Grado Labs is known for its Brooklyn heritage and handcrafted line of headphones. While they’ve spent the last few years focused on unique releases and shoring up its entry-level devices, the attention has now turned to the high-end. Today, Grado announced the PS2000e model as its new flagship pair of headphones with a hybrid metal and wood design.
Grado has long used a variety of woods and metals in crafting its headphones. Not only does it help the brand standout from the competition, this attention to detail delivers some of our favorite sounding cans on the market today.
Every pair of Grado headphones goes through a strenuous design process and the PS2000e continues that trend. CEO John Grado put two years of design work into this new release, depending on years of expertise to craft a signature sound.
The decision to use maple and metal was two-fold. Wood delivers the type of sonic response that Grado prefers with “minimal signal colorations” that “produce un-obscured details from the music.” Each maple chamber is carved by hand and then placed inside the Smoked Chrome colored metal housing. The coloring here is killer. It’s like a sleek version of Apple’s Space Gray found on MacBooks or an iPhone.
Vice President Jonathan Grado explains the design process further to us:
“When I first started at Grado I wanted new releases to always be happening, but I’ve learned from my dad two fundamental powers, quality and patience. It’s been a decade since we last built a new flagship but I knew there was no reason to rush out a new one. Waiting has afforded us the opportunity to try new things, like using Maple, and combining all our learnings into the PS2000e to make a headphone that truly represents our heritage.”
Like most of Grado’s headphones, the latest flagship model is made by hand in Brooklyn. With a price tag of $2,695, these cans aren’t designed for your average listening session but rather for high-end situations and studio work. If you’re interested, the PS2000e’s are available for purchase today direct from the manufacturer.
Looking for Grado sound without the big-time price tag? Its lower-end models are an excellent buy at under $100. I’ve been using the SR80e’s for some time, and definitely prefer them to my AirPods or Beats. When it comes to listening to music as it was intended, it doesn’t get much better than Grado.
[9to5-press-release]
Grado Labs was founded in 1953 by audio legend Joseph Grado, inventor of the stereo moving coil phono cartridge. Today Grado makes world-renowned hand-built headphones, phono cartridges, and amplifiers. This third-generation family-owned company still operates out of its original Brooklyn location, led by current owner and CEO John Grado, whose son Jonathan serves as VP of Marketing. The company has been called “the finest electricity-to-sound transducer in the world,” and sound remains the company’s top priority.
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