When you snag your pair of Grado’s open-back GW100x headphones, you’ll discover a message on the box interior proudly proclaiming the company’s six-decade legacy as a family-run business in Brooklyn. The design of these headphones echoes our heritage, boasting a no-frills aesthetic with circular grills, a smooth black-leather headband, and a commitment to delivering exceptional sound.
Grado has introduced 44mm drivers, redesigned speaker housings, and support for the aptX Adaptive codec, enhancing the overall performance. However, the design philosophy for the GW100x prioritizes functionality over flamboyance, and we've maintained a stripped-back aesthetic that exudes an industrial, hard-edged feel. The lightweight design offers practical features like an in-built microphone for voice calls and robust up-and-down slider mechanism for easy adjustments, a choice between wired and wireless connections, and an impressive 46-hour battery life at 50% volume.
Perfect for at home listening, the GW100x delivers as expected from Grado, offering a rich and detailed audio experience. Whether used wirelessly or with the 3.5mm jack-equipped cable, the headphones excel in reproducing diverse musical genres with clarity and precision. If you prioritize top-notch audio in a quiet environment, the GW100x is worth considering, despite its unconventional design and features.
With a more efficient battery and Bluetooth 5.2, the GW100x can now play music for nearly two days straight. Matching our GT220, USB-C is now included, bringing the GW100x in line with global charging standards. The upgraded chipset allows more information to flow from your device to the GW100x, all while maintaining a strong connection.
Features
- Wireless Bluetooth 5.2
- Mic and voice control
- 46 hour battery
- Drivers matched .1db
- Touch controls
- Voice assistant
- De-stressed drivers
- WS cushions
4th Generation Grado drivers are here. Specifically tuned for the wireless GW100x, this new speaker design features a more powerful magnetic circuit, a voice coil with decreased effective mass, and a reconfigured diaphragm. Reengineering these components for our 44mm drivers improve efficiency, reduces distortion, and preserves the harmonic integrity of your music.
Customer Reviews
Really good headphones but you need to bring your manufacturing facility back to the U.S.A. Get out of China
It’s been a little under a month and these headphones are comfortable, precise, and sweet on the ears. They are accurate beyond description. Enjoying them!
First of all, these sound amazing. No complaints there. However, they need some work on the firmware.
The "power on" and "power off" announcement whenever you turn them on or off is super loud. Never turn these on when they are already on your head.
I routinely have these connected to both my computer and my phone, but they often have a hard time deciding which device is providing audio. When this happens, the only way to fix is to disconnect from one device.
When connected to 2 devices, and they lose connection to one (because I got up from my desk and walked out of range), they will beep every 30 seconds until reconnected. The only way to get the beeping to stop is either reconnect to the second device, or cycle power.
Similar to the above point, when the battery drops below 20%, they will announce low battery every 30 seconds until you plug them in.
Overall I like these, but they really don't work very well if you want to use them on a phone and a laptop at the same time. Would love a firmware update, but haven't been able to find one.
Subjectively speaking the sound is actually pretty good, the bluetooth works well, and even the microphone does a surprisingly good job (tested this on cell calls and on MS Teams w/ Macbook Pro). It’s a shame really because the Achilles heel is the cheese-dog construction and plastic components. It’s so bad that these broke on me even though I babied them. Always sitting on my desk, never placed in a laptop bag, never dropped, and never banged around. I’ve sent them back for a refund as this happened in < 30 days of ownership, but as I write this I’ve not even received an acknowledgement of receipt. Sheesh.
Save yourself some heartache and move on to a more reputable brand. These things are just plain junk in every sense of the word.
The sound is excellent but the construction quality means that they require careful handling. One of the plastic components has already broken.