[rhythmdevils]

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I don't know why I find myself agreeing w/ you more and more.  Troubling....

 

Scary!  And 2012 is still 10 months away! 

 

[pcf]

Part of Grado's charm is that you know you are buying a pair of headphones handmade in a small company (17 people) in New York.
Recently Grado stopped all service work on any wooden phones because of the bad weather in New York-" The wood would crack." said John.

 

[bbophead]

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Scary!  And 2012 is still 10 months away! 

Hey, wait a minute.  You want scary?  What about May 21st, this year.  You gotta' learn to keep up.  http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/features/6145-bracing-for-doomsday-on-may-21-2011.html
 
Grado's marketing, etc reminds me of Magnepan, like 'we make good products for regular people in the US of A and the low to mid-end are good value.  If you want to try our top-end stuff, be our guest.  They ain't chopped liver, either.'
 
You have to give it up for a small U.S. company surviving against the Krauts and the off-shoring whores.  
 
 

 

[maverickronin]

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This is your impression, and I can see where it comes from.  What Grado really fails at (if you want to look at it as a failure) is creating a sense of value through marketing hype.  Other companies invest a lot of money into packaging that would be suitable for a Cartier watch, literature touting their "advanced technologies", having a major presence at every audio event, having glossy pamplets available at audio stores, and all those things that get audiophiles drooling.  
 
Grado, on the other hand, sends the headphones to you in a basic cardboard box and leaves it for you to decide how good they are.  For people expecting jewelry style packaging this can be a let down and can create a sense of lesser value compared to velvet wrapped alternatives. 

 
I'm not talking about anything like that.  I could care less about fancy packaging, glossy pamphlets, or marketing hype.  When I say that the high end models aren't likely to be a good value for most people I'm talking about the raw technical ability you get for your dollar.  Except for their unique voicing, the ones I've heard lose in pretty much every other technical area.
 
That's why I say they're only worth it if you're in love with the sound sig.

 

[pcf]

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 Except for their unique voicing, the ones I've heard lose in pretty much every other technical area.
 
That's why I say they're only worth it if you're in love with the sound sig.

Which highend Grados have you heard and what other headphones did you compare them with?
 
 

 

[Beagle]

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Personally, I would rather have them invest their $$ into the headphone rather than fancy packaging and literature, so I like their packaging.  It's much more ecologically sound anyway.
 

I like that simple cardboard thing, rather than that stupid fused-together bubble packaging that you have to tear to shreds or stab repeatedly with a knife to open, all the while realizing that you must now like these headphones because you're stuck with them because you've destroyed the packaging.
 
 

 

[maverickronin]

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Which highend Grados have you heard and what other headphones did you compare them with?
 

 
The higher end ones I've heard are HF2 and RS1.  I've owned SR80s and SR325is and haver heard a few others from the prestige series.  I'm not counting the GS1000/PS1000 which I haven't heard because the FR charts show they have very obviously different voicing and aren't as relevant.  I was talking about comparing them to cheaper mid priced options like the DT880, HD600, HD650, K701, and K601.  To my ears (and possibly faulty memory) neither of them had the combination of frequency extension, detail, and soundstage (which is admittedly a preference), and imaging.
 
I'm not rabidly anti Grado though.  I actually do like the Grado voicing from time to time (it keeps me focused on boring work stuff) and I think I'd still own a pair of Grados if not for the fact that my house/office/cube is too noisy for a pair of open 'phones with that much treble.  When I turn it up loud enough to hear the mids the treble gets very piercing.  If any of those quiet down some then I might get another pair but it wouldn't be any higher than another used SR325i unless I got a very nice raise.

 

[bbophead]

For me, this is all I need to know:  "the GS1000/PS1000 which I haven't heard because the FR charts show they have very obviously different voicing and aren't as relevant."
 
 

 

[maverickronin]

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For me, this is all I need to know:  "the GS1000/PS1000 which I haven't heard because the FR charts show they have very obviously different voicing and aren't as relevant."

Ok.  I never claimed omniscience regarding Grados.  I was just offering my opinion and adding in what I've heard from others to fill gaps in my knowledge.  I tried to state that clearly and I tried to be fair.  I guess I failed...

 

[Danthrax]

This thread has made a turn for the worse I see...

 

[pcf]

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z


Ok.  I never claimed omniscience regarding Grados.  I was just offering my opinion and adding in what I've heard from others to fill gaps in my knowledge.  I tried to state that clearly and I tried to be fair.  I guess I failed...

I think your opinion will carry more weight if it is based on your own listening experience. The conclusion might still be the same but at least the information is not secondhand. A lot people don't like those two headphones (or other Grados) anyway. The difference is that they have heard them.

 

[maverickronin]

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I think your opinion will carry more weight if it is based on your own listening experience. The conclusion might still be the same but at least the information is not secondhand. A lot people don't like those two headphones (or other Grados) anyway. The difference is that they have heard them.

 
Which is why all I specifically said about those two models is that they have a different sound sig from the "normal" Grados.  I can say that with confidence without having heard them because of their obvious differences in FR.
 

 

[LugBug1]

Just getting back to the packaging... I've always thought that glossy packaging is only needed when a manufacturer is desperate to sell something. You see it in the shop all in shiny packaging, wow I'll have that! you say to your self ha ha.
 
Some of my expensive equipment that I've bought new has come in a basic box, and I actually find that comforting. Comforting to know that the manufacturer doesn't need to use fancy packaging (not at least for the extra cost to you), and in fact knows that it could be insulting to the intelligence of the buyer.

 

[pcf]

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Just getting back to the packaging... I've always thought that glossy packaging is only needed when a manufacturer is desperate to sell something. You see it in the shop all in shiny packaging, wow I'll have that! you say to your self ha ha.
 
Some of my expensive equipment that I've bought new has come in a basic box, and I actually find that comforting. Comforting to know that the manufacturer doesn't need to use fancy packaging (not at least for the extra cost to you), and in fact knows that it could be insulting to the intelligence of the buyer.

I agree. Most of the fancy looking headphone boxes are not practical for headphones storage at all. They are just part of the packaging design to sell the products.

 

[LugBug1]

.....
 
Grado's reputation can't be that bad at the moment when people like me, who have been into audio for years and are only now succumbing to the pleasure that is the "Grado sound"... It could be a case of access.? Before access to Ebay and such like, Europeans like myself would have had to pay a higher price for a product such as Grado. Now we can order straight from the nearest supplier if needed.
 
It may be a simple case of "complacency" on behalf of the people who have had Grado on there door-step for a long time and are now wanting more.. or better? as the case may be.
 
Grado may be unfashionable for some people, but for others it is the height of fashion!