Are Grado speakers any good?

[doucanoe]

Those Grado speakers might prove to be interesting from a vintage stereo perspective. I also don’t recall ever seeing or reading anything about them. Every time you think you have seen everything, another vintage stereo speaker that you are unfamiliar with makes an appearance.

RC

 

[onepixel]

Any pics yet?!

 

[Decatur Greg]

Resurrecting this old thread because I just picked up a pair of these speakers. Got them for free and haven't had a chance to hook them up yet. They cabs are in very good shape. The tweed cover has some wear around the edges. The metal badges on the front are still intact!

This is about the only thing I've been able to find on these speakers anywhere on the web. Looks like they are VERY rare. Someone tried to sell a pair for a starting bid of $1,500 last year on the bay. No bites from what I saw.

They still have the papers on the back.

Here's my question... they're listed as 16 ohm at 15 watts maximum power. What would you recommend to drive these? I don't want to damage my amp and I've never played around with 16 ohm speakers before.

Photos coming tonight when I get home!

 

[BadassBob]

Here's my question... they're listed as 16 ohm at 15 watts maximum power. What would you recommend to drive these? I don't want to damage my amp and I've never played around with 16 ohm speakers before.

Photos coming tonight when I get home!

Single-ended tube powa! :yes:

 

[Decatur Greg]

Single-ended tube powa! :yes:

BABob!!! good to hear from ya buddy :yes:

So my Dynaco ST-70 wouldn't be bothered by the 16 ohm load?

 

[BadassBob]

BABob!!! good to hear from ya buddy :yes:

So my Dynaco ST-70 wouldn't be bothered by the 16 ohm load?

I wouldn't think so, give 'er a shot and report back :yes:

 

[Decatur Greg]

I was thinking (hoping?) the same thing. I think going lower in ohms can damage the amp but going up shouldn't(?)

I would think it would not drive the amp as hard and they wouldn't be as loud but I'm not 100% sure.

Hopefullly GordonW will chime in...

 

[Bostown]

Looking forward to seeing some pics , especially since the person who originally posted about them didn't upload or link to any.

I thought it was funny in Post #16 that the person immediately went into the "rare = Cha Ching" logic. how so UNtrue that is.

 

[bare]

Hey! theres' NO underestimating Humans.. embarassingly.

 

[malvrich]

I found some with beige grills and silver Grado badge:
http://www.head-fi.org/content/type/61/id/669779/width/350/height/700/flags/LL

 

[Decatur Greg]

They DO exist!!

Here they are. I have yet to hook them up to my amp...

Freecycle I F'n LOVE YA!!!

I also got a Pioneer SA-1040, Pioneer tuner, Hitachi turntable and a pair of Avid 102 speakers for free. I'll do another thread with pics of the whole haul.

Funny thing??? This was all in response to a broken turntable that was spoken for. He replied that he had a box of records and (I swear!) 4 big speakers I HAD to take to get the rest of the stereo equipment. WHO the F knew????

 

[Decatur Greg]

More pics

Can only do 5 pics per post... the rest of the story.

When I DO hook them up tonight the system will be...

Technics SL-1300 MK2 (yes, with the busted lift...) Grado gold with 8MZ stylus into a HK Citation eleven pre into a Dynakit ST-70.

I like the fact that the power amp and speakers both have screw terminals... a match made in heaven??? :scratch2:

We shall see!!!

 

[Decatur Greg]

I found some with beige grills and silver Grado badge:
http://www.head-fi.org/content/type/61/id/669779/width/350/height/700/flags/LL

Hmmmm... looks VERY similar I think

 

[coonmanx]

Those Avid 102s are nice speakers as well.

 

[Decatur Greg]

Looking forward to seeing some pics , especially since the person who originally posted about them didn't upload or link to any.

I thought it was funny in Post #16 that the person immediately went into the "rare = Cha Ching" logic. how so UNtrue that is.

I totally agree! IF you can find someone willing to pay for rarity it can take YEARS!

I just wanna see how they sound. Not really interested in flipping them

I'm a fan of the Grado labs sound. I use their carts exclusively on my turntables and have their iPhone headphones - that do sound great for the money!

I'll be honest, I like my Shure 940 cans and haven't gotten any other Grado phones.

 

[Decatur Greg]

These are definitely not the speakers in the original post. They're 16" x 16" x 9"... maybe the little brother to the "holy grail"????

Regardless... I think they're pretty cool and can't wait to hear them

 

[Decatur Greg]

ahh, now we see the Grado Speakers...look like W's

Bush's speakers? :scratch2:

Edit: Sorry, should that have gone in the political forum??? They only play through the RIGHT channel??? LOL!!!

Edit two after thinking... Wharfedales???? I saw a pair recently and they do look similar. I think these are full range... I'm afraid to take the grill cloth off to see. Definitely only one hole in the grill from what I can see.

 

[Decatur Greg]

Those Avid 102s are nice speakers as well.

I liked them, especially with that Pioneer... it puts out 100 watts and drove them pretty well. I think they're 102a from the paper on the back, it's handwritten and hard to tell. They are definitely heavy enough to be good speakers. OUCH!!!

All this (minus the Grados) is going to my step-son for his birthday present.

He told me he wanted to listen to vinyl again when we had lunch on Father's Day so I'm giving him the turntable, amp, tuner and Avid speakers after I clean them up and make sure they won't burn his house down.

He's a good kid and great father. :thmbsp:

 

[Decatur Greg]

How to refinish wood???

The cabs are in pretty good shape. No plant marks or drink rings. :thmbsp:

What should I use to clean and maintain them?

 

[Decatur Greg]

First listen...

I hooked them up to my ST-70 last night and gave them a listen.

As expected, these are definitely NOT rock n roll speakers. Cerwin Vega's they ain't!

At first there was some distortion on the left speaker. I kept the volume down and they smoothed out after a while. This could have been the amp warming up or the fact that the speakers had been in storage for a while.

I listened to Sonny Rollins' Way Out West (reissue 180gm vinyl). I was pleasantly surprised by the soundstage and dynamics. Even the bass surprised me! It definitely wasn't in your face but it was there, in all the right spots. I had them sitting atop a pair of JBL's that are on stands so they were probably a little above ear level. All in all, very pleasing to the ear.

I do have the cable for my HK citation eleven that allows you to route the power amp back through the pre for multiple pairs of speakers.

If it rains here this weekend I'll hook up both the Grados and JBL L19s and do an A/B comparison.