[swspiers]

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.

My 225i's do okay, but the Alpha Dogs dominate in my collection. Can't wait to hear the GS1Ke's with Crimson!

 

[ESL-1]

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.

 
I contacted and spoke with John Grado in regard to the headphone termination question and it is not really as simple an answer as 1/8"opposed to 1/4" termination.  The actual manufacturing of both size plugs has been upgraded in all the new e series phones.
 
The formula for plating the plug was reconfigured to optimize signal transfer and hence helping deliver an un-obstructed signal in the path to the driver. This improvement has been applied to both size terminations as mentioned above.
 
In my opinion I would think the decision to use 1/8" on the majority of the models is really just an acceptance and realization that there is a majority of headphones that will be used with portable and/or smaller chassis devices.  When I was at the Fall NYC Head fi meet my main source at my display table was an AK100, a perfect example of this trend.
 
Add to this that due to their efficiency and sensitivity all Grados are capable of being driven directly from a portable device without the need of a dedicated headphone amp.  Of course the best results would still be using a quality amp  that would be a proper match to the Grados to get the utmost performance out of them.  That ability to be driven with out a super amp is another performance feature that separates the Grado line from much of the competition out there.
 
After hearing the performance differences that John has obtained in the new series it just continues to show his dedication to evolving and improving his product line instead of just sitting on an already hugely successful series and leaving things as they are.
 
I for one applaud his dedication and resolve.  It is based on a long standing tradition at Grado, it is great to see in this modern age of hype and celebrity tie ins and endorsements based on nothing more than a business decision to sell more product it is refreshing to see someone with John's abilities and work ethnic pursuing what he feels is better and will please more potential buyers of his excellent products.
 

 

[baka1969]

I think Grado made a business decision. It will save them money using one plug than deciding which should get the 1/8 plug and which get the 1/4. John Grado would never make such a public statement, but rest assured, using business sense, that was the primary motivation.

 

[zazex]

   
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 ...

 
It's not that switching plug size by itself creates a 'clearer tone',
it's the fact that switching to the smaller plug means less frequent use of an adapter -
resulting in a 'clearer tone' with a wider variety of today's electronics (which use a 3.5mm headphone jack).

 

[Claritas]

It's not that switching plug size by itself creates a 'clearer tone',
it's the fact that switching to the smaller plug means less frequent use of an adapter -
resulting in a 'clearer tone' with a wider variety of today's electronics (which use a 3.5mm headphone jack).

Kind of presupposes that most won't amp.

 

[JES]

I think Grado made a business decision. It will save them money using one plug than deciding which should get the 1/8 plug and which get the 1/4. John Grado would never make such a public statement, but rest assured, using business sense, that was the primary motivation.

Based upon what you're saying, using one plug size saves them money. But they decided to stay with the 1/4" plug on the top two models and go with a 3.5 mms plug on all the rest. That's two different sizes. So your statement seems contradictory to what they've actually done. No offense.

While I don't have the luxury of discussing something as inconsequential as this with a Grado executive on a holiday weekend, I do have a published interview to refer to. So rest assured, I have enough information from a reliable source to have an acceptable understanding of Grado's reasoning for their decision.

 

[Claritas]

I've already said I think it saves them money. They don't have to pay for a lot of pigtails.

 

[baka1969]

Based upon what you're saying, using one plug size saves them money. But they decided to stay with the 1/4" plug on the top two models and go with a 3.5 mms plug on all the rest. That's two different sizes. So your statement seems contradictory to what they've actually done. No offense.

While I don't have the luxury of discussing something as inconsequential as this with a Grado executive on a holiday weekend, I do have a published interview to refer to. So rest assured, I have enough information from a reliable source to have an acceptable understanding of Grado's reasoning for their decision.

The two most profitable and low volume models using the 1/4 plug has enough profit in them to justify the added cost. The other models are made in larger volumes thus saving Grado money by using the 1/8 plug on the rest of the line

 

[JES]

The two most profitable and low volume models using the 1/4 plug has enough profit in them to justify the added cost. The other models are made in larger volumes thus saving Grado money by using the 1/8 plug on the rest of the line

Now that statement makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[zazex]

   
It's not that switching plug size by itself creates a 'clearer tone',
it's the fact that switching to the smaller plug means less frequent use of an adapter -
resulting in a 'clearer tone' with a wider variety of today's electronics (which use a 3.5mm headphone jack).

 
 

Kind of presupposes that most won't amp.

 
Quite the opposite; I guess I could have been clearer -
Since most headphone amps today are using the 3.5mm jack,
(as opposed to many older pieces of electronics using the 1/4" phone plug)
it made sense for Grado to move to the 3.5mm size on most of their headphones.

 

[zazex]

Based upon what you're saying, using one plug size saves them money. But they decided to stay with the 1/4" plug on the top two models and go with a 3.5 mms plug on all the rest. That's two different sizes. So your statement seems contradictory to what they've actually done. No offense.

While I don't have the luxury of discussing something as inconsequential as this with a Grado executive on a holiday weekend, I do have a published interview to refer to. So rest assured, I have enough information from a reliable source to have an acceptable understanding of Grado's reasoning for their decision.

 
It might be inconsequential to some, but I'd bet it's not inconsequential to any Grado executive

 

[Claritas]

Quite the opposite; I guess I could have been clearer -
Since most headphone amps today are using the 3.5mm jack,
(as opposed to many older pieces of electronics using the 1/4" phone plug)
it made sense for Grado to move to the 3.5mm size on most of their headphones.

Maybe. It just seems low-fi but what's done is done.

 

[donunus]

Whats with the pages of discussion about the 1/4 inch vs 1/8 inch jacks? hahaha. We audiophiles are a paranoid bunch aren't we? LOL

 

[Focker]

I think it's time for an official "Pointless Grado Discussions and Conspiracy Theories" thread. 

 

[Claritas]

This always happens in the waiting period before all the new impressions and reviews. I've seen much worse.

The proof is in the listening anyway.