Grado GW100x

Verdict

Grado has knocked it out of the park with the GW100x, a terrific pair of wi-fi on-ears with an expressive audio efficiency, lengthy battery life and higher consolation than you may count on from an on-ear. If you need the best-sounding wi-fi on-ear efficiency, these are at present our high advice.

Introduction

I can’t assist however admire Grado’s persistence. Whereas noise-cancelling over-ears are vastly standard, the GW100x exhibits the Brooklyn-based firm just isn’t one for chasing the mainstream route.

The Grado GW100x are neither the over-ears generally seen on commutes, neither is there any curiosity in supporting noise-cancelling (which might be onerous for an on-ear to do anyway). It doesn’t have a ‘Professional’ or ‘Max’ within the identify, simply an ‘x’, which hopefully signifies the X issue.

The GW100x aren’t probably the most handy for outside use, however they do supply a terrific audio efficiency that warrants nearer inspection.

Design

• Design leaks noise in from the surface
• Snug to put on
• Easy to make use of

Like the unique GW100, the Grado GW100x aren’t probably the most sensible pair of headphones exterior the house. They’re nearly antithetical to be used in public areas.

Why? Properly, the GW100x have each an on-ear and open-backed design, each of which aren’t famend for his or her noise-isolating properties to filter sounds away once you’re within the midst of a music session.

The on-ear design means exterior noises filter by – when it will get actually loud on the Victoria and Jubilee line it turns into onerous to listen to something. On an overground prepare they’re wonderful, and strolling by London, they’re okay, however these headphones aren’t constructed to deal with loud environments.

The open-backed design (the perforated grille on the earcups) has the other impact of leaking the audio to the world exterior. Nonetheless, Grado says they’ve taken steps to cut back the quantity of sound that escapes by as much as 60% in comparison with their wired headphones. A advantage of the open-back design is that it widens the soundstage, greater than you’d usually hear on a closed-back, over-ear design.

Simply to additional add to the shortage of practicality, there’s no carry case, so if you happen to’re taking these headphones on lengthy journeys, they’re both being stuffed in a bag or going across the neck.

Regardless of that, the Grado GW100x just about nail the opposite areas of the design transient. They’re probably the most snug wi-fi on-ears I’ve worn in a while. The Grado’s WS Cushion (which may be swapped out and changed) does warmth my ears up however by no means to the purpose the place it turns into uncomfortable.

Whereas the clamping power is tight, it’s additionally to not the purpose the place the headphones pinch on the earlobes. It’s the proper stage of rigidity to maintain them affixed to the pinnacle, and at about 188g, they’re a light-weight pair.

Onboard buttons are saved to the naked minimal: a multi-function button for energy, playback, and Bluetooth pairing, plus quantity buttons that additionally double up as observe skipping forwards and backwards (with an extended press). The three.5mm jack is retained (cable included within the packaging), however the GW100’s micro-USB port receives a welcome improve to USB-C.

Options

• Lengthy battery life
• aptX Adaptive Bluetooth help
• Clear voice high quality

Options aren’t normally quite a few for a pair of on-ears – the Sony WH-CH520 are probably the most characteristic packed I’ve come throughout with their EQ, Bluetooth multipoint, and different customisation potentialities. Nonetheless, what you see is what you get from the Grado GW100x.

There’s no app to fiddle with, no firmware updates or battery stage to examine except you’re wanting on the icon in your cell gadget. Bluetooth help is model 5.2, and dropouts have been frequent at Victoria prepare station. That’s a shock contemplating the headphones help Bluetooth codecs as much as aptX Adaptive, which is meant to offer a secure connection in busy sign areas. These with iOS units will solely be capable to profit from AAC streaming.

The efficiency with calls was a extra constructive shock in gentle of its open-back design. Voices are intelligible and clear on each ends, and background noise is saved to a minimal in most conditions. It’s solely when it turned actually loud that it was more durable for my voice to penetrate by the noise.

Stamina is great. These headphones really feel as if they will go on and on at default quantity (which, fortunately, is sort of loud). An 11-hour battery drain solely noticed them fall to 80%, so there ought to be at the very least 50 hours to get pleasure from earlier than a recharge is required.

Sound High quality

• Energetic sense of dynamism
• Agency bass, vibrant highs
• Vast soundstage

In comparison with the unique GW100, the Grado GW100x play louder at related quantity ranges, and that instantly offers them extra influence. The tuning of the 4^th Gen X Driver has had a number of adjustments too with the midrange barely crisper, and bass extra pronounced.

There’s extra power, dynamism, and drive to the GW100x’s efficiency, and its midrange readability has the superb impact of separating and isolating vocals from the remainder of a observe, giving them more room to breathe.

The highest finish of the frequency vary is vibrant and there’s a level of heat to the low frequencies with a good bass output for an on-ear pair. In comparison with the Grado GW100, the GW100x is clearer and extra outlined in the way it offers with bass.

There’s a propulsive circulation the Grados give to Porno Graffiti’s Melissa that captures the observe’s bouncy power. The percussive hits of the drum hit cleanly and punchily, and whereas there’s maybe not the utmost sense of element and definition to devices, the tone and character of every instrument is effectively described.

The width of the soundstage permits for music tracks to be unfold extensive. With Keep Excessive (Infantile Gambino model), it’s a observe painted on an enormous canvas, Gambino’s vocals planted within the centre with backing vocals out in the direction of the perimeters. With a soundstage this huge it feels as immersive as you may get with out listening to spatial audio tracks resembling Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Actuality Audio.

That observe can also be a very good instance of the GW100x’s attain when it comes to brightness with excessive frequency notes, presenting them with sufficient shine and readability to offer them influence, however to not the purpose they’re both grating or distorted.

There’s good variation in GoGo Penguin’s Raven that depicts every hit of the piano key effectively, whereas with some headphones the piano keys can meld into one. That’s additional bolstered by a play of Andreas Ihlebæk’s Come Summer time, during which the Grado captures the number of keystrokes with a wealthy sense of brightness.

The tuning of the Grado GW100x ensures they’re an incredible hear throughout quite a lot of tracks, but when I needed to nit-pick, it’s that the heat of the GW100x’s presentation that doesn’t produce excessive ranges of element and constancy. It’s a nit-pick because the Grados are enormously pleasing, radiating power, dynamism, and energy for a energetic and interesting hear.

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