GRADO GW100x Wireless Open-Back Headphones – Bluetooth 5.2, 40-Hour Battery, 44mm Drivers – Audiophile Over-Ear Headphones with Mic – Lightweight, Retro Design – for Home, Studio & Travel

First a set of Bose Maestros. Then set of Sennheiser M4s. Then tons of research on how to manipulate the booming, bass loaded factory sound and experimenting with EQs. Then I came across a set of Grado 80e for $70. Holy Crap! The sound was immediately perfectly placed across the wide and full sound stage. Every voice and instrument was accounted for and nuanced. NO EQUALIZER NEEDED. Just got my wireless Grados today. NO EQUALIZER NEEDED. Natural, balanced, accurate sound. You hear what was recorded as it was intended to sound. The open back doesn't bother me as I listen to music in quiet spaces. I will be upgrading the ear cushions. But the sound reproduction is just remarkable. If critical listening is part of how you enjoy music, the Grados are markedly better. They are worth your money.

This headphone is second only to the Hifiman Ananda BT in sound quality from a bluetooth can, and is the loudest by far that I've encountered.The loudness is a very good thing if you have any music mastered at lower levels, where other BT sets don't have enough gain to reach satisfying levels. And if you like to crank it up, unlike every other BT pair I've heard, you can reach levels exceeded only by serious portable amps or desktop amplifiers.So, props to Grado for this.The signature Grado house sound is here -mid centric, gritty, not as detailed or as clean as higher end wired planar magnetic drivers or upper-end Sennheisers (HD800 etc.) but ballsy for rock and pop.I have several Grado cans, and I prefer the e series drivers over the new x drivers featured in this headphone. The X has more bottom end, less top end, and less openness to my ears. More balanced perhaps, but lacking in separation and detail compared to the older drivers. And, while the e series were a little top heavy, that could be remedied by aftermarket pads with greater foam density.I prefer the GW100 V2 overall to the GW100x, but the X is still a very good BT headphone.The stock tuning and clarity can be improved a bit by pad rolling. Using the Geekria bowl pads, styled after those found on the larger higher-end Grado models (which will fit despite the larger driver housing circumference on the wireless model). The bowl pads resulted in less mid bass bloat, more sub bass, and a bit more highs relative to the rest of the spectrum, which resulted in improved tonal balance. The Geekria bowls also increased perceived stage width a bit as well as comfort. The only drawback is a very slight reduction in levels resulting from the increased distance between driver and ear.With or without the aftermarket pads, there is a bit of extra midbass that helps fill out older recordings from the 70s and 80s, while still maintaining clarity in vocals.The one drawback that bothers me with these headphones is the less-than-stellar driver matching.I am extra sensitive to this- I really cant stand it when frequency response differences between the left and right drivers cause vocals and other center-mixed instruments to shift to the left or right.Unfortunately, this is the case on most of the Grado models I've owned (SR-60i, SR-225e, SR325x, Hemp, GW100V2, GW100x). You can perceive it easily, and verify it with a mono sine sweep, which which reveal shifts from left to right (sometimes wildly) that vary with frequency. I've had to order replacements for most of my Grados for this reason, and the second pair may or may not be an improvement.Still, these headphones get 4 of 5 stars for the combination of sound quality unrivaled in a wireless headphone until you spend 2 or 3 times the price, and volume levels unmatched in a bluetooth set.V2 were better sonically by a small margin, and pad rolling is recommended.If you want the best Bluetooth sound quality currently on market, get the Ananda BT.If you want something substantially less costly and/or more compact for portability, or if you want the loudest Bluetooth headset available, this is the headphone to buy.

Over the years I have built up a collection of headphones from the likes of Sennheiser, Bose, Koss, Parrot, Philips, Apple, and Sony. I've been aware of Grado headphones for a while, but this is the first pair I've owned. These have quickly become one of my favorites, but they are best for specific use cases.If you are going to use headphones in a noisy environment, in close proximity (i.e. within 6 ft) of another person who would be disturbed by sound leakage, or while exercising, these are not the headphones you want. They do not have noise cancellation and are open back, meaning sound leaks both in and out.They are a larger on-ear, rather than over-ear, design. The clamping force is not too strong, but can get a bit uncomfortable after a few hours, especially for glasses wearers. They support Bluetooth 5.2 and the latest AAC/AptX codecs so the sound quality is the best available over Bluetooth. The open-back design and the efficient 44mm drivers provide a truly wonderful soundstage for a wide variety of music. Compared to most closed-back noise canceling headphones these sound like someone turned on spatial audio -- voices and instruments are clearly distinguishable, almost directional. The mids are clearly defined, revealing details that are muddy in other headphones. The highs sparkle, but are never harsh or sibilant. The bass is quite good for an open-back design, but it's a controlled rumble rather than a rattling thump. They play loud without need to crank the volume up and the sound is less processed and fatiguing than many of my other headphones. I'm not aware of any other open-back, wireless headphones on the market.The batteries last forever, USB-C charging is fast, and the physical buttons work exactly as you'd expect. The plastic-y construction and light weight mean these definitely don't have the high quality feel you'd like at this price point. They don't even come with a case.But if you are willing to pay up for sound quality and can handle all the other limitations, these are great headphones with nothing else quite like them out there. However, I would not recommend them as your only pair.

0/5 stars. These literally broke on day one. I took them off and when I put them down on the table, they fell apart. Looking at the pictures you can see how thin the cheap piece of plastic is that holds them together. I would avoid these at all costs. Who cares how good they sound when the build quality is so unbelievably bad. Complete junk.