Is Grado evolving too slowly? - Page 9

Quote:

Originally Posted by wind016 

Honestly, those wooden boxes are bad a**. THAT is how I think high end Grado headphones should be presented. THAT looks like a product made by a family doing what they love for music lovers listening to what they love. So what do they decide to present them with? Pathetic paper in the form of the cheapest design possible. Careful not to rip it. I'm surprised if it wasn't recycled. If that's really all what Grado thinks they deserve, then I really shouldn't care about them either. Even I think they deserve more. They don't HAVE to have to best R&D in the world, but they don't even act like they give a dam.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wind016 

I don't understand why he can't give a case. Is it really that difficult of a demand that he'd have to sacrifice his family life to seek out cases for headphones that barely have any turnover?

Speaking of pathetic...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick01 

The paperbox is extremely functional. And those who keep whining have missed the point. They only want the wooden box so that they can show it off to their friends: "ooohhh....mine came in a wooden case!!! ooohhh" ....how lame!!!

I can put my PS1000 into the box made from "pathetic paper in the form of the cheapest design possible", and toss it the trunk of my car, or my suitcase and take it flights after flights around the world. Why don't you try doing the same with the Denon D7000, HD800 or LCD2?

 

Agree 100%. These fancy boxes and packaging just add to the cost and have nothing to do with the sound of the headphones. When people buy a new car, do they expect it to be delivered to them in a fancy garage?

Honestly, the some of the posts (or is it posters?) are getting more and more ridiculous every day. The level of whining and sense of entitlement eclipses that of a Hollywood starlet.

Goes back to a few threads - posts verging on absurdity beyond words claiming that

aesthetics and ergonomics are as important as sound quality.

Then we are all surprised when another big wig company gives the community

more trinkets and little sonic innovation regarding their latest model.

No surprises.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrin 

Well OK. But the prettier wood of the semi-vintage era is a big deal though.

Those are actually from the very first generation super vintage RS1. They are better looking than a plain pizza box but otherwise serve the same purpose( storage; travel....)

Now I am feeling guilty for bringing even more attention to the bloody wooden boxes.. I certainly don;t think they should become the centre of yet more Grado bashing. . The pizza boxes do the job well, must better than most other headphone boxes.
 

 You definitely pay more for a wooden box. If you really need the satisfaction, then sure, but be willing to pay 50-100 more, for either no, or little increase in functionality. I personally buy headphones for functionality rather than appearance, because what's the point of a good-looking headphone if it doesn't sound good? (cue, beats by dre.) As much as that nice wooden box is a nice finishing touch, it's not practical for keeping down costs, and wood can very easily snap, skewer or break/chip. You would be mad if your nice wooden box chipped, but if you're cardboard pizza box was damaged, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. Cardboard= more practical.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

Goes back to a few threads - posts verging on absurdity beyond words claiming that

aesthetics and ergonomics are as important as sound quality.

 

Then we are all surprised when another big wig company gives the community

more trinkets and little sonic innovation regarding their latest model.

 

No surprises.

Yeah I find the lack of wooden boxes argument pretty silly. If Grado included wooden boxes, they'd have to increase the price of the headphones to compensate, or cut into the cost of making the headphone. Honestly I don't really care about packaging and would rather have as much of my money go towards making the headphones and not on accessories.

Plus, the pizza boxes are awesome. Yeah, my other phones have come in nicer boxes but those are ultimately harder to open and store headphones in, whereas with the pizza boxes you can just flip the lid to access the foam. And they work great for stacking vertically in bookshelves to occupy less space.

akg has only cardboard...

...

grado

lots of foam!

The LCD's is more than a wooden case. Its a wooden "presentation" case, as witnessed by the retarded looking satin material in its padding. As far as I'm concerned that would be a deal breaker, because these are headphones, not heirlooms. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode 

The LCD's is more than a wooden case. Its a wooden "presentation" case, as witnessed by the retarded looking satin material in its padding. As far as I'm concerned that would be a deal breaker, because these are headphones, not heirlooms. 

 

 

At those prices it could be argued otherwise.  Personally I wish that these companys offered headphones without the box at lower costs.  I tend to keep my headphones outside of the its packaging for easy of use.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

 

@Vonx

 

 I already had my Grados a long time before I came here in the first place.

