So I just received the GW100 Grados wrieless headphones that have SR225 drivers (apparently/unconfirmed). This was 100% impulse purchase.
My very first pair of Grados, and of course I plan on writing about them. What I will say is:
1. FINALLY a headphone that plays nice with my bluetooth transmitter. I FINALLY get Apt-X Low Latency to work! That means I finally can just use the Creative G6 to send spdif to the transmitter to a wireless headphone without it defaulting to the really bad proprietary Fast Stream codec which garbles and distorts with most of anything. Apt-X LL sounds fine for my needs, and I can do SBX with the G6.
2. Holy cow, for $250, the headphone feels and looks INCREDIBLY cheap. I mean, Grado, I dunno what you're thinking but aesthetically, this looks and feels like a sub $40 headphone. For $250, you'd think it'd look the part. It doesn't. Disappointment here, questionable design choice here.
3. I always heard Grados were uncomfortable, but even someone like me who takes comfort as #1 priority, I find the GW100 actually quite good on comfort. It's very light, the headband is basically like there is none, and the foam on ear pads are not much different from Portapros, just much bigger in size. I'm used to this style. Clamp is fine too. They're not Ultrasone HFI-15G levels of on ear perfection in comfort, but they're solid here.
4. Really, REEEEEALLY impressive bass presence, but not much actual impact. It's more like it's there, but you don't feel TOO much of it. Not to say it's not present. Like I said, it's actually pretty damn audible, just it ain't a basshead headphone. If this is typical Grado bass, I am a FAN.
5. The midrange is REAAALLY excellent. I think Grado mids are something that are worth investigating.
6. It's a sharp detail clarity. Not warm, not fluid. Sharp and tactile. Fast. I initially thought the GW100 sounded actually not very good. After messing with it, and changing from my phone to my PC, I dunno what prompted a change or if I adapted, but I'm loving the sound. It's different. But man, it's good. I'm actually upset that I missed so many years of Grado goodness. If this is any indication on the Grado sound, I'm absolutely interested in hearing what their other stuff sounds like.
7. Spacious dimensionality. Can't say actual soundstage, but in stereo, it is reallly nice.
8. Controls are incredibly simple if a bit too simple, and the headphone only connects to ONE device at a time.
9. The wired connection has REALLY clean, clear sound with absolutely stellar midrange. One problem: the bass is sucked out. So I don't know how effective wired mode will be without a bass eq to bring the bass back. It effectively makes the GW100 sound like another headphone practically all because of the bass. I'll have to test this more.
10. Initial impressions are mainly positive, aside from the obvious build quality and price. I think it would've been a must have at $150. $250... I dunno. But then, I dunno how it compares to Grados wired lineup. Sound-wise, I'm fine with the sound quality for $250. I mean, damn, it's infectious, clear as a bell and detailed. It really doesn't even sound like a wireless headphone to me. On sound alone, Grado, you have a new fan. ABSOLUTELY.
