Grado’s new flagship headphones are $2,695 of handcrafted professionalism

Grado, a Brooklyn-based headphone manufacturer, has been pleasing audiophile ears for decades now with clean, unsweetened audio. To support the kids these days with their fancy iPods and Walkmans, the company has released a few lower-end and even in-ear models that are competitive on price while staying true to Grado sound priorities — even if build quality is a bit suspect at times.

But now it’s time to return to Grado’s roots: all the sound that money can buy. The PS2000e are Grado’s new “flagship” headphones, and they’ve been in development at the company for two years. Unlike their predecessor, the PS1000e, which wrapped an inner chamber of mahogany with metal, the PS2000e have a maple wood core. This $2,695 beast also has a new driver design and a new diaphragm geometry, all with the purpose of making the music as uncolored as possible.

Grado claims it put “all the best stuff” in its new flagship, and leaned on “three generations of Grado family” to make its best pair of headphones yet. Will they sound $1,000 better than the PS1000e? I wouldn’t mind finding out.

The PS2000e are available now.