Enter 4614 7th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, on Google Maps and go to street view. You'll see a Taoist meeting hall on the left and the Sweet Dream Bakery on the right. Between them is a nondescript three-level dwelling with air conditioners hanging out of a couple of windows and a steel door. It's covered in graffiti. There's no hint at all about what goes on in there.

What goes on in there has been going on since 1953, when Joseph Grado found demand for his hand-built phono cartridges was outstripping the capacity of his kitchen table. He moved to larger premises around the corner from his fruit shop and you're looking at them. Grado has been here ever since. The street view picture says more about the company's philosophy than any 1000 words could.

With one exception Grado products are made right here in this scruffy walk-up that doesn't rate a second glance. The company has never felt the need to put up a sign declaring its presence at 4614 7th Avenue; if someone wants to find them they take their chances. Anyway, Grado has lots of dealers taking care of its image. Image? Grado hasn't placed a paid advertisement since 1964.

It became famous for its uncompromising phono cartridges, and demand peaked in 1984, the year the world started hearing about CDs. By 1990 the writing was on the wall and Joseph retired, selling the business to his nephew John. A year later the Grado name was on headphones, and they were built with the same uncompromising philosophy as the cartridges, by John and his wife Loretta. In 1994 sisters Lorina and Isela were hired. Grado is bigger now. Forbes magazine has declared John's headphones "Porsche 911's for the ears".

Given the above, I figured it would be interesting to try Grado's cheapest model, the SR60e at $119, rather than regular ones costing a couple of grand. The SR60e is headphone-stripped-bare, but even down here the company's trademark lack of compromise is front and centre. The sound quality is brilliant, easily a match for anything costing $200. But …

But forget cool aesthetics, these look like the headsets you see in World War II movies. The only people you'll impress with Grados are audiophiles; they'll realise you're one of the cognoscenti. Everyone else will think you got them free with a magazine subscription.

They leak sound alarmingly. You'll hear every street noise and everyone around you will hear your music, which ia not good on a bus or train. The cord is too long for using with a portable anyway, and it's thick and heavy. These are for listening at home when it's quiet.

They are on-ear headphones with a thick layer of foam between you and the engineering. This makes them comfortable enough, although I found them getting tiresome after an hour, but I've always preferred over-ear headphones. The clamp pressure may also be an issue for you, but they do stay in place when you're dancing. Audition them for as long as possible before paying your money.

They don't yield to the current penchant for heaps of bass. There is plenty of bass here, but it's nicely defined and never dominant, leaving lots of room for a strong mid-range and bright highs. The very highs go close to being abrasive but never quite get there.

If you want headphones for sound quality, these are an unarguable bargain. If you're buying them for any other reason, the Grados are not for you.