Dear folks,
I knew Joe Grado personally for the last 15 years or so. He was vain, opinionated, imperious. He also was a trove of knowledge, and certainly worth seeing or phoning once or twice a year.
One thing is odd: The article about him suggests that the Grado headphone odyssey began after he handed the torch to his nephew John. This isn't true. The HP-1, HP-2, and HP-3 were all the direct invention of Joe Grado, as were other of their models. And many would claim that the HP series is better than anything they make now. I would claim this. I also lament the fact that I once owned a pair of HP-2's and HP-3's and they both were stolen.
A little-known aspect of Joe Grado is the fact that he had quite a career as a dramatic tenor. He had one CD out, which is tremendous--in fact, it is one of my "reference recordings." He wouldn't give it for free to anyone. He would sell it only to those he was sure would appreciate it ... for $25. I bought two, gave one to a friend, and consider it a shame that just as he was at the height of his vocal powers he was felled by a very serious heart attack. It's a wonder he lived as long as he did. He kept working, and inventing, right up to the end. He recently developed an omnidirectional microphone which I never heard, but those who did hear it claimed that it is the best microphone ever made. No longer associated with Grado Labs, he never did get a chance to market it.
He was a major contributor to high-end audio. He invented the moving-coil cartridge, even though he never manufactured one. I have heard it claimed that this isn't true--that someone else invented it, e.g., Ortophon. Whatever may be the truth, I know that Joe Grade was was still getting something like half-a-cent in royalties for every moving-coil cartridge sold in the world. That would seem to be the vote that counts when it comes to veridicality on this matter.
I can't claim he was a friend, or even a colleague, but I admired him, and I think he abided me--sometimes even appreciated me--because he felt I understood what he was doing with his voice, and also because I admired his work with headphones and cartridges.
Meanwhile, I tend to doubt that the day will ever come when there isn't at least one Grado product in my musical system.
May he rest in audio heaven!
Francis Baumli
