Grado Labs, the family-owned headphone manufacturer out of Brooklyn, NY, recently released its first new flagship pair of headphones in over a decade, the PS2000e, which just happen to be the fanciest pair of cans the company has ever built.
According to Grado, the PS2000e were in development for over two years, drawing upon the company’s 64 years of experience in the audio field. In those two years of development, the company perfected a brand-new, proprietary driver design for the PS2000e, which Grado says will keep your music as clear and pure as possible.
As you’d expect from Grado, the PS2000e are open-backed headphones manufactured with a hand-carved inner chamber made from maple wood, which is known for its superior acoustic properties and vibration-dampening characteristics. This hardwood core is encased in a metal alloy shell (a first for the brand), designed to further reduce ringing and distortion during playback. The headphones were designed as an upgrade from Grado’s former flagship cans, the PS1000e, which use mahogany wood instead of maple.
Every part of the PS2000e — from the wood and metal core, to the smoked chrome shell, to the leather padded headband — is crafted by hand in Grado Labs’ Brooklyn workshop, blurring the line between high-quality audio equipment and luxury woodworking. The newly-designed dynamic drivers boast an incredible claimed frequency response of 5Hz-50kHz, with 32-ohms impedance.
All that old-world craftsmanship comes at a premium, however, as the PS2000e will cost you a whopping $2,695 — and that price doesn’t appear to include a carrying case, though you can pad the package with a mahogany case for $100 more after purchase.
That said, Grado’s impressive claims about its new flagship cans — and the fact that the company is able to squeeze such fantastic sound out of its much more affordable offerings — have us utterly intrigued to strap on a pair and try them for ourselves.
You can pick up the PS200e from Grado Labs’ official online store, 4OurEars.com now.
