The Grado headphones are supplied in a rather shoddy looking box, surprising given the price. It is plain white cardboard with foam inserts. I can appreciate that the box is not relevant to the sound, but Grado need to consider something slightly more professional looking, after all you have just spent £1,000 on a new set of headphones.
With the headphones removed, Grado have also bundled an extension cable and a 6.35mm to 3.5mm converter cable.
The Grado GS1000i headphones might not appeal to everyone, but I think they look stunning. They use handcrafted Mahogany earpieces which are created using an intricate curing process. Grado say that they help to optimise the ‘tonal quality'. The GS1000i is the new version of the phones with upgraded dynamic transducers and a new 8 conductor cable design. With the new wood, cable and driver improvements Grado claim that the result is improved control and stability of the upper and lower range of the frequency spectrum.
The cable is extremely thick and is held in place with a substantial support. It ends in a 6.35mm gold plated plug. This cable is extremely high quality, as we would expect.
The GS1000i is a dynamic transducer design and works on an open air principle with a frequency response of 8hz to 35khz. The impedance is 32 ohms with a matched driver db rating of 0.05.
The Grado GS1000i cushion design is rather dramatic. The idea is to create a ‘room' for the ears to sit inside, which in effect creates a larger soundstage and greater spatial awareness. Grado spent many years working on fine tuning the balance between the driver and the wooden driver housing to create the desired end result. Finding the sweet spot was painstaking, but they claim to have found it.
That was a great read, something to mix in with the motherboards and processors !
I love my 80’s, but these are in the next league. great company, long may they continue to produce such great headphones.
I think you missed your calling as a hifi writer Zardon 🙂
£1000 for a set of headphones. I just fainted. bbiab.
I heard the RS1s in a local store and I loved them, I ended up with sennheiser 650’s and have regretted it ever since. I had been looking at the original 1000’s for years and never worked up the courage to spend so much money on a product like this. im re-tempted again …….. thanks, good read.
Yep, not surprising. For $150AUD i got the Grado Alessandro. Even though they dont have pieces of timber on them they still sound fantastic. Very clear with little distortion… draw back for me is the comfort level.. dont try and wear my particular ones beyond an hour… ouchy.. and the bass is lacking but you know compared to their top of the line models.. i shouldn’t be surprised. But they do sound great.
Also good to point out that only so many of these are made every year due to the sourcing of components to make the grade.
Wow those look amazing, a little more than I would pay but their 80s look good value for money
It’s really Fun to see other stuff reviewed here, I’m personally getting sick of video cards. And there is bags of good kit out there
The more I read this, the more I want them 🙁
Absolutely awesome phones, ive heard them. if you can ever get a chance to review the range topping PS1000’s please do so. I enjoyed this one.