page_title: Grado Labs
section_title: Past production
hierarchical_section_title: Grado Labs / Past production
caption_attribution_description: English: Grado Labs RA1 headphone amplifier Norsk bokmål: Grado Labs RA1 hodetelefonforsterker
context_page_description: Grado Labs is an American audio manufacturer known for hand building high-end dynamic open-back headphones and cartridges in Brooklyn, New York.
  Grado Labs was founded in 1953, by master watchmaker Joseph Grado. The Brooklyn company is currently run by President and CEO John Grado, who bought the company in 1990 after running day-to-day operations since the 1970s. John's son, Jonathan Grado, recently entered the company as the third generation of Grado.
  Grado specializes in dynamic open-air, supra-aural, high-fidelity headphones. In its over 60-year history, Grado has kept a very low profile by relying on word-of-mouth among audio dealers and consumers instead of mass advertising campaigns. Nearly all of Grado's products are hand-crafted in Brooklyn, New York.
  In 2014, Grado released their new line of headphones, The e Series, and was named in the Top Eight Most Social Small Companies in America by Mashable and American Express. In 2015 JetBlue partnered with Grado to bring their headphones to their Mint Flights.
  In June 2020, Grado Labs introduced a limited edition model utilising hemp, a world’s first.
context_section_description: The Joseph Grado Signature Products HP-1000 series headphones were limited to 1000 units produced. The HP-1000 series consisted of the HP1, which had polarity switches, the HP2, which lacked them, and the HP3, which was a short-run variant of the HP2 with looser driver matching.
  Grado produced a headphone amplifier called the RA1. It accepted RCA connector input, utilized AC or DC power via two 9-volt batteries. The output was 1/8" (6.35mm), and the circuitry was encased in a wooden chassis.
  Grado also manufactured an alternate headphone line for Alessandro Music Products; a maker of higher-end guitar components. Known as The Alessandro Music Series, these models have roughly the same external appearance with those from Grado, but feature a slightly different printed text and lack the identifying "button" of many lower-end Grado models. The series has said to have been designed for the musician market, and encompassed the entry-level MS1 with plastic housing, the MS2 with an aluminum driver housing, and the MS Pro, which featured a mahogany housing similar to that of the RS1.
caption: Grado RA1 headphone amplifier
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