Grado durability issues ?

[Cruelhand Luke]

Every time someone defends Grado build quality I am compelled to reiterate my assertion that Grado is a cult. The way that members of the cult defend their beloved brand is always mind boggling.
When I compare my Grado 325e to similarly priced headphones the difference is night and day. Take for example the Fideio l2, it originally retailed for $300, same as the 325e. The L2 feels like it was designed and built by Leica. Supremely functional, great materials, stylish without being flashy...the moving parts all click, and pivot, and flex exactly as you would want them to...(and the sound is fantastic, easily as good as the 325e)
On the other hand, about 3 months after I got my 325e the cups started rotating all loose and wild like I had spilled KY on them. (This eventually causes the cable to twist up and the problem manifests in the rubber sleeves. They flatten out and eventually tear.)
Then somewhere between 3 and 6 months the left ear cup just started detaching from the rod block. Sometimes it would just...fall out. It was a simple fix with some glue...BUT these are the same pieces on the Grado GS3000e, a $1,800 headphone! That's inexcusable.
Grado build is a joke, and anyone that tries to tell you different is in the Grado cult, so you go ahead and take what they say with a grain of salt.
Personally, I love my 325e, I spend about 1/3 of my listening time using them....but I have to treat them like a vintage Italian bicycle or something.
You can't just set them down, or casually hang them on a hook like other headphones.

 

[up late]

the thread topic, as i understand it, is about the durability of grado headphones rather than the build quality per se. i was not defending either and nor am i a member of any cult.

i do own a few grados, however, along with some other headphones that are deluxe in comparison. whether they are any more durable than the grados remains to be seen. one of them did have a driver failure, however, and i baby it more than my grados and have owned it for considerably less time.

i actually feel more comfortable setting my grados down because the foam ear pads sit flat on the surface that i place them on. whereas my other headphones tend to lie on the ear cups, making the fine finishes more susceptible to damage - ymmv.

 

[ile]

nor am i a member of any cult.

And yet you want to suppress any criticism of Grado.

 

[ile]

On a more positive note: I think I found the reason for the failing/cracking sound.

It seems to happen when I put the two cables (coming from the cans) close together. I suppose there is enough electrical interference between the cables to make the sound go bad. The plastic in the cables has torn out enough to let that interference happen, I guess.

Strange thing, but at least it's fixable now.

Edit: no, it wasn't that, still failing ... still a wiring issue though.

Edit: removed the plastic/rubber and found a snapped wire inside, so it's that. They used a very thin wire (the blue one) and it had broken. Need to solder it.

Edit: It's soldered and it works again.

 

[up late]

And yet you want to suppress any criticism of Grado.

don't be ridiculous. expressing a different point of view isn't suppressing anything. this is a forum after all.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

the thread topic, as i understand it, is about the durability of grado headphones rather than the build quality per se. i was not defending either and nor am i a member of any cult.

i do own a few grados, however, along with some other headphones that are deluxe in comparison. whether they are any more durable than the grados remains to be seen. one of them did have a driver failure, however, and i baby it more than my grados and have owned it for considerably less time.

i actually feel more comfortable setting my grados down because the foam ear pads sit flat on the surface that i place them on. whereas my other headphones tend to lie on the ear cups, making the fine finishes more susceptible to damage - ymmv.

Durability of a headphone is intrinsically tied to build quality. I'll say it more plainly, so the point doesn't get missed again:
Fidelio L2, 3 years old, many more hours on them, including lots of portable use....NO issues.
Grado 325e, less than a year old, minimal/very careful usage....wobbly rod blocks, left ear cup falling out, pinched/flattened cables at the Y split,an internal cable that likes to come loose inside the cup and touch the driver causing a Grattle.
"I am not a member of a cult.", Every member of a cult, ever.

 

[up late]

Durability of a headphone is intrinsically tied to build quality. I'll say it more plainly, so the point doesn't get missed again:
Fidelio L2, 3 years old, many more hours on them, including lots of portable use....NO issues.
Grado 325e, less than a year old, minimal/very careful usage....wobbly rod blocks, left ear cup falling out, pinched/flattened cables at the Y split,an internal cable that likes to come loose inside the cup and touch the driver causing a Grattle.
"I am not a member of a cult.", Every member of a cult, ever.

there are numerous superbly built things in the world that are also inherently fragile. so no, excellent build quality does not equate to durability ime.

i understood your particular experience the first time, but the point that you appear to be missing is that my experience with grado headphones isn't similar to yours. tha's cold comfort for you i know, but it is what it is.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

there are numerous superbly built things in the world that are also inherently fragile. so no, excellent build quality does not equate to durability ime.

i understood your particular experience the first time, but the point that you appear to be missing is that my experience with grado headphones isn't similar to yours. tha's cold comfort for you i know, but it is what it is.

