[vcoheda]

NOS pairs from Grado Labs directly is a different story. for regular pairs, i think the price is more along the lines of $2300-$2500 - which still is a hefty sum.

 

[Zanth]

When the German distributor originally made an order the number was in the 200 range. During that time, it was announced that so long as there was demand, Grado would continue to make them. Todd (ttvj.com) was in contact with the German distributor and had arranged for something like 2/month until interest wained. Since it was taking months to sell what he had on hand, and the German distributor we can assume, had sold the ones he had and was finished with the line, Grado ended that product with under 200 units made and sold. Head-fiers had their chance! No doubt $1400 is a good bit of change to throw at a headphone, but at the time the R10's, Omega II's, HE90's and Qualias were all the rage and folks weren't paying enough attention to the PS-1's. In fact, the HP-1000's were the favoured Grado for most despite owners of the PS-1's and HP-1000's usually choosing the PS-1's over the HP-1000's and dumping the Joe phones. I know I was one of those who did this; Hirsch is another.

Now, many feel the PS-1's are the ultimate Grado. Nearly the same build quality as the HP-1000's, and a better sound overall. Many still love the HP-1000's of course and hence hte high prices, but with over 1000 HP-1000's around the world (but mostly in the US) and with less than 200 PS-1's in the world (with most in Germany) one can imagine that the PS-1's will continue to climb for some time to come. It will take a headphone that bests both to cut those prices down to reasonable levels once again.

Ah the days of the $400 HP-1's...

 

[Rob N]

So it's confirmed that less than 200 were made?

I think I've seen ser numbers upto around 168 and there are a number of early ones with no ser number

This would make it the second rariest behind the green L3000 of which only 50 were made?

 

[Gabe Logan]

I heard it was 250 total with most of then going to Germany.

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

I was confirmed by Grado Labs that there were about 250 units sold.

Rgrds

 

[Zanth]

The actual number is less than 200 made with parts for 250

and about 14 sold to Head-fiers via Todd.

The PS-1 is the rarest of the reconized headphones save for the Green L3000's which are really just L3000's with green leather right? So for a "distinct" sounding headphone the PS-1's are the rarest.

 

[penger]

Lovin' the history lesson.

Hope to hear one someday...

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif The actual number is less than 200 made with parts for 250 and about 14 sold to Head-fiers via Todd. The PS-1 is the rarest of the reconized headphones save for the Green L3000's which are really just L3000's with green leather right? So for a "distinct" sounding headphone the PS-1's are the rarest.

Could be as you say. I asked them for my pair having black grills instead of the more usual ones in metal. Their reply was that they sold about 250 units and there can be minor cosmetic variations among them.
They're great cans. Many people say
they're not good for classical, but it's an interesting experience being able to get a better insight into the rhythmic component of symphonic music than into the more usual melodic-timbric-spatial one which other cans may provide better.

Rgrds

 

[Zanth]

I asked John specifically how many were made/sold and he replied that he had parts for 250 and ended up selling under or around 200 with parts to spare for repairs etc.

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif I asked John specifically how many were made/sold and he replied that he had parts for 250 and ended up selling under or around 200 with parts to spare for repairs etc.

Sure, I didn't mean to contradict you, just commented what they told me

In any case it's an extemely low number of units, and I still don't quite get there was such a low demand when they were produced. Maybe people disliking other Grado cans (like myself) didn't care to pay them some attention.

Rgrds

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif The PS-1 is the rarest of the reconized headphones save for the Green L3000's which are really just L3000's with green leather right? So for a "distinct" sounding headphone the PS-1's are the rarest.

i believe people who own both L3000 and L3000G said they sound different.

 

[dvessel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killercrush /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bass is as deep as I ever heard, way in front of the RS-1, it's really no contest here. Everything in the lower octaves seems lacking when you return to any other Grados than the PS-1. However, I don't think they're worth that much, certainly not the $3000+ they were fetching for a NOS pair. The original retail price of $1400 was a much better value and I wouldn't hesitate a second to buy a pair if they still were that low. It's kinda sad now that the PS-1 is only for a select group of individuals. Anyway, there are so few headsets in circulation now... so these crazy prices are somewhat justified, you want them, you gotta pay up my friend.

Thanks, I thought this thread was about the HP-1. My mistake. Even $1400 is a bit too much for me. Ouch!

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i believe people who own both L3000 and L3000G said they sound different.

I hardly think we can go around stating this with certainty, considering there really aren't "people" that own both an L3000 and L3000G. It's more like "persons". There are literally only two persons I know of on this forum that own both and that's Nomad and cwilson. To my knowledge, out of those two, Nomad is the only one that has ever made a comment implying that there is the possibility that the two sound different. Then in another thread, months after he made the first statement, he recanted and stated that he wasn't positive about his first assumption.

The reason I recall this pretty vividly is because I just picked up an L3000 last week and spent the two weeks prior to that researching about every single thread in the archive pertaining to them. I would most definitely be interested, who wouldn't, in hearing the two side by side one day; however, I have extreme doubts that the dye used in producing the green leather can have any perceivable effect on the sonics.

I'd love to hear more from Nomad on the issue if he would care to elaborate.

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odigg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think the PS-1 really fits into a fixed price category anymore. $3000? $4000? I imagine there would be quite a bidding war if they did come up for sale somewhere.

Well actually it does, and may I suggest politely in the future not making price assumptions like you did here? The reason being is because the ignorant read comments like this and then go around spreading it at a later date as if it were truth/fact in another thread. I see this kind of misinformation time and time again here.

There has never been a public sale of a PS-1 on head-fi that has exceeded $2500. The highest I have ever seen a PS-1 sell for anywhere was one of the limited, straight from John Grado's collection, JAG models and it went on ebay for $3,650. One must make note however that each of the auctions being run for the JAG models, which all ended between $2300-3650, were for a charity donation and do not at all reflect the true current market value of the headphone. The PS-1 does indeed fit into a fixed price category and that has been $2200-2500 for about the past two years now.

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure, I didn't mean to contradict you, just commented what they told me In any case it's an extemely low number of units, and I still don't quite get there was such a low demand when they were produced. Maybe people disliking other Grado cans (like myself) didn't care to pay them some attention. Rgrds

Sorry, I didn't intend to come off as being curt. I should have used a smiley

I would think that you are correct, at the time, the Joseph craze was in full swing and folks weren't interested in anything John had. The few PS-1's that were heard were snatched up and rarely sold on the used market. Those that were contacting Todd had to wait in the beginning until the units arrived. So perhaps these initial delays caused folks to look elsewhere. Still, once the units started stacking up on the shelves, it did take Todd quite a while to deplete his final stock. Far longer than I suppose anyone would have imagined given the intense desire for them. Still, such a lack of desire likely caused Todd to stop ordering new ones along with the German distributor having sold his lot and that closed down the line at Grado. Of course being a PS-1 owner, I'm pleased that Grado has parts for repairs but it is too bad that such a nice headphone is owned by a very tiny minority of the Head-fi community.