What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
05 DEC 2007
Grado GS1000
If the looks and price don’t put you off, these amazing Grados are the audiophile answer to late-night listening – just add headphone amp and a worthy source to fully enjoy
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There’s been a lot of talk on the whathifi.com forums about the joys of high-end headphones, which got us thinking – just how good can a pair of cans sound? These Grados answer that question in distinctive style.
The GS1000s are the flagship model in Grado’s range, and share the same ‘period-drama-Marconi-operator’ looks. What’s crucially different here, though, is a wooden design, much bigger foam earpads and an advanced driver.
Those super-sized foam pads, which cosset even larger lugs, are designed to create a ‘room’ for your ears to enjoy music in.
Make room for your ears
And it works – in tandem with a good source (think £600+ CD player) and headphone amp (we used Graham Slee’s superlative £643 Solo), these Grados can deliver an astonishing sense of space.
Dynamic ability is awesome, too – the sound soars, adding an emotional charge to your listening, at any volume. We’ve rarely heard American Trilogy convey both the pathos and bombast of late-era Elvis in such a moving way – even replayed through speakers costing many times the price of these Grados.
What’s more, this large, laws-of-physics defying soundstage teems with detail. Hitherto underheard instruments and vocal inflections are served up with impeccable timing, boosted by an ultra-real presentation.
They won’t flatter a poor source or recording, and their open-back design leaks noise, but for seriously audiophile solo listening, they’re unbeatable.
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