GRADO GH3 Norwegian Wood open-back headphone is a Limited Edition series utilising Norwegian Pine wood.

Says Headphone Guru:

Comfortable, lightweight, 99.8dB efficient, easy to drive 32 ohm impedance, 18-24,000Hz bandwidth.

"...terrific midrange with excellent textured bass. The pristine treble makes violin and acoustic instruments shimmering without any trace of harshness or irritating sound. "

" Classical and large scale recordings were always exceptional while listening to the GH3, with its expansive soundstage and fast dynamic presentation. "

" Rock lovers will enjoy the dynamic sound of the GH3 with its lightning fast driver "

" If you’re looking for a small headphone that can deliver big sound regardless of genre, the GH3 merits your consideration and gets our highest recommendation. Sensational! "

Price - US$325 (plus optional hard shell case $34.95).

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POSITIVE FEEDBACK's Robert H Levi got pretty enthusiastic about the GRADO GH4, their 2nd open-back headphone using Norwegian pine.

" Norwegian pine has a unique and never before heard sonic nature that explodes the soundstage, brings out the presence of the performance, and enhances the weight of the textural definition. It does all of that without distorting or blurring anything. It may not be as accurate and neutral as mahogany and cocobolo, but it imparts musical energy that puts blood in the images and brings them to life. "

" These headphones really bring the performances, pop and classical, vocal and instrumental, to a level of transparency similar to my AKG 1000 Ear Speakers! No kidding. "

" Get a pair. Do not look back. Just get them. You may never hear anything like them again. Grado Labs GH4 Limited Edition Headphones are instant classics and sincerely recommended. "

US$550


(Isn't that Manley Absolute Headphone Amplifier (US$4500) just the ugliest thing?)

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

wish I hadn't sold my RS1s .

I'm loving the yellow pine.

Just had to get some new pads for my RS1s as I was surprised to find they had perished already.

I'm wishing that Jeremy hadn't sold his SR80s

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

A forum member got my old SR80's 

Still have my original SR60s that I purchased from Colin Walkington around 20 years ago. Don't use then very often but not worth selling and nice to have for a change of pace.
Is there is a Grado importer for NZ? Think it used to be NZ Audio in Chch many years ago.

NZ Audio lists Grado in their product line up, so maybe they still are.

Oct 1, 2019 10:50:39 GMT 12 Citroen said:

NZ Audio lists Grado in their product line up, so maybe they still are.

I only see them listing some replacement pads.  I haven't seen them carrying Grado online for a few years now.  Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, not unusual.

Ah, you're right.

Listening Post sells the Grado - GH3 $549, GH4 $899

It's hard to imagine, at first, that (i) the wood outer frame provides much more than cosmetic enhancement & (ii) pine would sound better than cocobolo or mahogany, 2 known 'tone woods'.

But I guess it's like having mini-speaker boxes pressed up against your ears.

Which is why thare are plenty of after-market wood 'cups' offered for sale, eg..

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