Can audiophile open-back headphones ever benefit from Bluetooth? Grado thinks so
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Here’s the thing: Open-back headphones are usually the only domain of audiophiles who crave the typically superior audio quality of this design above all else – above convenience, above keeping your playlist private, and above portability. But wireless connectivity means a drop in audio quality, so… is it ever a good idea to combine the two?
If it came from an audio specialist other than Grado, we might say “no”. But these are Grado cans and honestly, if anyone can marry these two somewhat contradictory features and ideas, it’s Grado.
Grado (or to give the Brooklyn family business its full name, Grado Labs) has made some of the best headphones I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to, including the excellent and inexpensive Grado SR80x, so if Grado goes wireless (as it did with the Grado GT220 earbuds in October 2020), I will always sit up and pay attention.
The product is the GW100x open-back wireless headphones, and they’re actually the third edition of the company’s award-winning wireless series. We really liked the 2018 Grado GW100 that these on-ear headphones are built on – an open-back wireless product that Grado claimed were the first and only open-back Bluetooth headphones on the market at the time.
Obviously there have been some major upgrades for this 2022 release, including a “newly improved fourth-generation X-series driver design”, Bluetooth 5.2 wireless technology with aptX Adaptive support, vastly improved battery life of 46 hours (compared to approx. 15 hours when listening at a “moderate” volume in the GW100), and a USB-C connection for charging.
Grado tells us that the voice coil re-engineering and a more powerful magnetic circuit improves the efficiency of the company’s proprietary 44mm drivers while reducing distortion.
And the speaker enclosures and internals have also been designed from the ground up, now working together to specifically reduce escaping sound by up to 60% when listening at 50% volume. This particular claim is huge, as the main drawback of an open-back design is sound leakage.
Opinion: If Grado has reduced sound leakage within its latest wireless option, I’m in
Before we even get to the audio quality, I love the look of the GW100x. Wires or not, the design language is unmistakably Grado and this has changed very little since 1991 – yes, a year I vividly remember, thank you very much. (To clarify, I wasn’t there in 1953, and Grado was there at the time.)
There are also controls on the earcups to provide full functionality, although you can also control the GW100x from a connected device – it’s 2022, after all.
And the GW100x comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging and a 3.5mm headphone cable for a wired connection if you just want to feel the wind under your cables.
The Grado GW100x wireless headphones are now available, priced $275 / £249 (opens in new tab).
You may or may not know this, but I find open-back headphones to be both a pleasure and a problem. Why? I like (love!) the open, expansive soundstage, but I don’t like the fact that other people in my train car will hear my chosen songs (maybe I like having an 80’s kind of day – what about it?)
To explain the problem, with closed-back headphones, the audibility of any playlist I choose to stream is largely trapped in the earcup, keeping my choice of music private but can lead to a narrow soundstage where audio feels like it’s coming straight from my head – hardly a natural experience.
However, the free movement of sound in and out of the cups in open-back headphones means the soundstage feels much wider and less “closed off”, almost like I’m at a live performance. The problem is that other people are also subjected to the virtual occurrence.
Finally, I want to try them. Really. There’s no ANC, of course, and I’m not expecting any Black Friday headphone deals from Grado, but none of that bothers me. I guess I could put my shyness aside again if Grado’s sonic chops are good.