LOL freebyrd.... I don't know if you could find two more completely different brands of pipe.
I like the Grandis I have, don't get me wrong. But Don Carlos pipes are much more.... what's the word.... honed, or something. Grandis are lumpy, and lack symmetry. They are good value.
When you move up to something like a Don Carlos (or a Mastro de Paja, or a Ser Jacopo, Il Ceppo, etc) you are going into a totally different realm of expectation, and the price jump is expected too.
For example, I have a 1bs grade MdP, one of their lower grades. I could see the flame grain INSIDE the unfinished bowl. And this pipe was sandblasted for ring grain. The tenon fits unlike any other pipe I have. Just so perfect. But that pipe doesn't leave the house, either. In my truck.... Mario Grandi!
I don't have a Don Carlos, but I've heard of people who have gotten into those pipes and basically sold away every other pipe in their collection to get more Don Carlos pipes.
If you've got the cash, my guess is that 1 Don Carlos is going to please you more than 3 Mario Grandi pipes.
Just my .02