Grado Labs
Grado Labs, a family owned, American company, has been producing some of the finest audio products since 1953. Founded by Joseph Grado, with his brother John, Grado are known for inventing the moving coil stereo cartridge and developing the first true high-end dynamic headphone. These headphones gave birth to what is now the Audio Quality Headphone market.
Through the years, Grado have been a textbook family business. John Grado took the reins from his uncles in the early 1990’s having first swept the floors at our Brooklyn, NY offices in the 1960’s. In 2023, John turned to his brother Richard to lead the team forward and continue a tradition that is 70 years in the making. A third generation of brothers, Matthew and Jonathan Grado round out a strong leadership team.
But family participation doesn’t end there. There have been dozens of spouses, children, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews who have spent time working and being part of Grado. There are people from the close knit Brooklyn neighborhood, starting as family friends, becoming trusted employees and eventually being part of our extended family. All of this makes Grado what they are today.
Producing the finest cartridges and award winning headphones has always been what’s driven Grado to continue innovating. Grado has dedicated all their resources to producing the world’s finest phonograph cartridge, then in 1976 designing the first true high-end cartridge, reaching prices never imagined possible at $1,000. In the early 2000’s Grado redesigned the cartridge line, virtually eliminating resonant distortion in the magnetic and electrical circuits, bringing analog to new levels of performance. Today’s Timbre and Lineage Series of cartridges have been praised as “the most significant advancement in analog reproduction” resulting in a Golden Note Award for analog design. The current Prestige Series cartridge lineup is considered to be a “Best Value” in phonograph cartridges.
Development of what became the first true high-end dynamic headphone was a turning point in the evolution of headphone design. Astonishing the most critical of reviewers, these headphones performed to levels previously attained by only the best full-range speaker systems. The first line of headphones were introduced in the early 1990’s. The 2nd generation “I” series launched in 2008, 2014 brought the 3rd generation “E” series and the current “X” series, our 4th generation, was launched in 2020.
Grado continued to expand their lineup with the introduction of IEM’s and their Bluetooth and Special Edition headphones. The Heritage Series, launched in 2015, utilized wood housings sourced from trees that fell in Brooklyn during 2012’s Super Storm Sandy or the GH2 that introduced us to Brazilian Cocobolo. With its amazing acoustic resonance, Cocobolo is now used in the current flagship GS3000x. June 2020 brought the launch of the Hemp Headphone, a unique natural wood, offering environmentally friendly and luxurious characteristics. There were fun marketing opportunities as well, a housing made from Hemp wood offered a chance to go in all kinds of promotional directions.
In 2018 Grado introduced their first bluetooth headphone, the GW100. These are the first open back, bluetooth headphones on the market. Then, 2019 marked the first foray into the TWS marketplace with the launch of the GT220. Both of these headphones are recognized for producing industry leading sound quality in a wireless product. Today Grado offer the 3rd generation GW100x as well as the GT220.
Grado continues to operate from their modest offices in Brooklyn, NY, and are still a proud American business. They are located in the building that their father/grandfather/great grandfather Pasquale bought back in 1918. A building that housed an apple store, or should I say the Grado family fruit store. Grado's future is bright, with family members ready to continue doing what we’ve done since 1953, making some of the World’s Finest audio products.
