YMMV but those are regardless pretty assumptive statements.
The x series has very little in common with the Hemp, different goals, both successfull in my opinion. There is no “luck” in Grado’s approach of designing headphones, always moving forward to improve. Something that they do time and again. And like many manufacturer’s (most) not every model is successful. It really hits home when that design is not up to expectations. I notice many high end/high priced models costing thousands of dollars suddenly show up in mass on the classified.
My opinion they have just gotten better and they are SO popular they are working overtime to meet the demand.
BTW, there is no “new” headphone designer at Grado, John is constantly as his Uncle Joe was looking to move the performance up and as always to do so at reasonable pricing. Pricing that has remained virtually the same for decades. There is no headphone manufacturer who has done so or even be able to ti be able to achieve that.
May everyone find and enjoy what they like best and enjoy the music.
I can only speculate for why Grado has finally made headphones comparable in sound to the original Grado's from the late 80's like the HP-1000. Evidence then suggests that the headphones have only gotten worse over time until very recently (Hemp and x-series).
The pricing on core models have remained the same. The limited editions and the crazy stuff like GS and PS are priced ridiculously. The actual cost to build between core and their totl stuff I imagine is very little. In fact, the price between a 225e and 80e is silly. That's why I am of the opinion that you get a 60(x) with f-pads, or go full-Grado and get a RS2(x) with f-pads.
In terms of keeping costs the same, "there is no headphone manufacturer who has done so", see Sennheiser 6XX, and I'm sure many more but I just don't keep abreast with the old stand-bys from Beyer, AKG, etc. It mostly seems its the
audiophile brands that keep costs risings (Grado totl, Audeze totl, HFM totl, and many many others which is why Grado feels okay in doing the same. Im not mad that they like money, they are a business, like Head-Fi).
I'd say the company that has brought the most value may actually be Apple and Massdrop. Imagine if the Airpods Pro was built by UE or some other high end company but with the same sound and features... Instead of Apple's $200, $2000 might be UE's asking price. Apple's Homepod was very innovative (worth a google). Massdrop has released a string of greatest hits: reviving Denon as the Fostex THX00, 6XX, 58X, 95X, etc. What has Grado innovated? Lets see:
The Hemp was released shortly after purr1n wrote a long thread on his love for Grado RS2(e) with ttvj deluxe pads. Then Hemp came with ttvj deluxe pads and was loved. To keep up with demand (and/or to shift positioning due to competition from other brands, not due to actual Grado r&d or sound engineering because we've seen decades of Grado's shrill headphones) Grado released the x-series. 225x and 325x now come with ttvj deluxe / "f-pads" standard. And reference series now comes with Hemp wood, however we saw early adopter
@jonathan c 's reference series already fail catastrophically so who knows if Hemp hybrid is here to stay for long.
I like to say that Grado is appealing because they are made in the USA. But I think they are mostly "assembled" in the USA. Do we know where their drivers, cables, and headbands come from? I imagine the cups are made in the USA. The headbands haven't changed a bit so Id say also from USA. The cables on the x-series has changed to the now prevalent braided sleeving that I despise due to microphonics, are they made in the USA? And the drivers according to diyearphonelabs is China, but who knows. If only if Grado were more transparent and not griefing us with silly pricing strategies and gouging audiophiles willing to buy their high end stuff. The Grado GW100 I had recently said "designed" in USA instead of "assembled" in USA, I think that's clue enough about this brand's dedication to supporting local USA and their dedication to "transparency" (the inside pamphlet says Grado has been made-by-hand for generations) or "value" pricing.
Did you know that Grado's original headphones had drivers that were used in cheap Nakimichi (SP-7?) headphones? Grado modded the drivers in-house supposedly. I think old guys like Headphile who have stock on NOS drivers probably figured out Grado's source and tweaks long ago. But who knows.
Most boutique headphone companies can't make their own drivers, often times you can order similar or same drivers from the supplier (usually based in China). Alibaba marketplace is helpful if you're an interested amateur looking to diy.
Sennheiser makes their own drivers (see their factory tour videos). Engineers are expensive but Senn seems to keep prices reasonable for the most part (aside from halo product electrostats).
