5 out of 5
Grado has for more than half a century been one the leaders in design engineering for the high-end audio and recording industries. Grado is famous for its remarkable headphone and phono cartridge designs and holds over forty eight patents. In 1982 Company founder Joseph Grado, was inducted into the Audio Hall of Fame, an honor well-earned by a man who is credited with inventing the stereo moving coil cartridge and is responsible for more innovations in phono cartridge design than any other person in our lifetime.
New York born Joseph Grado has rarely been one to sit back when opportunity knocked. At age 16 he left vocational high school where he had been studying watch-making and had been at the top of his class. He went to work for Tiffany & Company and also taught the craft of watch-making in the evenings. When he discovered hi-fi sound in the early fifties, he made a visit to Saul Marantz to get help in improving the sound of his audio system. Impressed by Joseph's gifted ear, Marantz sent him over to Sherman Fairchild's floundering hi-fi division. With Saul Marantz making the introductions, Joseph promptly landed a top position in the company. As soon as he came up with a design for a viable product, he went out on his own. Scraping together $2,000, Joseph began to produce phono cartridges. In 1953 he started production of his cartridges on the kitchen table. In 1955 Joseph opened a factory in Brooklyn on the site of his Sicilian born father's grocery business which, to this day, has been the home of Grado Laboratories.
In the early years Grado also produced speakers, turntables and the highly acclaimed wooden tone-arm, which came in several models. Even today, years after it was discontinued, people are still using this tone-arm. In 1963 all of Grado's resources were dedicated to creating the world's finest phono cartridges. Grado ceased production of all other products and, for the next 21 years, focused only on cartridges. In 1976 phono cartridge design was taken to the next level and the first true high-end cartridges were created under the tutelage of Joseph Grado Signature Products. These new cartridges were very highly regarded and were the first to reach a price tag of $1000. In 1984 Grado introduced the Joseph Grado Signature Tone-arm that was so well received that, even now, years after the last one was shipped, calls are still received inquiring whether any are available for sale.
In the late 1980s Joseph began the development of what was to become the first true high-end dynamic headphone. The introduction of the Joseph Grado Signature Series of headphones was a major event in the evolution of headphone design. Joseph Grado's painstaking design process, combined with nearly a half century of experience manufacturing precision audio devices, astonished even the most critical reviewers. Joseph extended headphone performance to levels previously attained by only the very best full-range speaker systems in areas of dynamics, pitch control, harmonic accuracy and bass quality. In the process, he once again created a new category - true audiophile - quality headphones.
The Grado tradition continues...
John Grado, Joseph's nephew, is the second generation at Grado. John's father and his Uncle Joe shared a two family house during the 1950s. In 1953 John was born, the same year Uncle Joe sold his first phono cartridge. John started his career sweeping the floors for Uncle Joe when he was twelve years old. John attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where he studied electronics and engineering and John Jay College where he was a Criminal Justice major, but his most important education was learning by looking over the shoulder of Uncle Joe. Since then, John has worked his way up and is now President and owner of Grado Laboratories.
John Grado led the development of the Prestige Series of headphones, winners of more awards than any other headphone line in the world. The Prestige Series SR60 has become a legend worldwide. All the Prestige Series from the SR60 to the SR325 have been acclaimed best value in their price category. John also led the design of Grado's wooden series headphones. The wooden Reference and Statement Series have set all new standards for headphone listening pleasure. The RS1 and GS1000 are in such demand that they are usually in backorder. In 2008 the Grado design team went back to the drawing board. Their goal was to upgrade the entire headphone line and to develop a new flagship series. In 2009 Grado introduced these as the "i "series. All models from the SR60 through to the GS1000 have been upgraded to become the Grado SR60i and SR325i and now offer improved listening pleasure. Grado also introduced a headphone they had been working on for some time, their new flagship, the PS1000. The Professional Series PS1000 is a hybrid of wood and metal and extends the Grado sound to levels never before achieved. This is truly the best headphone Grado has ever produced.
Grado also decided, with the urging of sons Jonathan and Matthew, to enter the in-ear headphone market. Jonathan and Matthew both realized the importance of this segment of the headphone market and new Grado should be a part of it. Jonathan and Matthew were both instrumental in the process of voicing of the iGi, GR8 and the GR10. And so Grado enters its third generation.
Not forgetting analog, what made Grado famous, John undertook a new challenge. He set out to redesign the entire Grado line of phono cartridges. John took the knowledge gained while designing the wooden Reference headphones and applied this in the cartridge designs. Grado's system of damping has virtually eliminated resonant distortions in the magnetic and electrical circuits in the cartridge, bringing analog to a new level of performance. The wooden Reference and Statement Series of phono cartridges have been declared by the analog aficionados of the world as "the most significant advancement involving analog reproduction in the last thirty years." The wooden Reference and Statement Series of cartridges were honored with a Golden Note Award for analog design. Grado also revised the entry level cartridges with the Prestige Series which has been touted as the "Best Value" in phono cartridges in the world. John Borwick of Gramophone wrote about the Prestige Black model, "The Grado brought out most of the tonal accuracy and excitement and, though I've heard better, that was only with cartridges costing about 10 times the price. He then created the Grado Statement cartridge, that one world-renowned analog reviewer stated "might just be the best cartridge i have ever heard." In 2008 John and the design team reworked all the Grado cartridges, from the Black to the Statement models, and all were upgraded to create the "1" series. This new series of cartridges and the continued pursuit in the evolution of analog, shows that Grado intends to be the major player in phono-cartridge design with their continued support of analog.
As Grado closes in on 60 years of manufacturing products that offer top value to the consumer, we look forward to keeping the tradition alive and to the next generation of Grados.
Happy Listening!
