Grado has announced two new Statement X headphones. The Statement GS3000x follow on from the five-star GS3000e and boast the firm's largest, most powerful driver ever.
They keep Grado's trademark wooden finish and, like the GS3000e, they use a tropical hardwood called cocobolo. Grado claims the 52mm driver – up from 50mm on the GS3000e – is specifically tuned to "embrace the tenacity of cocobolo and precision of metal" (there's also a metal inner chamber). It also offers a more powerful magnetic circuit, a voice coil with decreased effective mass, and a reconfigured diaphragm.
Grado has also announced the GS1000x, the latest in its long-running GS1000 range. For the first time, it has a casing made of mahogany and ipê wood – Grado has long used mahogany in its designs, but ipê is new for this instalment. Grado claims it improves the structural integrity of the sound.
“I remember trying on the first GS1000 decades ago when my dad (John Grado) brought the first pair upstairs from the workbench”, says Jonathan Grado. “I was seven or eight and they swallowed my head. The fact that they are in their fourth generation today is a testament to the design of the original GS1000. And I’m sure my mom has that photo somewhere.”
As ever, the headphones are hand assembled in Brooklyn, New York, and also benefit from Grado's improved 12-conductor braided cable and new headbands.
Both models go on sale in September. The Grado Statement GS1000x cost £1,295 / $1195 (about AU$2237), or with Balanced XLR Connectors they are £1,495 / $1365 (about AU$2583).
The Grado Statement GS3000x are £2,195 / $1995 (about AU$3795) without Balanced XLR Connectors, or £2,395 / $2165 (about AU$4141) with.
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Check out our Grado GS3000e review
And our latest Grado RS1x review
John Grado: humble beginnings, why headphones, and finally going wireless
