Grado Worksmanship Kind of Sucks
Mar 14, 2007 at 2:08 AM Post #31 of 58
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif
wait, the rod box broke so you tossed the whole SR60? you know you could have sent them back to Grado and fixed them for the cost of shipping, right? which is like $4.30 USPS Priority?


Of course he could have. But it's much more fun to BITCH!!!
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 4:05 AM Post #32 of 58
Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Of course he could have. But it's much more fun to BITCH!!!


Ouch! A bit harsh, don't you think?

This was just a quick rant, as I indicated with the "start" and "end." When I said, "end," that's exactly what I meant. I was just a bit PO'd because I was at the office, had brought in an old (but very lightly used) SR 40's and one channel kept cutting in and out as I moved my head. This got me to wondering why these cans, which have maybe 20 hours total since I bought them a couple of years ago, would quit working. Then I remembered the only other cans that broke on me and, guess what? they, too, were Grado's. Now, granted, I had those cans many, many moons ago, but they broke many, many moons ago. They probably broke within a year of purchase. It never dawned on me to try and send them back for repairs. A victim of the "disposable" society mentality, I guess.

Do I even think my 225's or RS-1's will break on me any time in the future? I'm not expecting that to happen at all. I, for one, really like Grado headphones.

I'm done now.

Danke.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 4:50 AM Post #33 of 58
Grado's mission statement:

"At Grado, our goal is to continually improve on the reputation we have spent over 50 years creating. The music is the most important element, and with the products we produce, your feet will be tapping and your head will be bobbing.

We also understand the need to offer superior quality control and customer service, and each day we strive to continue to keep our customers satisfied.

Your continued happiness contributes to our continued success.

Happy Listening,"

John Grado
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 9:14 AM Post #34 of 58
Quote:

Originally Posted by EdT /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Well we can pretty much estimate how much he makes now; 2005 figures 45,000 pairs of cans, 60% SR60/80, 30% SR125/225/325i and 10% RS2/RS1 and GS1. $10,000,000 total revenue. I 'll say he pockets anywhere from $1.5 to 2 million a year 1.5/52, thats $28,846 a week for a bad year !


Well, you forgot to add in the cartridges, amps, and a few other accessories. But I think you also forgot to add in what the dealers/distributors take (they get a cut on every sale) as well as overhead, payroll, and a lot of other costs. For instance, do you know that the cost of plastic and metal have shot up in the past 2-3 years? If Grado's prices remain the same (and they have) then they're making less.

I was curious about the cost a couple years ago, too, and reverse-engineered the price. Among other things, I'm an accountant and help run a small business, so I filled in some typical numbers to get a rough estimate. My numbers showed a decent profit, but you're much too high. Sennheiser, AKG, etc., can bury a lot of overhead with their large operations. Small business is much less flexible when it comes to spreading costs.

And I don't begrudge profits. Never. Heck, I just negotiated a fair one with a car dealer. They need it and Grado needs it, too. Otherwise, the business would not be worth running.
 
Mar 14, 2007 at 9:27 AM Post #35 of 58
I recently phoned Grado to inquire about a replacement u joint for my HF-1s. To my surprise the guy I spoke to said he would ship one out free of charge, he didn't even ask me to fax him a copy of my receipt! They may not answer all of their emails in a timely fashion, but their customer service is still top notch. One satisfied customer here! Grado has renewed my faith in their company; the HF-1s will definitely be staying and I sense an RS-1 in my near future as well (Though the HF-1s might go, if I like the RS1s enough now!).
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 7:12 AM Post #36 of 58
Quote:

Originally Posted by EdT /img/forum/go_quote.gif
... If the tooling such as the dies, molds and assemebly methods are antiquated, you are not going to get a consistent product everytime. ..


My new SR60i looks exactly this way ..not only that ..the plastic seems like some kind of recycled variety. Maybe they are using the cheapest material because this is the lowest priced product in their lineup. In these days of high volume robotic manufacturing the expectation on fit and finish is higher..but the Grados surely have a "hand made" feel to them and was pretty disappointed with the quality. But the sound quality is a different story ..Very good..very impressed.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 4:06 PM Post #37 of 58
All my headphones are admittedly babied and treated like jewels and, with this in mind, I've never had a phone fail on me since beginning this hobby some 10 years ago or so. I just don't believe that full size phones are meant to go jogging, walking, or working out with. I really don't believe that manufacturers of audiophile or higher end phones need to build them for such activities...there are some designed exactly for such activities but I do not believe Grado Labs is one of the companies that make such a headphone. No, Grado Labs make headphones that sound uncomprimisingly unique. Simple, buy the product for what it was intended for and this should solve most issues.

Having said all that, it would be very nice of Grado to simply include the storage box for the RS-1 and above models. This would serve as protection to the phones and probably cut down on some warranty work, who knows?
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 4:08 PM Post #38 of 58
Nice thread necro, guys.
wink.gif
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 4:40 PM Post #39 of 58
Sep 22, 2009 at 6:09 PM Post #41 of 58
Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Nice thread necro, guys.
wink.gif



LOL.

So my Grado workmanship saga has continued to the RS-1:

When I came across the thread title, I thought this was going to be the one where I complained due to my RS-1's right earpiece literally falling right off as I went to put it onto my head. I recall thinking, "What the hell!?!?!" as the cans were virtually new back then.

Fixed it with metal/wood epoxy and have had no problems since. I am, however, expecting the earpiece to my GS1K to fall off at some point. Once the HF-2's arrive, I'll expect them to fall off, too.

But the sound...

Damn, the RS1's sound good.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 6:53 PM Post #42 of 58
yeah the right speaker on my grado sr60's disconnected from the head band. I can stick it back in and it kind of stays on but still an annoyance considering how I rarely used them.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:26 PM Post #45 of 58
I know this is about grado but denon is hardly any better. I had my D7000's for a month and dropped them 3 feet on to carpet and there is only one 2mm by 1mm screw that holds the whole can on and I put them on and the right can fell off. Screw was completely stripped. I'll find out if the superglue will hold tonight. Otherwise I'll have to send them in or get parts.
 
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