Grado GW100 Wireless Super Review 

Sound review starts at 14:38

Been using Grado’s since 1993, still have my first pair. Since then I’ve gotten 4 other pairs and I can’t wait to try these. I know Grado isn’t well known by most who extoll the Sens, and AKGs, but I’ve owned most of the high end cans including my latest AKG 812s and my $350 Grados sound better than my $1200 AKGs

Thumbs up for teaching me that rubber band trick @ 6:50

Great review! I hope Grado update the rest of their line to this design, with more padding on the head band

Excellent review! This is the first review I seen of these by someone who explicitly compares it to a specific existing model of Grado headphones, thank you so much! I’m with you on the look: I love the Grado look. I have the SR325i gold anniversary edition and Alessandro MS2i, and previously had the SR80e.

These are, by far, the best sounding headphones I have ever use in my life. I am an audiophile and have sennheiser, audio technica, rha, bose, etc. headphones and the grado open back headphones have the most neutral and spacious soundstage quality every audiophile craves. I also own a pair of lypertek tevi earbuds which produce a flat sound with wide soundstage and they sound exactly as these headphones. True audiophile quality 👌🏻

Your video is definitely worth checking out for anyone thinking of buying a pair of GW100. I agree with pretty much everything in your review, and you hit all the important points. My wired Grados were the SR225, so there's definitely a difference in sound quality, but being cord free is a worthwhile trade-off.

A good honest review. Really well done!

I appreciate reviews that go into this level of detail. One of the only GW100 reviews I've seen for that matter!

The GW100's sound-stage is more-narrow and doesn't have as much treble energy as SR80, but they are more accurate in their imaging. DT1990Pro are the kings of imaging and the GW100 can 75% keep up with them, despite having more bass and still being sibilant (peaky at odd frequencies).

I'm still watching the advertisement but I'm already thankful for this video. Cheers!

I love the sr80e. From your description of the sound, that was how I felt about the sr125e except for the bluetooth issues. I still really like the sr80e's balanced sound. It really makes a difference with the quality of the signal coming to the headphones. My vintage high end system really makes the sr80e sing.

great review! keep doing these

I just got mine last week too. Great review~ and similarly, love the look as well, and the added bass quality!

Some months ago i was born again into the audiophile world and it all started with this video. i grew up in the sticks and i never shopped online. So i thought the best sound i could get was either bose or mid to entry level sony. Can you imagine? Grado gave me a sound that left me only wanting to experience more. Now months later and a few thousand dollars later, i still have that same feeling. Damn you and your headphones... Honestly i am happy with my new headphones and speakers, but i am always intersted in hearing more house sound signatures... Thanks for the videos.

Great review! Unfortunately, with the economic reality being what it is, Grado has had to outsource a lot of development and production overseas, and the products made that way have less of the old Grado tuned-by-ear-not-by-machines sound and quality. But they still won't put the name on anything that's bad - it just has to be cheaper for the margins to make sense these days. I wish they will make an in-house version with higher grade components and manual tuning, even if it will cost more (and then drop the price on this one to the $150-200 range where it belongs). As for the foam being softer, this is probably deliberate. Many were buying the Sennheiser HD-414 yellow foam cups to use on their Grado cans to get a softer feel, even though it looks dorky. Now that appears to be addressed, at least. I hope it doesn't affect the sound quality - if you could try changing the foam between your SR-80s and these, and give both a listen, it would be informative!

