Grado Labs hold a unique place in the Head-Fi community. A lot of their headphones’ sonic characteristics and design choices have many die-hard fans but perhaps as many detractors. Grado is never a boring listen and one of the most interesting brands in the industry.
A family-owned business running for over 70 years, Grado handcraft their headphones and phono cartridges in a small, Brooklyn-based brownstone. There’s a certain feeling of pride one experiences when owning a Grado, knowing that someone’s loving craftsmanship and hard work has gone into making what now rests in your hands (or on your ears).
But to us audiophiles, this won’t mean much if they don’t sound any good. Grado’s latest offering, the Signature HP100 SE, looks to bring the very best of what the company has to offer. And at $2,495 our expectations are certainly high; can Grado match them or indeed knock them out of the park?
Technology
The Grado Signature HP100 SE can be driven from a variety of sources owing to its easy-to-drive nature. It sports a rare paper composite 52mm dynamic driver with an impedance of 38 Ohms and a sensitivity of 117dB/mW.
Grado also boast about a powerful magnetic circuit consisting of rare earth metals, as well as a lightweight copper-plated aluminum voice coil. They claim that this “produces excellent dynamics and transient response, along with a highly refined sense of space, soundstage and image.” We will discover if this is truly the case in the listening section of this review.
The cups themselves harken back to the original Signature HP1/2/3 headphones of the 1980s and 1990s, machined from blocks of aluminum and engraved with the name of the headphones.
However, unlike the previous Signature/Statement headphones and indeed all other Grados, the HP100 SE features fully detachable cables. It accepts dual-entry 4-pin mini XLR and has a 6.3mm termination. Additional balanced terminations, including 4-pin XLR and 4.4mm Pentaconn, will be available in the near future.
Many in the Head-Fi community had been asking for detachable cables for a long time; hopefully this feature will trickle down into lower-end models in due course. EIC Ian White uses a pair of $125 Grado SR80x (you can read his review here) on the road due to their lightweight design and compatibility with his bottomless pit of Dongle DACs and has complained for years about the detachable cable issue — management in Brooklyn have finally gotten the message apparently.
Design & Comfort
The build quality of the HP100 SE is quite spectacular, even factoring in the steep price tag. Grado headphones are well-known for their spartan material choices, but the HP100 SE feels remarkably sturdy with its all-metal build and there’s no rough edges to speak of.
On the flipside, the headphone weighs over 500 grams; couple this to the fact that the headband padding is quite thin, which is not very conducive to extended listening sessions of several hours. Mileage may differ, but I got a hotspot on the top of my head after around 45 minutes of constant use.
Detachable cables are a huge bonus, and allows you to change cables as you wish. And you may very well want to; the included cable is heavy and retains its shape no matter how you position it.
Worth mentioning is that the HP100 SE comes with two differing sets of earpads; the over-ear G-style pads and the on-ear F-style pads. I found the G-style pads more comfortable as my ears don’t get along with on-ear designs. Listeners will definitely appreciate being able to experiment with both sets.
Grado also state that the different pads change the overall sound signature, which we will delve into right now.
Listening Notes
I listened to the Grado Signature HP100 SE headphones with two sources, being the SMSL DO400 DAC/Amp ($499 at Amazon) and the DO400 DAC connected to the Aune S17 Pro amplifier ($649 at Amazon) via XLR.
The DAC was connected to my laptop via Bluetooth (LDAC codec) or USB and I listened to both hi-res FLAC files and Spotify music.
Bass
Upon first listen the first thing that struck me about the HP100 SE was its midbass presence. A slight elevation in this area translated to an appreciable level of punch to instruments, couple this with strong macrodynamics and I was bopping my head to Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.
There is a slight dip in the deepest sub bass frequencies, but this is a dynamic driver headphone after all. I would say the amplitude loss down to 20dB is only 2 or 3 decibels, so nothing to dock points over.
