[JES]

Well. If he really believed there was an advantage he would've put one on the GS/PS1k as well in my opinion 

Perhaps Grado feels that we still live in a world where people believe that a "flagship" headphone should have 1/4" connectors. Even if they don't have a "clearer tone". Old traditions die hard. Only they know their exact reasoning.

 

[sinnottj]

I think it's simply that the GS1000e / PS1000e are not in any way portable headphones, and it is highly likely that they will be used with a dedicated desktop amp. Most desktop amps still have 1/4" jacks, so it makes sense to have a 1/4" plug on the headphones.
 
All the other Grados are more easily transported and are more likely to be used with a variety of sources, so it makes more sense to have the 1/8" plug for greater flexibility.

 

[whirlwind]

  I think it's simply that the GS1000e / PS1000e are not in any way portable headphones, and it is highly likely that they will be used with a dedicated desktop amp. Most desktop amps still have 1/4" jacks, so it makes sense to have a 1/4" plug on the headphones.
 
All the other Grados are more easily transported and are more likely to be used with a variety of sources, so it makes more sense to have the 1/8" plug for greater flexibility.

 
ditto

 

[gregorya]

From a recent interview with Jonathan Grado:

We went over every component and improved it. The wood is cured differently to take advantage of it’s natural tonal properties, the polycarbonate is engineered to absorb excess energy and reduce secondary impulses, for a clearer tone, we gave all the headphones (except the GS/PS1000e) a 3.5mm plug, we applied our most refined geometry to the drivers, and more.

Link to full interview:
http://headfonics.com/2014/06/grado-goes-e-an-interview-with-jonathan-grado/

So at least according to Jonathan Grado, there's an advantage to 1/8" jacks over 1/4". In case anyone wondered what drove them to switch.

I think it's possible that the quote should be parsed like this:

"We went over every component and improved it. The wood is cured differently to take advantage of it’s natural tonal properties, the polycarbonate is engineered to absorb excess energy and reduce secondary impulses, for a clearer tone, we gave all the headphones (except the GS/PS1000e) a 3.5mm plug... "

That makes more sense to me.

 

[JES]

I definitely read it that they went to the smaller jack for a clearer tone. Every other change listed in the paragraph either describes why the change was an advantage, or is obvious in how the change is described. To simply say we changed to the 3.5 jack without giving some sort of reason wouldn't make sense with the main point Jonathan Grado was making.

Absorbing excess energy and reducing secondary impulses is what any designer of a precision audio transducer does in order to accomplish the main goal of accurately reproducing the original sound. The advantage here is clear (npi).

 

[JES]

I think it's simply that the GS1000e / PS1000e are not in any way portable headphones, and it is highly likely that they will be used with a dedicated desktop amp. Most desktop amps still have 1/4" jacks, so it makes sense to have a 1/4" plug on the headphones.

All the other Grados are more easily transported and are more likely to be used with a variety of sources, so it makes more sense to have the 1/8" plug for greater flexibility.

I basically agree too. But I do see a time when more and more users are going to want to plug these TOTL headphones into devices with 3.5 mm jacks. Moving away from this with the rest of their headphone line is a step towards this.

I no longer have any headphones with a 1/4" plug. And all of my devices except my old receiver/amp have the small jack. I do have a Grado adapter that I bought over a decade ago in case I need to plug into the larger jack. Taking Jonathan Grado's statement about better tone with the small jack at face value, combined with the abundance of the smaller jack in my existing (and future) devices, I'd rather have the 3.5 mm jack on any headphones I buy. Even a TOTL phone.

 

[sinnottj]

 Taking Jonathan Grado's statement about better tone with the small jack at face value, combined with the abundance of the smaller jack in my existing (and future) devices, I'd rather have the 3.5 mm jack on any headphones I buy. Even a TOTL phone.

 
He was almost certainly saying that the 'polycarbonate' (ie plastic cup) had been re-engineered for a clearer tone, not that the plug had been changed to a 1/8" for a clearer tone!
 
The punctuation makes it slightly ambiguous, granted, but I can't honestly imagine he's trying to claim switching plug size would make a difference ...

 

[sinnottj]

I think it's possible that the quote should be parsed like this:

"We went over every component and improved it. The wood is cured differently to take advantage of it’s natural tonal properties, the polycarbonate is engineered to absorb excess energy and reduce secondary impulses, for a clearer tone, we gave all the headphones (except the GS/PS1000e) a 3.5mm plug... "

That makes more sense to me.

+1

 

[willyvlyminck]

I got notification that the GS1K e's have been shipped to me for review.  Hopefully hurricane Arthur won't screw with my chance to listen to them too much...

And you use Larks Tongues in Aspic for review?

 

[JES]

He was almost certainly saying that the 'polycarbonate' (ie plastic cup) had been re-engineered for a clearer tone, not that the plug had been changed to a 1/8" for a clearer tone!

The punctuation makes it slightly ambiguous, granted, but I can't honestly imagine he's trying to claim switching plug size would make a difference ...

You did read the entire interview at the link I posted, right? Jonathan Grado states that the changes made to the headphones were to improve the sound. No other reasons. Contextually, this reaffirms that the change to the smaller jack was driven primarily for better sound.

I definitely can understand how a smaller jack may sound better, especially since 1/4" jacks are an evolved standard based upon criteria not necessarily with tonal quality as the driving design factor. 1/4" jacks are easier for radio and switchboard operators to manage. The smaller jack is a newer standard, and it's safe to assume it was designed more with tonal quality as an important consideration. What those differences are, I don't know. I'm no expert. Perhaps it has something to do with tighter tolerances that are more easily obtained with newer manufacturing processes. Or better plug contact with the hole walls due to taper design. These are guesses only. All I know is that I can understand why a newer design standard may have better sound qualities. Makes sense to me.

 

[JES]

I'm not trying to start a debate of the merits of one jack size relative to another. Something like this would really belong in the Sound Science forum. I just found the interview interesting, and I interpreted that the change to the smaller connector was driven by more than just compatibility with portable devices (and I could be wrong). This was something I wondered about when Grado introduced the e series with the change to the jack size with most of their headphones.

 

[swspiers]

And you use Larks Tongues in Aspic for review?

How did you guess!?!

 

[Claritas]

Having a 1/8" plug and use a 1/4" adapter/converter makes more sense that the other way around.

Maybe they're just being cheap: no more pigtails.

 

[gregorya]

Provided the plugs are made from high-quality materials, there should be no difference in sound quality between the 1/4" and 1/8" plugs. I suspect that Grado's logic in moving to the 1/8" plug is based on an increasing number of users that are using mobile devices, computers, etc. it can be a little clunky using a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter on some devices.

Their decision to stay with the larger plug on the 2 higher models is likely because those models are likely to be home-use only and plugged into gear that uses 1/4" jacks.

 

[willyvlyminck]

How did you guess!?!

That was easy as your profile picture is the cover of this famous recording and it was my first King Crimson LP I always wondered how the Grado's do with this kind of Music, I only have the GR10 in ear which does very well with prog of this kind.