell his products.

Do Americans order BMW's online and have them shipped over at a cheaper price? No...and the reasons are more complicated due to shipping costs...but in the end, BMW's ARE pricier here because of the extra costs in shipping, distribution, storage etc. Same with the phones. They leave Grado and are shipping overseas, are stored at a distribution warehouse, then shipped to dealers and stored at dealers' shops and warehouses.

Shipping costs
Distributor takes his cut which also includes his storage costs
Dealer takes his cut which also includes his storage costs

The end result? The consumer pays more.

Because I own the HP-1, RS-1 and PS-1, I too would likely have a good time with an RS-1 with PS-1 drivers in there with the new dampening techniques etc. I mean, why not? I love switching up as it is.

What has really struck me is how I am enjoying the Alessandro MS-Pro's I have on loan at the moment (thanks Ken!). Though I would personally take the RS-1's over the MS-Pro's, there are times I do enjoy their slightly more linear sound. It is very slight relatively speaking, but not so slight within the line.

I'm always interested in listening to new phones, no matter what the company, but when my favourite company puts out a new phone, I am nigh desperate to have a listen