I guess your PS500e came with the light blue packaging, right?
It looks that from some point in time they changed the driver colour from red to black.
The older GH models GH1 (introduced 2015) and GH2 (introduced 2016) have the red drivers but the newer GH4 (introduced 2018) has the black driver.
And as my PS500e came in the newer white packaging, the same packaging my GH4 came with, I guess my copy of PS500e was produced a bit later when they already used the newer white packaging and the no longer red drivers.
Because higher end niche products tend to be made either by hand or in much smaller batches and don't have the resources to do as extensive of QA as a big manufacturing plant does. With something hand made like the Grados, even if the design is great there may be an issue as things settle after being assembled - especially on new construction techniques and with new materials like we're seeing with the Hemps and RS1x.
Hifiman has no excuse though. I think they're just cheap and/or stubborn.
Because higher end niche products tend to be made either by hand or in much smaller batches and don't have the resources to do as extensive of QA as a big manufacturing plant does. With something hand made like the Grados, even if the design is great there may be an issue as things settle after being assembled - especially on new construction techniques and with new materials like we're seeing with the Hemps and RS1x.
Hifiman has no excuse though. I think they're just cheap and/or stubborn.
The Grado Labs website has a number of references to headphones being hand assembled. This implies that the parts: gimbals, rods, headbands, drivers, driver housings…are made (manufactured) elsewhere - to Grado specifications. For Grado Labs, then, quality control applies to what comes in and what goes out.
Anybody know how long Grado would warranty broken cups? If I get an RS2x, how long would I be covered? What about second hand owners? What if RS2x hybrid wood construction is concluded to be a failure, then would replacements even be an option? What if Im no longer under warranty? What would Grado charge for a cup repair / replacement?
I work for a company of about 30 staff, if I make/produce/wire anything it then goes through QC as all companies big or small should do.it then gets visually and electronically tested. If then my workmanship or anyone's gets pulled up in QC it then comes back to me or whoever has made the fault.... all manufacturing should do this and every single company I have ever worked for do, of course there are design or processing error's that don't show at first but on the whole anything visual/ electrical should be picked up how ever small the company is ..
there is no excuse.
Cracked wood or fibres hanging out , excess glue , paint wearing of Gimbal letters this sort of stuff is bread and butter QC ....i love my grado but It shouldn't be happening and can't defend this.
The Grado Labs website has a number of references to headphones being hand assembled. This implies that the parts: gimbals, rods, headbands, drivers, driver housings…are made (manufactured) elsewhere - to Grado specifications. For Grado Labs, then, quality control applies to what comes in and what goes out.
Really wanted to try out the newer models but the fear of cracked cups is whats really stopping me. My daily driver was made in 2009 and still going strong even after dropping them several times. I highly doubt if the hybrid ones will sustain that long.
Really wanted to try out the newer models but the fear of cracked cups is whats really stopping me. My daily driver was made in 2009 and still going strong even after dropping them several times. I highly doubt if the hybrid ones will sustain that long.
No way of really telling , only time will tell ....all of them that have cracked seem to have done pretty quickly after purchase all though obviously I can't comment on all....
The hemp i just think are a poor resin mix or fibres not fine enough on some batches , mine have been absolutely excellent and the cups themselves seem pretty well made and like resin...i can't comment on the rs2x or 1x really as I have never owned them , not heard of any rs2x splitting but a few 1x ...I did read that cocobolo is prone to cracking on occasion but also read about maple doing the same, I think grado need to me costing there housings better with laquer/ Matt varnish this stops cracking by sealing in moisture better , the cracking is caused by drying out , this or the wood has not been seasoned properly.
I don't know...I had a HP2i (should be over 20 years old?)...no problem at all. A Classic RS1 (well over 10 years, no problem), GS1000i (something between 5-10 years), no problem. My HEMP is 2 years old I think (bought at the start), no problem. Meanwhile the plastic wonders of AKG/Audio Technica/Senn are junk.
It's just the wood composite. But I have trust in Grado.
No way of really telling , only time will tell ....all of them that have cracked seem to have done pretty quickly after purchase all though obviously I can't comment on all....
The hemp i just think are a poor resin mix or fibres not fine enough on some batches , mine have been absolutely excellent and the cups themselves seem pretty well made and like resin...i can't comment on the rs2x or 1x really as I have never owned them , not heard of any rs2x splitting but a few 1x ...I did read that cocobolo is prone to cracking on occasion but also read about maple doing the same, I think grado need to me costing there housings better with laquer/ Matt varnish this stops cracking by sealing in moisture better , the cracking is caused by drying out , this or the wood has not been seasoned properly.
Yeah. I've had my Hemps since they came out. Mine were ordered not long after release. They've been solid. No cracks, no fibers visible, no discoloration, etc. I love them. And since they've been so good so far, it makes me trust Grado a bit more when it came to the RS1x. As was mentioned earlier, most of the units with cracks generally saw them pop up early on. Not to say they can't have issues later - we don't know because they haven't been out long enough yet. But I'm willing to bet the problem units are a minority and Grado will cover them under warranty.
So, what will it take for the Grado 'fan' to admit Grado manufacturers consumer-grade junk (even with a few cents' worth of wood slapped on), designed for the mass market to last a few years and then be replaced. Some of it was (perhaps is) good-sounding junk, but junk nevertheless. They know it and we know it.
What? So many Grado fans I know have had their Grado headphones for decades. How is that "designed for the mass market to last a few years then be replaced"? Not to mention, they're a niche product and not even mass marketed. I've had my PS500e since 2015 and they're still going strong. My SR225e were purchased a year or two before the PS500e and they're still holding up fine.
That's not to say Grado is perfect. There are things I wish they'd be less stubborn about. Give me a detachable cable. Higher end models should all have the metal gimbals (like the RS1x has) and metal rod blocks. It's dumb to have the same cheap plastic parts on the high end expensive cans as you do on the $100 ones. But these are not even related to quality or durability since Grados with these parts last a long time.
I'll agree, the cables and gimbals aren't for me personally and I have no experience with the woods so I cannot comment on that aspect. It would be nice for Grado to change the quality of the parts especially on the higher end models. They must know that people swap out gimbals and locks etc for better made custom parts and like I've said before they are missing a extra earner with the detachable cable and even adding a few extra £'s for better parts. If people feel they are junk / trash etc, then ones man's junk is another man's treasure... Feel free to off load your junk my way
I don't know...I had a HP2i (should be over 20 years old?)...no problem at all. A Classic RS1 (well over 10 years, no problem), GS1000i (something between 5-10 years), no problem. My HEMP is 2 years old I think (bought at the start), no problem. Meanwhile the plastic wonders of AKG/Audio Technica/Senn are junk.
It's just the wood composite. But I have trust in Grado.
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