Grado GW100 Impressions
After promising she wouldn't buy me any more headphones (I have about 50), my wife DID buy me a pair for Christmas... the wireless Grado GW100! She said that they were so special, that they did not count against my headphone quota!
They have the flat "comfie" pads like the SR60e, SR80e, and SR125e. They are extremely light, all black plastic construction (except the grill on the earpiece and the spring of the headband, oh, and the posts that hold the earpieces, er… and the wires, and...). They have no model number on them (but they do say Grado Wireless Series).
Like all Grado headphones to date, they are open (well... more properly, I'd say "semi-open," as they must block some of the space between driver and outside of earpiece by the Bluetooth electronics... you cannot see light through them). Grado points out that they block 60% more of the sound between inside and out as the regular wired open Grados.
They sound spacious and open, with as much ability to present a bass line as my Sennheiser Momentum 2 AEBT (Around Ear Blue Tooth), but with more spacious openness, wider sound stage, and more treble bite (though not as much as wired Grados).
Their Bluetooth pairs easily, does not drop out, and works at least up to the 10 meter distance that they advertise. They are very comfortable to wear, mainly due to their lightness and the choice of flat pads.
I am amused when reviewers fulminate and harrumph about the fact that these are open. It is like buying a red Ferrari and then complaining that it is so... red! As these reviewers note, because they are open, you can both hear and be heard by the outside world (though not as much as most open headphones). If you are using these for commutes on public transportation in close quarters with others, that can be a problem. However, if you are walking, you get both the better sound and the ability to hear approaching danger, e.g., cars, more easily, and if you are inside, you can be in a quiet environment and enjoy being untethered by a wire. I love my Audeze iSine 20 IEMs, my Apple Ear Pods and Air Pods for the same reason... I can remain aware of my surroundings and I am not often in a loud environment close to other people.
The Grado GW100s occupy a special place in my collection of wireless headphones, which include the Sennheiser Momentum 2 AEBT mentioned earlier, the Parrot Zik, the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless, and the Sennheiser PXT 310BT folding shirt-pocket-portable Bluetooths. I use the GW100s more than any others.