 

 Well, you certainly have strong non sensical opinions for a guy who has

 such low end gear.

 

 

Naw, I just like to make umad :)

Btw, owning and hearing are also two different things.

And it isn't my life goal to come on Head-Fi and update my headphone listing for some bored hobby junkies to come and stalk me lol

@maconhel

Brilliant point ~ At least the AKG K701 comes with a little plastic stand though for the trinket lovers.

The K601 comes with no stand, no foam ~ nothing really! Just a warranty card and a folded piece of cardboard

inside the box ~ that's it. Never heard anyone complain that AKG are being tight on that front.

Doubt the Quincy Q701 series comes with an autographed photo or a signed copy of 'Thriller'.

Well, it's not $1000 or $1600. Who am I to say anyways? All my headphones are bought used without any cases. Still, not really my point. You get it or you don't. Or just don't care. Whatever floats your boat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maconhel 

akg has only cardboard...

 

 

...

 

grado

 

 

lots of foam!

If I'm not mistaken, that's the box of the PS1000...so what happened to the actual headphones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by maconhel 

akg has only cardboard...

 

 

...

 

grado

 

 

lots of foam!

You don't remember the wooden case the K1000s came in do you?  And consider what the MSRP was on those back in the day...

The following statements are all in my opinion and some of the framing I add as to how ludicrous Grado's position is is contingent upon opinions (maybe consensus but more likely not) and nothing else:

I'm not a particularly rapid K701 fanboy, but I agree with someone else's comment that no current production Grado is better than a K701 (I'm extrapolating the GS1000 from my experiences with PS1000, RS2 from experience with RS1.)

The argument about Grado opening up a price point is and isn't true.  They shattered the price barrier for dynamic flagships (over 990, K701, 600/650 etc, not including limited edition ATs.)  But they broke the mold for pricing, not quality in my opinion.  

I personally don't mind packaging, but the analogy to a fancy car coming in a fancy garage is of course fallacious and (I can only assume) facetious.  Packaged goods come in packages.  Cars do not typically come in garages.  

Part of being a flagship audio product is the illusion of luxury.  Not buying into that illusion is tantamount to saying 'its all about the sound, don't be caught up in external trappings.'  But when all the other companies sell cheaper (even senn doesn't stiff arm dealers like Grado) with nicer packaging and better (flame here - its just some guy on the internets opinion) sound, thats when Grado's precarious house of cards folds like Abe Lincoln with a rough hand in a poker game.  

One word to describe Grado in my book - Complacency

a company like Audeze, constantly tweaking and researching better drivers, angles, materials, etc? - Hungry

Complacency leads to Stagnation leads to Latency leads to Irrelevance.  

I call it like I see (and hear) it.  Society's fascination with the underdog causes it to make some mighty odd rationalizations...

@Radiohead

Sennheiser Australia is certainly an arm breaker. If you as a retailer decide to sell the HD800, the demo unit in your store does not belong to you,

- once you secure a sale via the customer's decision on the demo unit - one will be delivered to you whereby you will receive a commission

of about $100 for the $2000 retail price. The same price as when it hit our shores in 2009.

If you attempt to discount, you will be banned from further sales even if you're prepared to carry the loss.

I think what Audeze is doing is great, especially for a start-up company that is only now starting to bring on investors

- as evidenced by their somewhat rapid expansion in mini mag speakers and the new LCD-3.

However, I am still at a loss at how people bag out the $2600AUD PS-1000 when the LCD-3 will land on our shores

for $2800AUD.

Hungry? Yep for cash. They better be good.

I don't know about the international market, but in the US you can routinely find even the HD800 (which is the one they really 'enforce' MSRP on) from authorized dealers for 2-300 dollars off.  Grado is never below MSRP on the RS1, GS1000 or PS1000 unless they are selling their last unit and need to get rid of inventory.  I recently had an experience with a fairly popular headphone website where I used their coupon code to get an RS1 20% off.  The company contacted me and rescinded the deal.  When I implored them to honor their commitment, they responded that if Grado found out they sold even one headphone at a discount like that, then they could no longer carry the grado line.  Anecdotal evidence reigns supreme!

(most of the parentheses in my previous post were immaterial to my point - they were little flourishes that would twist the nail, but the point is driven home none the less.)