Although the midbass is emphasised, the upper bass (and lower midrange) region doesn’t get lost in the mix whatsoever. The male vocals in Jack’s Lament by Geoff Castellucci has just the right amount of body and sounded very life-like owing to the timbral qualities of the HP100 SE.
Midrange
The HP100 SE has a wonderful focus on midrange, especially vocal clarity. It is more mid-centric than the similarly-priced HiFiMAN HE1000 Unveiled for example.
Other standout features include a better sense of dynamism and a more natural, believable timbre, which shines through with guitars and female vocals in particular.
“Sway” by Cupidon and Shaqdi surprised me; the female singer’s vocals really stood out from the rest of the mix in a way that I hadn’t heard before in a pleasing way. Despite the emphasis, they managed to stay well clear from any harshness.
The frequency response picks up massively into the upper mids. Cyani’s vocals in “JOLLY” were a little over-emphasised; some would call it shout.
Treble
I found the response to pick up a second time in the mid treble, with hi-hats proving a touch piercing on poorly-recorded songs. This was exacerbated with the F style on-ear pads, which admittedly didn’t see a whole lot of use.
But it did have its merits; Billie Eilish and Khalid’s “lovely” has a part where Billie’s “s” sounds reverberate in a way which is pleasantly emphasised on the HP100 SE.
Furthermore, the slightly elevated treble helped bring out the impressive detail and resolution capabilities of the HP100 SE, with the paper compositive driver doing a terrific job at handling microdynamics.
Imaging and Soundstage
The HP100 SE is an especially open-sounding headphone, with the stage extending very wide in the horizontal plane. For reference, I thought the Grados staged wider than any egg-shaped HiFiMAN which are renowned for their staging abilities.
On the other hand, the centre stage sounded a touch diffuse to my ears, which meant the layering and imaging wasn’t quite as good as the HE1000 Unveiled. Still decent though; TOOL’s “Chocolate Chip Trip” still gave me that surround-sound auditory experience I strive for.
The F style pads improved imaging by bringing the centre stage forward in the mix, but it did also reduce the expansive soundstage by a touch.
Drivability
I wanted to test out the drivability aspect of the HP100 SE, but the included 6.3mm cable meant I couldn’t simply hook the headphones up to my phone or any portable DAC/Amp device.
Grado provided me with an early variant of their 4-pin XLR cable which allowed me to eke out the maximum power figures from my Aune S17 Pro amplifier, and I reached comfortable listening volumes with plenty of headroom. In fact, I had more volume to spare than with any HiFiMAN.
The Bottom Line
The Grado Signature HP100 SE not only brings detachable cables for the first time in the Brooklyn-based audio company’s lineup, but honors its Signature heritage with superb vocal performance, impressive soundstaging and top-shelf technical ability. We just wish they were a little more comfortable and perhaps catered to younger, more upper frequency-sensitive ears too.
Pros:
- Detachable cables at last
- Unmatched vocal clarity
- Wide, open sound
- Compete with the best in class below $2,500
Cons:
- Not the most comfortable
- Upper midrange and mid treble harshness
Where to buy:
Related Reading:
Daniel Sapen
February 6, 2025 at 3:42 am
Nice review!
I would add that for some head shapes, these are quite comfortable. I’ve been listening a couple of hours a day since the day they arrived (which was two days after they went on sale. I have had no comfort or hot-spot issues whatsoever – and there is approximately twice the padding in the headband as in previous Grado TOTL cans.
These are extraordinarily resolving headphones – the sheer micro-detail is the best I’ve heard short of the TOTL Stax. And they slam when needed. I alternate between the OG Utopia and Susvara Unveiled the last few weeks, and while one shouldn’t toss around expensive, heretical comments recklessly, I consistently find these 2500 buck dynamic headphones to MORE clearly delineate orchestral inner voices, small dynamic and technical moves on, say, acoustic bass, subtle grace notes on a snare drum and changes in how and where a ride cymbal is struck by a drummer than on those far more costly flagships.