Cold comfort? I don't think that means what you think it does. I would have to care about it for it to have the effect of comfort, even of the chilly variety.
If you own several Grados, you know full well the rod blocks and gimbels could be MUCH better. This is an area of weakness because they cut corners...build quality does matter, no matter how hard you try to just wave it away, like a funky smell, "doesn't bother me, I'm fine with cheap looking plastic bits"...
yeah, it's subjective ...you decide how cheap is too cheap for you....but you can't deny that for most people, under most circumstances, a better built product will perform better over the long term. That's just logical, it's why we pay more for certain things, right?

 

[justhavingfun]

I am not sure that I am a Grado cult member or not but my experience with the Grado headphones are nothing but positive. I first bought my first Grado SR60 from Headroom when Tyll Hertsen was the owner along with Total Airhead portable headphone amp back in 2002 and I still have that SR60 in good condition. Many more Grado headphones came in my way but nothing broken or need repair so far. I did loose some of those rubber cover at the end of the rod but nothing that disrupt sound quality. I do believe some of you do have some quality control problems no doubt but that shouldn't stop you from purchasing the Grado headphones.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

For the record, I love the way my Grado sounds. If you like the right kind of music, it is perfect. But I wouldn't recommend you spend more than $500 MAX for a set, new, used, whatever you get, the law of diminishing returns kicks in hard on Grados starting around $300.
They sound great....but the rod blocks, gimbals, pads, headbands, etc all hold them back from being as good as they could be. (especially for the price)

 

[justhavingfun]

As matter of fact, other than that my first Grado SR60, all of my Grado purchases were on the used market. I have never paid retail value for any other Grado headphones so far. I have to agree with you that Grado certainly could have made much more sturdier on their flagship headphones though. But I doubt that they are going to change the way they manufacture their products as long as there are people who buy them at their retail price point.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

As matter of fact, other than that my first Grado SR60, all of my Grado purchases were on the used market. I have never paid retail value for any other Grado headphones so far. I have to agree with you that Grado certainly could have made much more sturdier on their flagship headphones though. But I doubt that they are going to change the way they manufacture their products as long as there are people who buy them at their retail price point.

I got mine used, as well. I like Grado, I joke about them being a cult...half joke, maybe? Until they make a $500 headphone that either sounds better than anything else you can get for $500, or feels, looks, and works better than anything at $500...what are you really getting?

 

[up late]

Cold comfort? I don't think that means what you think it does. I would have to care about it for it to have the effect of comfort, even of the chilly variety.
If you own several Grados, you know full well the rod blocks and gimbels could be MUCH better. This is an area of weakness because they cut corners...build quality does matter, no matter how hard you try to just wave it away, like a funky smell, "doesn't bother me, I'm fine with cheap looking plastic bits"...
yeah, it's subjective ...you decide how cheap is too cheap for you....but you can't deny that for most people, under most circumstances, a better built product will perform better over the long term. That's just logical, it's why we pay more for certain things, right?

i feel pretty confident that i know what "cold comfort" means. i just assumed that you must have felt aggrieved or cared enough about your grado experience to post about it here.

i'm afraid that this exchange has become circular, as they often do. as i've already explained to you, the topic of this thread is about grado durability issues. it is not about grado build quality per se. i think that's a valid distinction to make within the context of this thread even if you don't.

i'm not defending grado build quality and i'm not proclaiming that grado build quality is class leading because it clearly isn't, but my grados have been durable in that they have not broken, failed and nothing has fallen off. the only bits that i have replaced are the ear pads, which is to be expected.

a few people have posted in this thread about durability issues with their grados, which is unfortunate. however, i suspect that there are at least as many grado owners who have not had any durability issues with their headphones who simply haven't posted about it here. it seems to me that no reasonable person could conclude that grado headphones are plagued by durability issues based on the very limited anecdotal evidence contained in this thread.

 

[up late]

I got mine used, as well. I like Grado, I joke about them being a cult...half joke, maybe? Until they make a $500 headphone that either sounds better than anything else you can get for $500, or feels, looks, and works better than anything at $500...what are you really getting?

so you bought them used. thanks for disclosing that salient point.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

So, you're willing to believe in the durability based on your own personal anecdotal evidence, but to disprove your assumption you need data? Other, multiple anecdotes are not sufficient...OK, I get it.