Grado-rama: A Guide to Grados

Lol that’s a blast from the past!

 

Grado could easily have a resurgence in the headphone market. But they’ve been making basically the same super polarizing headphone for 40 years. Their image is really suffering I think. When I think of Grado I think “old, outdated, problematic technology”.

John needs to let go of just making stuff he likes. I think the market is tired of that singular vision.

He should make a reference line that is truly a reference and re release a headphone like the HP1000 but with better technical abilities. And a line up of cheaper headphones with that same signature.

And then a lineup of headphones that takes that neutral signature and gives it a romantic twist. This is what the original RS-1 was. Not more f'ing treble peaks but a sweeter tone than true neutral but still balanced.

People would buy these.

 

I agree. They could modernize a bit and it would be a big deal. I hope that they do. Grado is great to work with. Great foundation. They really are doing really well even now.

 

I don't necessarily mind their classic look, but for real, can't they offer some more premium options (e.g. better (padded) headband, more quality parts in the rods/blocks/gimbal department?). Take a page out of the Joe Grado design and give that a modern twist.

Though I am sure one of the biggest hang ups people have is the "no detachable cable" aspect. It still puts many people off when they discover this.

 

I think that would be silly if it were true because unless you spend a lot, most replacement cables would be equal or worse. And I have not heard of Grado cables getting ruined and ruining the headphones.

 

I have a pair, but can't be sure of the exact model (whether its the i or e). Someone ship me a pair of RS-1X to compare pls

How much I like them depends on the pads. Not a fan of stock bowls (too thin) or flats (too dull), but the counterfeit shipibo pads from China are pretty nice when I pull the pads back as far as I can to reveal the wooden baffle. They can also be "reversed" to give a reference-like sound.

 

I wouldn't usually care but the old grado cable is the second most stiff and uncomfortable cable ever made. And then they updated the cables to the most stiff and uncomfortable cables ever made.

So for grado specifically, detachable cables would be an extreme improvement (and I currently own 3 of them).

 

What irks me more than the lack of a detachable cable is the $170 price tag to get it terminated to 4-pin XLR instead of 1/4". There are many balanced amps that Grados could be used with, but this makes it much less appealing.

 

Grado is a relatively old yet small company, and I don't imagine they have the budget for R&D or expanding their line, and given their niche and being "old fashioned" they will stick with what they know rather than experiment.

They've had essentially the same headphone lineup for years and have streamlined it to minimal changes/parts/etc across the entire series. Bringing in new styles, new parts, new anything, changes your process and increases costs and space which may not be viable. They've also staggered their pricing to hit basically every single budget bracket. There's no confusion because there's no overlapping options. There's no mix and match of pads or headbands. Buy the thing as is and that's it.

We've seen them do the occasional collaboration or special editions which are all limited runs, and that's probably as much excitement as we'll see out of them. They found a formula and it's been working. They're kinda like Bose in that they established an early foothold with name recognition, and frankly that's kinda enough to carry you for a good while.

 

Making the cables removable would add to their production costs and time, but it would really be nice.

I'm pretty happy with Grado as is, but everybody has to keep growing and getting better.

 

it's very possible that even though they are not in the "limelight" anymore, they are still making as much profit as they need/want and can't really handle producing more headphones anyways so they aren't motivated to make any changes to their business model.

The headphone market has increased exponentially since John Grady's years of most notoriety when it was either a Grado or a Sennheiser you bought.

So just because they aren't talked about as much doesn't mean they aren't still making just as much if not more profits to this day. Kind of refreshing actually if that's the case - seeing a company that isn't trying to constantly grow in sales and profit margins.

 

They did introduce the e series and then later the x series and the drivers have changed, even if the fundamentals haven't. SR225x is my go-to for low power use. Minidisc, phone, MacBook, iPod, etc. Sounds good out of almost anything.

In this era of kilobuck headphones and endless debate over which $5000 DAC and $3000 amp are best to listen to them, a pair of SR225s for $225 is a damn bargain. They feel like one of the few companies not giving us the middle finger with ever product (only if we bother them, proper Brooklyn style).

 

All these Grado threads have gotten me interested in Grado as a complement to my Atticus and Verite for when I don't want to be confined to my desktop and want something portable, easy to drive, and with a much different presentation.

Most of my music taste is heavily electric guitar-biased. I'm a sucker for guitar in a variety of indie and alternative rock, post-rock and post-metal, shoegaze, etc. and it seems Grado could be fantastic for this, but I've never tried one so I want to start with one of their budget options to see if I fall in the camp of people who love or can't stand their house sound (and ergonomics).

If I do end up liking the house sound, I think the RS2x would be my Grado of choice based on everything I've read. As a first 'taste' of Grado, is the 60x or 80x more faithful to the classic Grado crunch that the RS2x has?

 

For the music you describe, skip the 80 and go straight to the 325x. You may end up staying there

 

Do you think the 325x might be a better fit for the music I mentioned than even the RS2x? From what I gather they're darker, more energetic, and have more bass than the RS2x. I'm a bit worried about the comfort of the F pads but it seems L style pads from Nyczaj or Beautiful Audio might work to shift them a bit more towards the RS2x tonally and also improve comfort if I had issues with the stock pads

 

If you've ever tried the stock Grado L pads, then that should give you a rough idea of how uncomfortable the F pads are; though, I think I find the F pads to actually be marginally more comfortable. I haven't used the L pads in a long time, but I recall the foam being rather stiff; this combined with the limited surface area touching my ears made for a very uncomfortable pad. While the F pads aren't soft either, at least the increased surface area (due to them being flat) distributes the pressure better. But they're still not very comfortable.

And, if you're looking for portability, keep in mind that all Grado's come with a thick non-detachable cable. If you're handy enough (I'm not), you can mod it to be detachable, which would make them a much better candidate for being "portable".

I like the Grado sound, but the comfort/ergonomics of them just kill it for me. So, ETA O2's are my go-to when I want a comfortable & portable on-ear (granted, they don't sound like Grado's at all).

 

I've never tried anything Grado so I'm just speculating that I'll find them very uncomfortable since I wear glasses and my ears are also somewhat sensitive. I'm anticipating that I'll have to replace the pads on any Grado I get with something like the Nyczaj pads which look a lot more comfortable. I'm stopping by ZMF today and I'm sure Zach has some Grados on hand so hopefully I'll be able to form some initial impressions while I'm there visiting!

 

in some ways, Grados are better for better for glasses-wearers since they're on-ear (so you don't need to be concerned about your glasses breaking the seal nor having the pads directly press against your glasses), but you may need to stretch out the headband to lessen the clamp (otherwise, you may get some discomfort as your ears are sandwiched between the pads and your frames).

ZMF sells some earpad adapters for attaching over-ear pads. I think I tried the Beyer pads with them a long time ago, but I didn't like what they did to the sound. I can't recall what the sonic change was; I just know they didn't last long.

 

I would not worry about comfort. Pads are cheap.

You have an Atticus and a Verite and want to explore Grados. 225x or 325x are optimal (I think for the music you mentioned 325x will be where it’s at). RS2x will give you a more refined presentation, but that’s hardly an “intro” model. Obviously if you can, audition!

 

I have the GH2's (one of my favourite headphones) and I only use Beautiful Audio pads and my Shipibo pads. Both are super comfy, but were a bit expensive.