I have a pair of Grado SR80s, the GW100s, and the Philips Fidelio X2HR High Resolution Headphones: all roughly in the same price price bracket. For me... the GW100s are worth buying as the sound quality is very similar to the SR80s... with the added benefits of being bluetooth when that really is helpful (e.g., doing a lot of turning, moving around, no more room for any more cables)... AND.. which wasn't mentioned in the video.. the ONLY Grados that have a detachable 3.5 mm cable ... which means if you accidentally bend the 3.5mm jack somehow... the headphones aren't rendered useless (as is the case with other Grados). .. as you can simply buy a new cable. Voila! I mention this as my SR80s have a loose connection which means sound now goes in and out... and I'm not techie enough to want to go through recabling them...hence why I have the GW100s. That being said.. if you don't care about the wireless aspect... I would personally go for the best headphones in the lineup in terms of sound and build quality (particularly if you want some extra bass and/or don't want anyone else to be able to hear what you are listening to).. the Philips Fidelio X2HR High Resolution Headphones. Wow.. the build quality on those will make you probably never want to ever buy Grados again... hell... the box they came in was more substantional than the Grado GW100 headphones. The only small downside of the X2HRs is they fit a bit more tightly (but still extremely comfortable.. but just not as comfy as the Grado). In terms of the Super* REview..... yeah... could have turned 20 minutes into 10 by not being so repetetive and getting to the point faster... but good overall. EDIT 1: CAN'T BELIVE: just after writing this review, I went to power on the GW 100s and the power button just pushed in and broke. Can't really recommend the GW100s at all any more... definitely buy the Philips Fidelio X2HRs instead if you don't need bluetooth. If you need bluetooth... get a pair of Bose comforts (which model depends on your price range)--as I have a pair and the build quality on the buttons is 1000% better than the Grados. Will try to see if I can get a refund on the GW100s as I've only had them 8 days! EDIT 2: To be fair to Grado, they did send me a replacement. The button on this is the same... but hasn't broken yet. I've been using them over a month now so fingers crossed. Also... a positive for Grado... the battery on these seems to last forever. I can go a whole day easily.... and the recharge after that is only like 5 minutes.... so I wonder how many days on end I could go without recharging... I expect quite a number.

I have the SR60e and and though my Bose SoundLink headphones sound great I will grab the SR60's 99 percent of the time. These should be an awesome addition to any headphone collection.

I am just waiting for these to come in the mail. This is the first time I am buying headphones that are not made by Sennheiser. We will see how that goes. My old Sennheiser RS120 are wireless and open back, but they are an old FM wireless so they need a clunky base station. And when I saw these I pretty much waited no time before ordering them. I also own Sennheiser Momentum 2 Wireless. And they are an awesome sounding headphone. My only downside is that they aren't as comfortable for extended wear. So I use them when I want some piece and quiet and watch some Netflix on my iPad. But I still haven't found a comfortable open back wireless headphones as a replacement for my RS120s. And that's why I ordered the Grados - to hopefully replace them as my day to day headphones.

"You do get this photo of three dudes here, standing in the dark."

I’m so happy to here that you can use a chord if you want on these. I may end up having to get a pair

I like the styling too. A shame the cups aren’t aluminium, that would add some class.

Thanks for this review. I am in the same boat as you...Owning a pair os Alessandro MS1i for about 10years and wanting to go wireless. From what I saw B&O H8i was a good candidate (although pricier than the GW100). but I have to try it against my grados. If I don't like them maybe I will go for the GW100, at least I know what they are. Once again thanks for this review

Omg, never had heard of Grados before lol, but one thing got me intrigued, these are indeed are some good looking headphones, I mean, simple, but, timeless aesthetic. It really seems that it’d be nice to wear them casually just because. I’m not a big fan of open headphones since I’m sort of a extreme basshead, but, these seems like the kind of phones that could be worn just because it looks dapper/elegant as F.

My first introduction to this poisonous hi-fi world is also a Grado SR-80i.

Thanks for the review I will not be buying Wireless Grado headphones until they come up with a Bluetooth that sounds as good as a wired headphone count me out!!!!😎✌

great review

Great review, thank you!

plastic is a great choice ... get over it. light/cheap/works. have you done burn-in after unboxing the new drivers? thats way more important here if reviewing grados.

SR80 are my only headphones and i wouldnt change them.

It's a pity you haven't tried the 225 or 325 versions so we can get a complete summary.