While the Utopia is a bit more polite and balanced across the frequency range, it sounds sluggish by comparison, missing the stunning sense of drive and forward motion which is perhaps the HP100 SE’s second most outstanding trait. Leading edges of transients, are (independent of that familiar Grado assertiveness in the upper mid and mid-treble ranges) amazingly accurate and fine-grained, and this is not an unnatural emphasis – yes, these Grados may not have the sheer golden liquidity of the Susvara Unveiled, but they simply present more inner detail, on recording after recording.
The blurry center image you mention – I can’t identify that. In fact, the degree of outside-of-the-head width of the soundstage is exceeded, in my system, by a perfectly holographic and stable set of center images, the sizes and relative distances of which correspond perfectly to the depth and other spatial cues. The result is that, simply put, this is the best imaging and sound-space performance I have ever heard in a headphone. Normally, the reverberations of the side and back walls would be barely relevant for most listening; however, combined with the kind of speed and rhythmic groove a lover of classic Linn-Naim systems would salivate over, those little dancing angel-features simply add to the magic.
I consistently find the Susvara (OG and Unveiled) to present vivid images, and a grainless, natural-sounding tonality which is quite addictive. However, although, especially on the Unveiled, this images are almost all of the same size, all seem to be quite close across most recordings, and there is a great deal of spotlighting, as if each instrumental image were emanating from a well-backlit screen arranged in a flattened arc around the listener. It is beautiful; it is far from realistic on many recordings. And that lack of realism seem strongly correlated to the demand for transient speed and dynamic decay of the music.
As some reviewers have pointed out, the Unveiled is going to shine on acoustic chamber and orchestral music, folk, and anything lacking the speed and sudden dynamic shifts in much rock, pop, faster acoustic jazz and the like. Leading edges are lost when the music is busy and the transients hit hard, through the 8K Unveiled.
Yes, those who find Grado cans “shouty” in those particular frequency ranges will notice some of this on the HP100 SE, but both much less so than in past models, and to a less drastic extent. The texture and timbre of these headphones benefit from the extraordinary resolution, such that music remains fine grained and pleasing unless the recording is simply awful.
There’s a lot of buzz about these cans, and it is deserved. I know I will have some readers shaking their heads when I compare them favorably to such sacred cows as the OG Utopia and the TOTL Hifiman, but I’m doing the homework: This Grado headphone actually does outperform them in several ways, while being fun and refined enough to stand as all-around flagship-level headphones, competitive with anything on the market.
I use an Arctic Cables Apeiron cable; however, I find the stock cable to be pleasant, pliable, nicely textured, and sonically just fine.
My system consists of lossless and high-res PCM and DSD files in every genre, coming from a MacAir/Roon setup, SGC Sonic Transporter and Synology NAS drive; UltraRendu; Holo May KTE and Bryston BDC3.14 DAC and Bliss KTE and Woo WA5LE amps, with Audioquest Fire and Wireworld silver ICs, AQ Niagara power and AQ power cables.
Ian White
February 6, 2025 at 3:41 pm
Daniel,
Thank you for your rather in-depth response to James’ review. Some interesting insights on your part. I have another pair of Grado headphones under review (under NDA so I can’t say anything more) that are higher priced and my only gripe so far is the headband. I’ve not experienced any hot spots, but it could use a little more padding.
February 19th for the news story and my review.
IW
Eli
February 25, 2025 at 5:15 am
Hey Ian – did this review come out yet? Was it for the S950?
Ian White
February 25, 2025 at 12:22 pm
Eli,
We’ve already covered the launch of the Signature S950 in a news story and part one of the review will be published either later today or on Wednesday.
https://www.ecoustics.com/products/grado-signature-s950/
IW
Asa
February 6, 2025 at 6:15 pm
Cool company & nice review. I like the industrial design of these…appeals to my minimalist nature.♥
I also like the addition of multiple pads and ear bud sizes/materials that are being included with better headphones/earbuds.
I may be alone on this, but open-back cans are a no-go for me as I’m usually only listening when other people are around (in bed, on flights, etc.), and don’t want to disturb others around me. If no one is around, it’s open air listening via speakers.
