Grado Labs
Brooklyn, New York, United States · founded 1953
Grado is one of the archetypal independent, family-run boutique audio makers: three generations, hand-assembly in a single Brooklyn building, no mass advertising, and a distinctive house sound. It matters historically as a pioneer of both the moving-coil phono cartridge and the modern high-end dynamic headphone.
Grado Labs is a family-owned American audio manufacturer that hand-builds high-end dynamic open-back headphones and phono cartridges in Brooklyn, New York. It was founded in 1953 by Joseph Grado, a trained watchmaker and former Tiffany & Co. employee who began making phono cartridges at his kitchen table and is credited with developing the moving-coil stereo cartridge (patented 1959). The company operates out of a Brooklyn building the family has owned since 1918 (originally a Grado family fruit store) and produces both headphones and cartridges, remaining privately held across three generations of the Grado family.
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At a glance
- Type
- Manufacturer
- Founder
- Joseph Grado
- Founded
- 1953
- Headquarters
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Price range
- Budget → flagship
- Makes / sells
- over-ear headphones, phono cartridges, headphone amps
- Known for
- dynamic open-back headphones, hand-assembled in Brooklyn USA, wood earcups (mahogany, maple, cocobolo), moving-coil and moving-iron phono cartridges
- Website
- gradolabs.com
Notable products
- SR80x (Prestige Series) — Long-running affordable open-back on-ear headphone; the Prestige/SR line is Grado's best-known entry point
- RS1x (Reference Series) — Flagship-tier hand-crafted wood (mahogany/hemp) open-back headphone
- GS3000x (Statement Series) — High-end wood open-back headphone at the top of the range
- Grado moving-coil / phono cartridges — Grado is credited with developing the moving-coil stereo cartridge; still produces Prestige and Reference series cartridges for turntables
Sources: Grado Labs — Official About page · Grado Labs — Wikipedia · All in the Family: The Story of Grado Labs — Sound & Vision · Inside Grado Labs, the family business hand-making headphones since 1953 — Fast Company · Historically Significant Phono Cartridges, Part 2: Grado — Dagogo