Thanks so much for your review. It helped me make the decision to purchase these, which are my first set of Grados. As background comparison, I own Bose QuietComfort 15, Sennheiser HD 600, HD 650, and Beyerdynamic Amiron Home ... as well as a couple pairs of very good Sony Studio Closed Back headphones. I got the Grado GW100 so I could have a good pair of Wireless Open Back for our upcoming cabin trip over Christmas. Holy cow, these are truly amazing sounding with astonishing low end! The bass goes very deep, but very true and musical. I was shocked. I ended up throwing some Richard "Groove" Holmes, "Groovin' For Mr. G," Chicago Transit Authority, "Introduction," Deep Purple, "Never Before," Black Sabbath, "Children of the Grave," and Michael Jackson, "Thriller" at them just to see how they would do. Truly amazing! Imaging and presence are equally fantastic. I have since played a wide variety of Jazz, Classic Rock, Blues, Big Band, etc. through them and the GW100 handles them all masterfully. Mine are still burning in, but they sounded pretty amazing right out of the box. I love that they are completely passive when used in wired mode, thus using no battery power - awesome feature! I put these in wired mode and connected them to my Topping NX1S portable headphone amplifier just to see how much more they would open up. OMG, I love these cans! And for the Bluetooth, these are the best Bluetooth headphones I have heard. They have the incredible imaging and presence of Open Back headphones ... with deep, musical and articulate low end. I am taking these through a sequenced burn-in process and the sound just keeps getting better. But these babies have been nothing less than very impressive since they came out of the box. Thanks again for your review. I am now a new but dedicated fan of Grado! 😄

Have same old 80 and still hate the cable on them. Maybe this one is the buy:)

well, i bought it here in france, on amazon france, and 2 days ago, the plastic broke, off. the left side, which keeps the loudspeaker. so i saw, very thin plastic, that carries the speakers, certainly not a very good plastic-quality, and so thin and fragile. i loved it sooo much, the sound, the weight, the comfort and i am now very astonished about this event... plus , the company, that i bought it from on amazon, i can't find em anymore.. so is that a fake, or just one piece with a default, i glued it and scotched it together, cause shipping to ny and all the action.... and i wanted to buy another one for my husband.....no go.. and i treated it very softly ok, thanks for the good video.... very sorry, waited so long for a no cable grado....

Great review! My only real concern is sound bleeding... How comfortable/private can this headphone be in public transport for example? At loud volumes ofc.

They released new version GW100x last year. Could you review them? They are not available in my country yet. I'm not sure if I should wait for them or grab GW100 v2 right away.

Too much bass, not enough battery, shrieking highs, messy mids, cool design, not comfy on the ears for more than 8 hours and terrible tuning for wired listening....

Definitely check Master & Dynamic for that price

I diy'ed a kz aptx cable into my coloud headphones, and also use a ugreen aptx dongle with a px100, and they sound the same as if they were wired (just as loud and clear with the air feel). Aptx is good. Grado probably chose a weak bluetooth module...

Weird question: How comfortable are they resting around neck?

They need to add this updated design to their prestige series!

Is this video about the original or the v2? V2 is supposed to increase range and battery life.

Plastic will generally be the goto for wireless since it won't get as hot/cold from external sources which is just an engineering call and the right one. I'm sure as the wireless tech matures we'll get better quality over air, but that will take time (I'm quite interested to see how the Sennheiser True Wireless performs when they come out). Are there any other open back Bluetooth headphones on the horizon since Grado did it now?

BT is not meant for music but to watch TV from across the room

Are any wireless codecs provided? What happens when the battery dies, would it be possible to use them only via wires without chaning it , let's say in case of nuclear war , driving those from the tank's or Hammer's car battery?

Being open back. What are they like out in the street. Does street noise intrude terribly? Thanks

Sir, can you help me to make a right choice, please ? I like jazz, classic, psychodelic and ambient music... I can't decide between Pioneer S9, Grado w100 wireless and audio technica m50x BT Which one of them would be a better choice to me?

Maybe you should try again with AAC Codec ..

what diameter of rubber band did you use for the sr80? I just got the sr60x and I want to try that anti-twist thing you did, but I don't want a band that would compress too aggressive and slowly pull the adjust up

based on the section where you showed the bleed of the headphones, I now know what that one guy on the train uses.

Are these considered on-ear headphones? Looks like the cushions would touch the whole ear.

Finally made in China with nice quality, I have no idea about how bad quality is the grado headphones that made in America!!

Has anyone tried these wired with a mod mic (I.e the V-Moda mod mic) for gaming? I am looking for an all in one headphone for home use and I dig the convenience of being able to go wireless from time to time.

