A Grade Above: The Legacy of Joseph GradoCategories: Headphones, Hi-Fi

In memory of Joseph Grado founder of Grado Labs 1924 – 2015. 

How many inventors can you remember, right off the top of your head? Okay, and how many of those were hi-fi inventors? We’re willing to bet that any hi-fi (particularly the head-fi and vinyl crowds) will be able to name Joseph Grado, right off the bat. The second-generation Italian immigrant first made his name (however you pronounce it, it’s currently a toss up between /ɡreɪdəʊ/ and /ɡrɑdəʊ/) by making phono-cartridge history on his kitchen table in Brooklyn before founding a company that would go on to make some of the finest cartridges the world has ever seen.

Grado are a brand that inspire loyalty, high standards and ingenuity, all-the-while maintaining a pedigree that other brands envy, world-over. This was never more apparent than when the founder – and much beloved – figurehead Joseph Grado passed away just a few short weeks ago. Tributes flew in from all corners of the world. and here is our contribution in loving memory of the man who revolutionised the phono cartridge, and paved the way for the same thing to happen with the open-backed headphone.

But where did  it all begin, and where did it go from there? Well, that’s what we’re here to tell you.

Joseph Grado

It all began with a young man, born in New York, who worked as an expert watch maker for Tiffany’s & Co. He was one of the only master watch makers in New York in the 40s, but that life wasn’t meant for him. His true path was revealed when he visited a Saul Marantz – upon discovering what hi-fi was all about – in a bid to improve the sound of his own system. Marantz immediately clocked his potentiaand introduced him to the Sherman Fairchild Hi-fi division, in  order to dispense advice on improving the manufacturing process of his phono pickups. After a brief spell working for them, he came up with an idea for his own phono-cartridge and decided to set out on his own. After scraping together $2,000 (roughly $17,500 in today’s money) in 1953 he set to work in his own kitchen in Brooklyn.

His first sale came two years later, to Leonard Radio. The proceeds of which allowed him to up sticks from his kitchen table and set up shop in his family’s Brooklyn fruit store, which eventually became the Grado Lab and remains the place where every single Grado product is designed, built and packaged for distribution, even to this very day! The first sale in 1955 was indeed a step in the right direction, but Grado only cemented himself firmly in the halls of hi-fi history when he was awarded his first patent in 1959: the patent for the first moving coil phono cartridge (as seen above).

Following this, Grado experimented with a few different genres of product, including vinyl cleaning, tone arms and even a turntable. But by the time 1964 had rolled around Grado and his small team decided to stick to what they did best and decreed to only produce cartridges, cementing Grado Labs as a specialist in this field.

 Image courtesy of wired.com

With each passing year came new patents, and the Grado legend was firmly in the making.

The Cartridges

Exact information (and pictures) of the cartridges is nigh-impossible to root out, particularly the earlier series. But here is a brief run down of the series and the models therein…

B Series (1965 – 1967)

Models: B, BE, BR, BT/R

F Series ‘Grado Stereo Phono Pickups’ (1971 – 1973)

Models: FTR , FTE, FCR. FCE, FTE+1, FCE+ 1, F3E, F2, F1

G Series (1978 – 1980)

Models: GTR, GTE, GCR, GCE, GTE+1, GCE+1, GF3E, GF2, GF1, G, G1, G2

M Series (1983 -1985)

Models: MTE, MCE, MTE+1, MCE+1, MF3E, MF2, MF1, M, M1, M2

Z Series (1988 – 1990)

Models: ZTE, ZCE, ZTE+1, ZF3E, ZF2, ZF1, Z, Z1, Z2

Prestige Series (1996-1998)

“Designed for high output and excellent stability under severe use. A considerable tip mass reduction results in a frequency response to 50 kHz and beyond and tracking forces from 1-2 grams. Acclaimed by experts as virtually the finest pickups in the world at their price. Prestige models available in both 1/2″ mount and P-mount. All styli in the Prestige series are user replaceable.”

Reference Series (1998 – 2000)

“The Reference Series of wooden cartridges are a fixed coil design, hand-crafted at Grado labs from a specially selected species of mahogany. An intricate procedure of curing is done between production steps to achieve optimal sonic quality. This series generator/stylus module is not replaceable* allowing a redesigned one-piece magnetic circuit and a reduction of chassis resonances. The Reference Series utilizes manufacturing and assembly techniques of fantastic accuracy and precision, and the result is virtual perfection. Should be used only with the finest equipment.”

Statement (2000-2002)

The Statement1 utilizes gold coil wires, a low mass fast generating system, a boron cantilever and a diamond cut specially for Grado. All this is hand-assembled within a machined, new processed, Australian Jarrah wood housing. The output for the Statement1 measures at 0.5 mV. The lowest output ever offered by Grado. The low frequency information and its portrayal of bass dynamics are solid, powerful and authoritative. The midrange is rich, complex and highly believable. Its top-end seems to extend forever with speed and remarkable delicacy. Imaging is detailed and precise with a sound stage that wraps its arms around you and draws you into the music.”

Beyond Uncle Joe

John – Grado’s nephew – took up an apprenticeship in 1965 and became a full time employee in 1975 eventually going on to take the company over in 1990 and introducing the design and production of headphones into the mix. 1990 was a difficult time for Grado, and production had been scaled back to the kitchen table again. But with the help of his wife Loretta, John took the reigns firmly and built the company back up to the audio-powerhouse it once was, this time with some of the finest headphones on the market (as well as world-class cartridges) as fodder. But we’ll cover headphones at another time (it’s a pretty big topic).

It hasn’t always been plain sailing, but Grado’s legacy very much lives on through the men of the Grado family, the passion, the perfection and the sheer attention to detail very much passed through the generations. Grado HQ hasn’t moved since it was first shifted to the family fruit store in 1955 – and there may it remain for the next few generations of Grados.

Rest well Uncle Joe – your legacy is in very capable hands.