What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Best home on-ear headphones £150+, Awards 2011. For home use, these are stunning: open, detailed and full-bodied
Pros
- +
Fast and attacking
Cons
- -
Could dig deeper
- -
some comfort issues
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Musically, these Grados focus on what’s important and compromise nowhere – with the result that the experience is as pleasing a hi-fi listen as you’ll find for this (or even quite considerably more) money.
The 325is have had a design tweak from the originals, though it is very minor. The outer casing of each ear-cup is now finished in a ‘sparkle grey’ powder coat finish (over the aluminium).
Otherwise, it’s business as usual for these 2011 Best Buy Award winners.
No, they’re not the most impressively built headphones in the world, and the way the little ‘antennae’-looking connectors link to the headband is a little crude for this price level.
And their sonic modus operandi depends largely on their being open-backed – so open-backed, in fact, that someone sitting six feet from you will be able to discern every word of that Van Morrison album you’re listening to.
Which, given the way he mumbles his way through a set list, is saying something.
This makes them less than ideal for portable use. But for pure home use the Grados are a stunning achievement: effortlessly detailed, open yet full-bodied and with highly fluid dynamics.
What more could you want?
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