Process: Grado Labs
Nearly 70 years ago, Joseph Grado, then a watchmaker at Tiffany & Co., began making phono cartridges inside his home in Brooklyn. Seeing the potential to do more with his craft, Joseph closed the family fruit store and turned it into Grado Laboratories. The decision turned out to be an inspired one, as by 1959 he was awarded patents for the first Stereo Moving Coil Cartridge and went on to enjoy three decades as the leader in the business as vinyl records hit their heyday. But by the late 1980's, as more portable methods of enjoying music came in to be, Joseph retired and sold the business to his nephew, John (who began sweeping the floors of Grado Labs at age 12). That's when Grado Labs began putting more time into the development of their now-acclaimed line of stereo headphones. Each pair of Grado headphones is built by hand in the same Brooklyn-based lab that doubles as the Grado family home. Now considered to be the makers of the first true audiophile quality headphone line ever built, we naturally looked to Grado when releasing a pair of headphones to compliment our turntable.
Photos: Ray Spears / Uncrate
