A Revered American Hi-Fi Brand Just Gave Its Audiophile Headphones a Standout Upgrade

Not only do these audiophile headphones look gorgeous, but they promise a more balanced sound, too.

Published February 19, 2025

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Updated February 19, 2025

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This past fall, Grado Labs announced new flagship open-back headphones, the Signature HP100 SE, which paid homage to its first-ever Signature HP1 headphone from the early 1990s.

The Signature HP100 SE share a similar 90s aesthetic as its forefather, with specially treated aluminum housings, but had featured updated drivers and modern design tweaks such as detachable cables (a “first” for any Grado headphone).

Now, the revered Brooklyn-based audio maker has added a new addition to its high-end Signature series. It’s built in the same vein as the Signature HP100 SE, but boasts a new look and sound thanks to its material upgrade.

Grado Signature S950

Brazilian walnut

The Grado Signature S950 is the newest addition to its Signature series of audiophile-grade open-back wired headphones. When compared to the Signature HP100 SE, the most obvious difference is the material — they have wooden housing instead of aluminum.

And while Grado is no stranger to incorporating wood into their headphones, the S950 are the first to feature Brazilian walnut. It’s beautiful and, as is true with other wooden headphones, has acoustic properties that absorbs vibrations and helps prevent distortion.

According to Grado, the Brazilian walnut was chosen for its “relaxed musical presentation and stability,” giving the Signature S950 a unique sound signature that contrasts the “more analytical” HP100 SE.

Same drivers, new sound

With the Signature HP100 SE, Grado introduced a completely new 52mm driver design — it paired a paper composite cone with “a powerful high-flux magnetic circuit” and a new voice coil made from lightweight copper-plated aluminum.

And the Grado Signature S950 shares that same 52mm drivers. But while the Signature HP100 SE is known for delivering an incredibly detailed sound that’s accurate to the original recording, Grado says that the Signature S950 promises something different.

According to the press release, the Signature S950 has a more neutral and balanced sound that “allows the listener to experience a relaxed personal insight to what the music is communicating.”

Lighter build, increased comfort

Since wood is lighter than aluminum, the Signature S950 promises to be more comfortable. They weigh roughly four ounces (or 113 grams) less than the Signature HP100 SE.

Like the Signature HP100 SE, the new cans feature the same redesigned headband, made of stainless steel and leather, that Grado claims has 50 percent more padding than its other headphones.

The Signature S950 also comes with detachable cables — a rarity for Grado — giving you the flexibility to use the headphones with different sources or change/upgrade the cables in time.

The included cables feature a 6.3mm termination plug and connect to each housing using a 4-pin mini XLR plug.