[majkel]

I have seen two pairs and both had milky spots on the metal part of the cup, however it is possible to rub them out. On the other hand, the look of it is surprising at this price level.

 

[563]

Rob, one of the cups on my PS1000 has some tiny black specks as well. I noticed a little while ago that the Headroom website specifically says they won't accept returns of PS1000s for cosmetic reasons (I didn't buy mine from them). I decided from the get-go that I would put up with these minor imperfections, though I am troubled by the fact that Grado is not covering Piotr's shipping costs and that it apparently will take so long to repair his phones (two months, I understand, before he gets his back). For $1700, that is unforgivable. What can Grado be thinking? That everyone has this kind of money to throw around?

I was thinking, if there's a few tiny black specks now on one of the cups, even if I had received a "perfect" pair, I don't think they'd stay that way forever. Plus, I'm not keen on sending my cans back to Grado for two months to get them to give me a perfect looking pair of cups - partially at my shipping expense. I'll give Grado, very reluctantly, the benefit of the doubt and say the tiny specks reflect the "home brew" nature of these cans, but at the price they're charging, I'm being really generous in that assessment. The sound, however, is right where it should be, and that is what really counts.

To once again stoke the PS1000 vs. HD800 flames, I mentioned before that Sennheiser's service puts Grado's absolutely to shame. I posted it elsewhere, but the long and short of my post was that a certain Sennheiser "authorized dealer" (no names) sold me at a full-price a "pre-owned" or "pre-registered" pair of HD800s, but did not tell me this. Sennheiser Germany confirmed my suspicions when they sent me an e-mail informing me that the serial number I had registered had been registered to someone else. I went straight to SennUSA, and on the spot, they told me they were sending me replacement phones, which I received two days later. If that's not great customer service, I don't know what is. Not only that, though, but Sennheiser sent me a return UPS mailing authorization label, and told me I didn't even need to return the first set of HD800s until I'd received the replacements.

Grado may be a small, family-owned company, but at the prices they charge, they owe much better service to their customers than they do. They may have produced some great cans in the past, and their PS1000 and GS1000i are right up there with the best, but this is not an excuse to forego basic customer service. They must know that we'll keep buying their phones anyway, so they just don't care. Sad. Very sad.

I'm the proof of it - I still love the PS1000s, tiny black specks and all.

 

[spahn_ranch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 563 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grado may be a small, family-owned company, but at the prices they charge, they owe much better service to their customers than they do. They may have produced some great cans in the past, and their PS1000 and GS1000i are right up there with the best, but this is not an excuse to forego basic customer service.

In the pro segment of many businesses, tip top customer service is demanded and offered. Whether the professional has doubles or triples of everything, they expect a loaner of gear sent in under warranty, and promptly whithin a week and not a NY minute longer. Stamping Pro Series on gear may look the part, but only as long as it's backed up by pro segment service. Thumbs down IMHO.

 

[wolf18t]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 563 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grado may be a small, family-owned company, but at the prices they charge, they owe much better service to their customers than they do. They may have produced some great cans in the past, and their PS1000 and GS1000i are right up there with the best, but this is not an excuse to forego basic customer service. They must know that we'll keep buying their phones anyway, so they just don't care. Sad. Very sad.

Well, in general the reason why I buy a product from small company is exactly because they usually offer a better and personalized service. Obviously (and sadly), it's not the case with Grado.

 

[03029174]

Does anyone know if the PS1000s have a laquered coating? Ive read a few people have black dots, could these be polished out? If they are anodized aluminium they can be buffed up to a shiney chrome finish as per the models brought to Canjam

 

[cwilson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 563 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rob, one of the cups on my PS1000 has some tiny black specks as well. I noticed a little while ago that the Headroom website specifically says they won't accept returns of PS1000s for cosmetic reasons (I didn't buy mine from them). I decided from the get-go that I would put up with these minor imperfections, though I am troubled by the fact that Grado is not covering Piotr's shipping costs and that it apparently will take so long to repair his phones (two months, I understand, before he gets his back). For $1700, that is unforgivable. What can Grado be thinking? That everyone has this kind of money to throw around? ......................

Agree with you,
I think the black speck is a defect rather than a normal appearance. Headroom has no sufficient reason to shield the customer’s claim for PS1000 replacement.

 

[563]

I'm unfortunately out of town until either this Saturday or the Saturday after that, else I would take a photo of the black specks. (my vendor would like to see what I mean). Could someone out there please post a photo of their "black specked" metal cups so that I can give my vendor an idea of what I mean until I get home? (my vendor is very cool and cares about this). Thank you all!

 

[music_man]

i am sorry this just makes me mad. even my gs1000 have a splinter.
why do we support companies like this? it doesn't matter how good it is if it only lasts 4 hours really! this would be unheard of from any of the larger manufacturers.

if lamborghini made a supercar that was known to have a 50% chance of the brakes failing and you crash the car would everyone keep buying them?

this is ludacris. maybe a lot of people don't think the hd800 is as good but how many of them are going to break after 4 hours?

it was the same thing when the gs1000 came out. at the time everyone raved they were the best headphone they ever heard....then they started failing.

sorry for the rant again this should be unacceptable and we should send a message to grado one way or the other.

music_man

 

[maguire]

No there not cheap, but its important to get them in matched quads EL84 and pairs for the 12AX7. But it is all about the sound.
And to my ears these make the GS1000 come alive.
I only ran Dali Ikon 2 bookshelfs with a subwoofer through the Cary and it didnt really do it for me.Like i said may need KT88?
Boy it drove the PS1000 extreemley well with only the stock tubes.
I might bring my NOS to try out in his store one day?

 

[maguire]

The only PS1000 i have seen had no blemish or marks on them, they looked felt and sounded impressive.

 

[astroid]

I bought a Sony LCD (£1200) , it was DOA. I had an ipod Touch die 2 months in. My fitness band on wii sports active snapped (as has many many other).
My point is that a certain percentage of products will have defects, this goes for Headphones as well.
The black specks you are talking about sound like the same thing i had on my Sony HD1 MP3 player , they are quite common on aluminium finishes, some macbooks pro have them as well, Apple would not replace as they were only cosmetic.
I think that most ps1000 owners are just not convinced that the product looks like its worth $1700 even if it sounds it.

 

[SleepyOne]

If I have to pay £1625* (US$2670) for a headphone I would expect it to be perfect and with better warranty/service too. But that's just my opinion.

*UK online price

 

[Father Schu]

That's absolutely ridiculous that you would have to pay for shipping back to the manufacturer for a faulty product under warranty. On top of that there's insurance and delivery confirmation costs to consider. I never would have expected this from Grado. People need to seriously consider what they are getting into with these, especially outside of the USA where the potential costs could be very high.

 

[maguire]

Why should you personally return them to Grado at your own expense?
I would simply bring them back to the store i got them from and surely they would do this on your behalf, after all thats what the warranty is all about ye?

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maguire /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why should you personally return them to Grado at your own expense? I would simply bring them back to the store i got them from and surely they would do this on your behalf, after all thats what the warranty is all about ye?

Exactly. Also, you might want to email Grado and see if you can communicate with John rather than an employee. From a fair amount of reports on the forums, repairs have been free and many many people had their units shipped to them free of charge. For a $1700 item and the flagship, I would think that it would be a similar situation. But first, hit up the dealer you purchased from and use that warranty!