Is a phone's dac powerful enough for wired grado headphones? My phone is a pretty normal android phone and not LGs

Can u compare it with sony 1000xm3? Am new with grado but i have try gr10e and found this brand interesting.

You should try the beyer dynamic amiron copper wireless it’s probably the best wireless there is.... my opinion only

The GW100 uses W-Cush earpads.

Are the wireless ones only for larger heads? Saw a review that said it will fit loose for small heads. I have an SR60 from 15 years ago...wonder if they changed the headland for the wireless? So it will break up if my phone is in my pocket?

Great review. You say that these have a better sound in the wired mode than in the wireless, Bluetooth mode which kind of defeats the purpose of purchasing these. That being said, I would like to see a review comparing these to the SR225e and the SR322e. These fall in the middle of those two, price point wise.

Hey, I heard you have grado sr80e My question can andoid phone like samsung s10e drive grado sr80e well? And how the sound? Loud or not, like we use iem on android?

Idk man id say the porta pros are audiophile grade

Normally I trust Z Reviews and he said these are AMAZING in bluetooth mode but absolute dog shit in wired mode, yet you said they sound way better in wired mode. So that is strange. He said it's from the built in DSP to power bluetooth, it's like a built in DAC/amp that's tuned to match the sound of the headphones. He said it's the best sounding Grado ever.

I've had these for just under 2 years and the battery has pretty much stopped working. Grado wants $75 to replace the battery which is straight criminal. Would not recommend these headphones.

instant Like when you mentioned michael jackson!!

Hmm... it's interesting why there is no mention of where it is made on the box. My assumption is: it's made in China. Am I right?

how loud can people beside you hear your music using this?

you don't want metal in a headphone because it makes it heavier and more uncomfortable...

I have the KSC75s. Do these sound as good as them? Thanks.

Is there a mic so you can use it for calls?

I'd like a bluetooth Koss KPH30i. I don't know how. But the Koss cable is really bad.

Do these sound better than the Sony MX3?

Oh... no USB-C?!

Interesting. I just came from a review that said the GW 100s sound amazing with Bluetooth but like crap when plug-in. I guess I just got a buy the things and find out for myself because you can’t find out crap watching reviews online. Except of course what they look like and what’s in the box. But who the hell cares about that kind of crap.

For your next video..Review your top bluetooth headphones that you using..

Those headphones look surprisingly cheap

Oh GROSS, at 4:10 showing that not only to the foam pads not have a recess/hole in them (i.e. they will touch your ear with the whole pad like a cheap callcentre headset), they also swivel back and forth, so every time you look down, the headphones will flip forward and almost fall off your head, and every time you look up at the sky, they will almost fall off the back of your head.. Fuck, these things are fucking terrible..

Why is Paul Rudd doing headphone reviews?!

Why make a pair of open back headphones if they're going to be wireless?!?!?

Wait a sec is one of the Grado group people called Mattia?

8:00

I wish RU-vidrs wouldn't obsess on the box. The box is not the product. And the first thing I do with it after I remove the product is put it in the trash.

I have the ps500s with wire. Will these be enough you think? Would be nice to go bluetooth

The grado headphones of my brother has a different kind of cable he DIY it

koss titanium range are cheaper, much cheaper, and better, with an unlimited warranty, in usa

trying to figure out how to charge my CW100's, for basic tech advice this guy is useless, as far as wasting your time, he's really good at that.

These or the Sony wh-1000XM3?

Who wants an open back Bluetooth headset

Yeah I’ve been buying grado since the 70’s. cartridges and headphones, at least a dozen products including rs1’s. These wireless headphones are the most annoying product I have ever bought. I wear glasses and the gratuitous blue led flashes just just at the right moments for maximum piss me off factor. And the little girl voice that announces on and off as if it were some post Orwellian paradise, this grates on me too right at those nice moments of expectation when you are putting them on or Maybe falling a sleep. Yeah yeah yeah they look nice but feel cheap as hell like pops has handed off the reigns of production to a couple of kindergarteners. I guess I’ll chalk it up to another passing of generation and move on.

Kz zsn new model please unboxing and review

sound s like it's made in China