Description: Single-element dynamic headset. Nominal impedance: 40 ohms. Sensitivity: 96dB for 1mW input.
Price: $595. Approximate number of dealers: 500.
Manufacturer: Joseph Grado Signature Products, Westfield, NJ 07090 (1992). Grado Labs, 4614 Seventh Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11220 (2012). Tel: (718) 435-5340. Fax: (718) 633-6941. Web: www.gradolabs.com.
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: JA auditions the Grado & Stax headphones
I do quite a bit of headphone listening during the day, making use of their convenience to shut out the office hubbub while I get down to serious copy editing. The system I use is modest—a pair of no-longer-available Sennheiser HD420SLs driven by an Advent 300 receiver I bought for $75 from Andrew Main, one of Stereophile's popular production people, with CD source provided by a Denon DCD-1500 II—but I get quite a bit of musical satisfaction from it. It was with great interest, therefore, that I read Gary A. Galo's report on Joseph…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Measuring headphones is fraught with practical problems, mainly due to the fact that the target response for a drive-unit that fires straight into the ear canal is anything but flat, given the frequency-response–modifying natures of the pinnae and inner ear canal which are unique for each person. Fig.1, extracted from an excellent 1980 AES paper (footnote 1) from Audio Contributing Editor Jon Sank, shows the envelope of responses he found desirable for conventional headphones to sound flat. For this review, I measured the responses of the headphones both in free…
I've already admitted I have a live music problem, OK? I don't need something awesome like GigFi making my addiction worse. Much much worse.
GigFi combines two of my absolute favorite things in the world: custom playlists and live music. By creating customized Spotify playlists listing music from artists playing shows in your city within the following days, GigFi provides an aural summary of the music happening around you at all times. I had no idea Medeski, Martin and Wood were in town! And Dethklok?? And it's not just about figuring out which big dogs are around, GigFi offers music…
Register to win an autographed Pat Metheny The Orchestrion Project Blu-ray disc (MSRP $24.98) we are giving away.
According to Dolby:
The Blu-ray features amazing Dolby TrueHD with advanced 96k Upsampling and 7.1 surround sound, immersing you in the concert and taking full advantage of Blu-ray disc capabilities for optimal play in home theaters. In addition, Dolby conducted a special interview with the star of The Orchestrion Project, Pat Metheny that your audience will love. The video contains a Q&A with Pat as well as insight into the stunning TrueHD 7.1 surround…
There never seem to be enough AC outlets, and when there are, they're not always easily accessible. I have two dedicated 15A duplex outlets at the power-amp end of my room, but a subwoofer and multiple power amps (up to three at a time) exhaust those facilities. What happens when I need to add a second subwoofer or other EQ? What do I do when I want to keep more than three amps cooking for quick comparisons?
Until I find a way to run more dedicated lines, the best option is to split the AC sources by using a power-distribution box that takes up space and can be costly, or to simply add a…
The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun by Robert Greenfield 431 pages. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Hardcover, $30.
Robert Greenfield's engaging biography shows that Ahmet Ertegun was destined to dominate. The son of a Turkish ambassador, Ertegun (1923–2006) left his native country at age two, and lived for a decade in Switzerland, France, and England, where he had a nanny who had previously cared for the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. His first American home was an architectural gem of a mansion on Washington's Embassy Row. House guests included Cary…
[Note - this article is from the May, 1963 issue of Stereophile]
Many readers have asked why we don't maintain a permanent listing in each issue of The Stereophile of those components that we feel to be the best available, with or without qualification.
So, we are following our readers' suggestion, and will list in each issue groups of components which, at publication time, we feel are ones from which our readers would be well advised to assemble their systems. The list will change from time to time, as new products appear, old ones are obsoleted, or manufacturers change their…
Back in August, we told you about the proposed $150 Orbit turntable from upstart U-Turn Audio. The company is now moving closer to making their dream a reality. And, if they can keep their promise of high-performance sound and construction, that reality will likely be a dream-come-true for many young and budget-minded music lovers.
U-Turn Audio is funding their project through Kickstarter and hopes to raise $60,000 by Monday, January 21, 2013. As I write, 90 backers have pledged $15,666. (Is that a multiple of 33.3?)
Visit U-Turn Audio's Kickstarter page for more info…
In the summer of 2011, Stereophile's long-time editor in chief, John Atkinson, was invited by the Technical Council of the Audio Engineering Society to give the Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention in New York, October 21, 2011.
The AES website notes that the Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecture series was established in May 1999 by the AES Technical Council, the Board of Governors, and the Richard Heyser Scholarship Fund to honor the extensive contribution to the Society by this outstanding man, widely known for his ability to communicate new…