Verdict
Grado has pink it out of the park with the GW100x , a terrific pair of wireless on - ears with an expressive audio performance , foresighted battery aliveness and good comfort than you might expect from an on - spike . If you desire the comfortably - sounding wireless on - pinna carrying into action , these are presently our top recommendation .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
I ca n’t help but admire Grado ’s persistence . While noise - cancelling over - ears are tremendously democratic , the GW100x shows the Brooklyn - establish company is not one for chasing the mainstream route .
The Grado GW100x are neither the over - ears commonly go through on commutes , nor is there any interest in patronize noise - cancelling ( which would be punishing for an on - pinna to do anyway ) . It does n’t have a ‘ professional ’ or ‘ Max ’ in the name , just an ‘ x ’ , which hopefully signifies the XTC factor .
The GW100x are n’t the most convenient for outside employment , but they do offer a terrifying audio performance that warrants closer review .
Design
Like the originalGW100 , the Grado GW100x are n’t the most pragmatic pair of headphones outside the home . They ’re almost antithetic for use in public spaces .
Why ? Well , the GW100x have both an on - spike and open - back invention , both of which are n’t noted for their noise - isolating properties to filter sound off when you ’re in the midst of a medicine sitting .
The on - ear intention means outside noises separate out through – when it sustain really loud on the Victoria and Jubilee note it becomes hard to hear anything . On an overground gear they ’re fine , and walking through London , they ’re ok , but these earpiece are n’t built to handle garish environment .
The open - backed innovation ( the perforated grille on the earcups ) has the opposite upshot of leaking the audio frequency to the world outside . However , Grado say they ’ve taken steps to reduce the amount of sound that escapes by up to 60 % compare to their pumped headphones . A benefit of the overt - back designing is that it let out the soundstage , more than you would unremarkably hear on a closed - back , over - ear aim .
Just to further add to the lack of practicality , there ’s no carry case , so if you ’re train these earphone on farseeing journeys , they are either being engorge in a bag or going around the neck .
Despite that , the Grado GW100x pretty much nail the other areas of the design brief . They are the most comfortable wireless on - capitulum I ’ve endure in some time . The Grado ’s WS Cushion ( which can be swapped out and interchange ) does heat my ears up but never to the point where it becomes uncomfortable .
While the clamping military unit is soaked , it ’s also not to the degree where the headphones pinch on the earlobes . It ’s the correct storey of tension to keep them affixed to the head , and at about 188 g , they ’re a lightweight pair .
Onboard buttons are kept to the barren minimum : a multi - function button for office , playback , and Bluetooth pairing , plus intensity button that also reduplicate up as track skip forwards and backwards ( with a foresighted mechanical press ) . The 3.5 millimetre diddlyshit is retained ( cable television included in the promotional material ) , but the GW100 ’s micro - USB port receive a welcome upgrade toUSB - C.
Features
Features are n’t usually numerous for a pair of on - ears – theSony WH - CH520are the most feature packed I ’ve come across with their EQ , Bluetooth multipoint , and other customisation possibility . However , what you see is what you get from the Grado GW100x .
There ’s no app to fiddle with , no microcode updates or battery level to tally unless you ’re look at the picture on your mobile gimmick . Bluetooth support is adaptation 5.2 , and dropouts were frequent at Victoria train station . That ’s a surprisal considering the headphones support Bluetooth codecs up toaptX Adaptive , which is intended to provide a unchanging connection in busy signal country . Those with iOS devices will only be able-bodied to profit from AAC cyclosis .
The performance with call was a more convinced surprise in light of its open - back design . voice are intelligible and clear on both ends , and background noise is sustain to a lower limit in most situation . It ’s only when it became really meretricious that it was harder for my voice to penetrate through the interference .
Stamina is excellent . These phone find as if they can go on and on at default volume ( which , happily , is quite loud ) . An 11 - hr battery drain only saw them fall to 80 % , so there should be at least 50 hours to enjoy before a recharge is ask .
Sound Quality
Compared to the original GW100 , the Grado GW100x play louder at interchangeable loudness levels , and that straight off gives them more impingement . The tuning of the 4thGen X Driver has had a few changes too with the midrange slimly crisper , and basso more pronounced .
There ’s more vim , zing , and force to the GW100x ’s performance , and its midrange clarity has the excellent effect of tell apart and isolating vocals from the rest of a track , giving them more space to emit .
The top end of the frequency range is shiny and there ’s a degree of warmheartedness to the low oftenness with a adequate bass turnout for an on - spike duad . liken to the Grado GW100 , the GW100x is vindicated and more defined in how it deal with freshwater bass .
There ’s a propulsive flow the Grados give to Porno Graffiti ’s Melissa that captures the track ’s bouncy energy . The percussive hits of the drum hit cleanly and punchily , and while there ’s perhaps not the utmost sense of point and definition to instruments , the tone and character of each cat’s-paw is well describe .
The breadth of the soundstage allows for medicine tracks to be spread wide . With delay High ( Childish Gambino translation ) , it ’s a cut painted on a big canvas , Gambino ’s vocal planted in the centre with plump for vocals out towards the edges . With a soundstage this big it feels as immersive as you’re able to get without listening to spatial audio track such asDolby Atmosand Sony’s360 Reality Audio .
That course is also a good representative of the GW100x ’s reach in terms of brightness with eminent frequency banknote , acquaint them with enough radiance and clearness to give them impact , but not to the point they ’re either grating or distorted .
There ’s good variant in GoGo Penguin ’s Raven that depicts each hit of the piano key well , whereas with some headphones the piano keys can meld into one . That ’s further reinforced by a play of Andreas Ihlebæk ’s Come Summer , in which the Grado captures the variety of keystroke with a productive sense of brightness .
The tuning of the Grado GW100x ensures they ’re a big listen across a variety of tracks , but if I had to nit - pick , it ’s that the warmth of the GW100x ’s display that does n’t produce gamy levels of detail and faithfulness . It is a nit - pick as the Grados are enormously enjoyable , radiate energy , dynamism , and might for a racy and engaging listen .
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Should you buy it?
I have n’t heard an on - ear that sound as proficient as the Grado GW100x . They ’re a terrifically expressive and dynamic performer .
The Grado ’s want of protective covering from the outside world means it ’s estimable enough for most commutes , although it wo n’t endure the loudest parts of the Underground .
Final Thoughts
The pattern carries its drawbacks , which does n’t make the Grado GW100x most suitable to outside use , but is that as big a disadvantage ? I see mass of commuters wearing on - auricle or even open - eared headphones likeAirPodsandShokz , so there are some more than fine dealing with some noise leakage .
If that describes you then the Grado GW100x are one of the intimately - sounding radiocommunication on - ears around , an expressive twain of earpiece with an talkative soundstage , firm bass voice and pleasurable sense of energy and pizzazz . They ’re a collapse listen .
The wireless carrying out could stand to be less flaky in busy signal area , particularly with its aptX adaptative funding ; but elsewhere they ’re one of the more comfortable on - ears I ’ve worn , call quality is amazingly good , and the battery life will keep these earpiece go for daylight . Grado has knocked it out of the parkland with the GW100x . Check out ourBest Headphoneslist for even more selection .
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How we test
We test every set of headphones we review thoroughly over an protracted menses of time . We use industry received test to liken features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we discover . We never , ever , accept money to go over a intersection .
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FAQs
There ’s no Bluetooth multipoint support with these headphones , so you could only plug into them to one gimmick at a time .