It’s also fun on flight to sit next to someone with open backs hearing their lack of musical taste. 😉
Ian White
February 7, 2025 at 12:26 pm
Asa,
I get it in regard to “open-back” as nobody wants to really hear what you are listening to (especially on the subway or airplane), but I will always prefer the sound quality of open-back when it comes to soundstage, and the overall clarity. The Meze 99 Classics have been in my travel bag for 5 years and yes…they are closed-back headphones. But the Empyrean II and 109 Pro are substantially better sounding headphones.
I have another pair of Grados with me right now that don’t become a product one can buy until after CanJam NYC in a few weeks and they are amazingly good so far. Don’t love the headband (James was correct) in terms of overall padding, but these headphones sound so open and clear.
February 19th for the review.
IW
Asa
February 7, 2025 at 5:13 pm
Yep, sound quality will almost always be better, and maybe I’ll have to pick up a pair for work, where surroundings aren’t an issue. Looking forward to the next Grado review. Thanks!
Ian White
February 7, 2025 at 7:38 pm
Asa,
The Grado cans in my possession are breaking in (currently on a balcony in FL) and I can hear the ocean waves below through them. One of my children told me that I looked like one of the guys at the airport who wave the light stick on the tarmac with them on. Not sure if that was a compliment. Probably not. I do agree with James in regard to the ear pads changing the sound…and it’s not subtle.
They are not hard to drive. Major plus.
IW
Asa
February 7, 2025 at 10:15 pm
Haha…the brutal honesty of children and young adults. It must be the way the two rods stick out on these vs. others that fold up and into the headband. Maybe you can get celestial reception through them. 😉
Also, these are out of my price-range, but maybe something in the Reference or Prestige lines might be worth a listen or something similar. Seems there are many good options like the Meze you mentioned earlier.
Candymjt
February 13, 2025 at 5:03 pm
works of art.
Ian White
February 13, 2025 at 9:58 pm
The other “work of art” that I’m currently listening to from Grado will be available next week. Both the product to buy and the review to read.
IW
Ascentlll
February 14, 2025 at 7:51 pm
Century to a kind of destruction:
zeeman
February 16, 2025 at 7:07 pm
Let’s be honest: You were driving these with substandard equipment. A pair of flagship headphones like these should be run off better gear, especially for review purposes. No one is buying cans at this price and running them off $500 gear like you did.
Ian White
February 16, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Zeeman,
I’m going to assume that you didn’t play a part in the development of the HP100 SE and nor have you had any in-depth conversations with the people at Grado about them. I have another pair of new Grado headphones with me down in Florida that are in the same ballpark in terms of pricing and have used a different range of equipment with them. James has proven to have a rather good ear with the equipment he has reviewed so far (no manufacturers have objected to his reviews so far) and like any piece of hi-fi…the only review that matters is your own on equipment that you use yourself.
But having listened to the new “model” that comes out at CanJam NYC next weekend, I think James was pretty accurate. My views on the new model may be different.
IW
zeeman
February 17, 2025 at 3:29 pm
Hi Ian! I’ve both sold Grado and owned all their key models for over 20 years. They’re very efficient, and can be driven off just about anything with ok results. Better gear certainly maximizes the higher end models, from Grado and any other good brand. Bass, sound staging and top end behaviour is clearly better off a superior signal/amp chain than the $500 DAP category can offer. These products offer great mass market value for money, but won’t give you a good idea of what top end headphones can offer.
Ian White
February 17, 2025 at 3:41 pm
Zeeman,
Appreciate your answer. I think your answer applies to every headphone but it also doesn’t change what James heard. As I mentioned, I’m listening to a different variation of the headphone that comes out this week and I share many of James’ views…but clearly hear some differences (because they are different headphones) because I’m using a more powerful headphone amplifier with the WiiM Ultra Streamer.
Some of the DAPs (Questyle and IFi GO Kensei) offer a lot more power and do tell you a lot about what a headphone is doing.
Enjoy whatever you have and remember it’s just music.
IW