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Are Grado speakers any good?

white_swan

white_swan

Active Member
A friend of mine is selling a pair of Grado stereo speakers. They look to be 1960s or 1970s vintage. They are medium bookshelf size. I wonder what these sound like? Can anyone advise me?
 
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I liked all their phono cartridges I ever heard. If the price was right that would be good enough for me to want to check 'em out.
-Ed
 
Add yet another one to the WTF??? list.

Cartridges? Yes.

Heaphones? Yes.

Headphone amps? Yes.

Speakers? No.

Could you be thinking of Koss?
 
I now have Grado speakers in my possession. They are approximately 10" x 20" x 16". The grills are tweed with a handsome silver and black embossed Grado badge. I can't see what is inside them and there are no screws on the back or obvious way to remove the grills. I'll be damned if I'm going to mess these up until I talk to old man Grado himself and get some advice. The surprise is that they are actually a remarkable sounding loudspeaker. I'm shocked by how good these are and very, very curious to see what I can find out on Monday when I call Grado Labs. Apparently these are the rarest of the rare. I'm amazed at what a classy and refined sound this is for a vintage piece.
 
Very exciting.

I use a Grado cartridge and SR-60 headphones.

I never knew they made speakers.

Nice!
 
thedelihaus said:
Very exciting.

I use a Grado cartridge and SR-60 headphones.

I never knew they made speakers.

Nice!
Click to expand...

I knew they made them, but I didn't know anything more than that. It mentions on their website that they were once in the speaker business. These speakers are beautiful. Again, I'm very surprised at how good they sound. They are very clear, open, natural, and dynamic, without being overly bright or hard sounding. The overall balance may be just a tad forward for my taste, but I am going to look into refreshing the crossovers. There is no question, these people were listening. This is a sophisticated sound.
 
white_swan said:
I knew they made them, but I didn't know anything more than that. It mentions on their website that they were once in the speaker business. These speakers are beautiful. Again, I'm very surprised at how good they sound. They are very clear, open, natural, and dynamic, without being overly bright or hard sounding. The overall balance may be just a tad forward for my taste, but I am going to look into refreshing the crossovers. There is no question, these people were listening. This is a sophisticated sound.
Click to expand...

Show us the pictures!
:worthless
 
Orion Blue Book Mentions 2 Pairs:

Grado Lab Standard
Years:1964-69
Price New:300/Pair

Grado Mini Lab
Years:1964-69
Price New:100/Pair

I betcha ya go the Lab Standards.What a great find!Please post pics and any info you find out.Wow.
Jimmy
 
Yup..... John's incle did market

sime speakers. Beutufully crafted never a comercial success. His own persinal sysytem is compised of 32 RE-1 drivers per side from his phones. Great interviwe with John on Grado histoty on Head-fi .org sidr. well worth the tims..
 
just info

I remember reading about and seeing pics of a speaker using grado headphone speakers as a linesource they were said to be good haven't heard them though.
enjoy F.
 
I spoke with Grado Labs this morning. Even they don't know what they are. I talked to an old guy who's obviously been there for a long time and he said he can't remember what's inside them. He advised me there was no way to take the grills off and just to leave them alone and enjoy them. He also said that I was the only person he knows of anywhere who has a pair. If these are as rare as they seem to be, I think am going to sell them. It looks like this is a very special item. I will post pictures soon.
 
cannext said:
I remember reading about and seeing pics of a speaker using grado headphone speakers as a linesource they were said to be good haven't heard them though.
Click to expand...
I don't think these are those, as those were made much more recently, and should be much taller than the dimensions cited.
 
I spoke with Grado Labs this morning. Even they don't know what they are. I talked to an old guy who's obviously been there for a long time and he said he can't remember what's inside them.

That wouldn't have been Joe Grado, himself, would it? Not just an old guy, but a legendin the audio industry, and one of the few still alive...
 
Interesting. I found some Grado Speakers on SF CL with the same exact dimensions. Posted 6-02-2007. 3:02 PM PDT.

But the ads been flagged for removal. :scratch2:
 
Same ones for sale?
**Edited by Moderators to remove active sale link- Against AK Rules in forums other than Dollars & Sense**
 
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