We’ve lauded Grado Labs plenty of times before. The family-run audio company has made some of the nicest hi-fi headphones you can buy for decades. All have been hand-crafted in Brooklyn. And up to this point, all have been wired headphones. Now, with the GW100, the company is jumping on the wireless trend with its first pair of Bluetooth headphones.
The GW100 are wireless, open-backed headphones that are built with Grado’s signature dynamic drivers for audiophile-grade performance. “We took our time and made no compromises in the GW100,” reads its website. “Nothing is lost except the wires.”
As with all open-backed headphones, you’re probably going to want to listen to the GW100s in a quiet and private place, so that outside noises don’t dilute your music and so that you don’t disrupt everyone around you. The GW100s are expected to have on-earcup buttons to accept calls and initiate your phone’s virtual assistant, both new additions to Grado’s headphones, too.
Grado’s GW100 headphones were announced this past August with no exact release date – but you can officially order them now for $249, which is refreshingly affordable for wireless, audiophile-grade headphones.
Key Specs
Bluetooth: 4.2 with apt-X
Battery Life: approximately 15 hours
Frequency Response: 20Hz~20KHz
Mic Sensitivity: 42dB +/- 3dB
Transducer Type: Dynamic
Operating Principle: Open Air
SPL 1mW: 99.8 dB
Nominal Impedance: 32 ohms
Driver Matched dB: .05 dB
Charging Port: micro-USB charging cable
