[Nocturnal310]

i always pictured grado as a small factory because the cater to a niche market.


and man..if u think this is dirty or congested..u havent seen China factories..where humans work like animals


now i wud love to see pics of Sennheiser factory.

 

[HiFi1972]

Hey man, I totally get where the negative comments are coming from. It's like at 5-star French restaurant, they usually keep the Mexicans out of sight. Sadly, there are people who would get bugged out if they didn't think the whole joint was operated by people of French descent!

I'm gonna go and buy some Grados now, thank goodness they're still being made here in the U.S. and the fact that they employ some Mexicans (or hispanics if you wanna call them that, or even "amateur-looking" if you still want to keep the P.C. thing going) does not bother me at all (hopefully they're legal, something tells me Grado is going to have a visit by the INS pretty soon!)

 

[Dysnomia]

I would love to see pics of all headphone making factories

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif From Grado, such expensive gear, I did not expect to see those particular workers working there, if they have training outside of Grado, doesn't have to be College, at least a good vocational school with some sort of apprentice program.

how do you know that they dont have the training you stereotype them not to have? Except for doctors, lawyers, mechanics and engineers it is not common for people to hang their degrees above their desks.
Quote:

I expect the machines area kept immaculately clean, the workbench again, organized and clean, no cardboard boxes, headphone and amp parts not piled up on top of each other everywhere.

its really not that different from any other large scale manufacturing place.

My local machine shop has a few $250K CNC mills that have fubar'd paint. I asked the owner why he dosnt get them repainted (cause im an idiot) and he said they dont need paint to turn out parts to 0.00001" tolerances, and shutting his shop for 2 days to paint everything costs him a few bills...
like I said, im an idiot, but I had to ask about something that didnt matter....
Quote:

Find something else other than card boards.

why?
They serve the function of holding the parts perfectly until they can be assembled.
Quote:

I just won't buy a Grado headphone because of the factory they are manufactured.

you should tour a few small speaker builder's factory's
Quote:

I've always thought Grado headphones looked like DIY project rather than a professional, commercial product.

seriously?
CNC machined wood, and injection molded parts? When is the last time you saw a DIY project that used injection molded parts?
Quote:

I much prefer if a headphone was made in a high tech factory where the only significant human element is in quality control to test each product, matching drivers, build quality and etc than Grado.

ironically, the only headphones built this way, with virtually no human interaction save at the last steps of blisterpacking are mass produced earbuds and similar headsets.
Quote:

There is a reason why my Audio Technica's can be heaved across the room and look awesome after, and Grados will break.

the plastic ends of the headbands on audio-technicas break just as quickly. arguably more, because the headphones weigh more..

 

[poundsign]

To me it looks like a well lit, well organized manufacturing center. Things to point out the new CNC controller on the CNC machine. Those Bridgeport mill machines look like that new from the factory and last forever. A skilled person can make something to .0001 inch tolerances on one. The work spaces were small but looked well organized with things neatly stacked.

Remember it's it New York, not Ohio, of course the workers are Hispanic. Just check out the Yankee's lineup how many Hispanics are on that crew?

And it's nice they let them listen to music at work.

Once again too many people commenting on things they don't know anything about

 

[tintin47]

@mbd2884:
You seriously need to visit any other manufacturer of audiophile products. Pretty much every amp that we talk about and buy is made in very similar conditions; in converted basements and the such.

 

[plonter]

but are the drivers also beeing made there..? maybe they just asseble all the parts together.

 

[deltaydeltax]

The place I used to work at made tweeters, woofers and even assembled speakers in house. The line supervisor was very strict. If she felt the lines were moving too slow, she pulled all of the seats away and made everyone stand. It was crazy. It looked incredibly messy to anyone just walking through, but was actually organized. The factory was not a good looking area.

THEN, if you went into the engineering area where I worked, things got way better. The floors were all well swept, the carpet always clean and nice live plants all around.

I guess the area you work in has to be suited for what you're doing.

 

[csommers]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif but are the drivers also beeing made there..? maybe they just asseble all the parts together.

It looks to me like they were just assembling those, but who knows.

I don't really see anything wrong with how they are running the production, I see where some people might be put-off by it though. Part of the problem, for some, I think is the way the shop looks. It looks VERY old-school, which is what I like about it. My great-grandfather used to work on electronics, and it reminds me of something he would have in his shop.
The labor force..thats another story, that I won't get into.

 

[vvanrij]

Please don't go asking if the drivers are really made there, its a rather controversial subject here. John grado said the grado drivers are made in-house.

 

[Grimspoon]

I actually find these pics reassuring, knowing that each Grado headphone has a human touch instead of maybe 1 out of every 100 or 1000 being given a once over for quality control.

As for the people doing the actual construction / manufacturing of the headphones, I refuse to pass judgement or make assumptions based on appearances because as far as we know, these are University graduates.

Even if they aren't, I think they are probably far more familiarized with the intricacies of the Grado line of headphones than I am. I don't suspect for a moment that the Grado family would leave the success of their family name in the hands of people who are incapable of delivering a quality product.

I think the headphones speak for themselves.

 

[.coco]

Wow, good thing you guys have not seen the "made in China" factory pictures..lol

If you are upset about your headphones, take a look at pictures of how your $300 "hand distressed" jeans are made.

 

[hardstyler]

Oh excellent. Now I'm going to enjoy my MS1 even more

Much appreciated, thanks for this link.

 

[cswann1]

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed seeing these pics a lot. And I thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the reactions

I for one, was neither disillusioned or surprised. I hope that Grado always stays small and specialized. It would be a shame if the company were gobbled up by some corporate conglomerate and turned into a sideline of some big factory in who-knows-where.

 

[jacdan]

Holy cow, the place looks like a sweatshop!