I will forgive you if you haven’t heard of this brand of headphones before but trust me they are worth a serious look.
Grado Labs is a family run operation out of Brooklyn New York and has been ever since 1953 when Joseph Grado a watchmaker for Tiffany began making phono cartridges at home by hand. Over the next 10 years word spread so much that Grado Labs has not actually paid for advertising or endorsement since 1964!

What makes Grado special apart from the history of a 3 generation family owned business is each and every pair of its headphones are hand assembled and each and every box is hand numbered, oh and did I mention they make and absolutely amazing set of cans.

The SR325e headphones we tested are the top of the line model from their Prestige series and retail in AUS for $399. They are an open back design so there is a fair bit of sound leakage and little to now noise isolation (not great for public transport), but that is not why you buy pair of these headphones. Now to be honest I am not usually an on ear headphone type of guy, I tend to listen to music for long stints and find that on ear can become quite sore after a while with all that pressure. Now these headphones are not different they have a very firm bowl shaped ear pads that seem to focus the pressure on the outside of the ear. Don’t get me wrong they are comfortable but I could only listen for a few hours before I had to have a break.

Let’s have a look at the design, these if nothing else are retro with a capital R they harken back to the open back 60’s era hifi sets of old. There is a thin leather bound headband with very little padding and the ear cups are adjusted by siding them up and down on little metal rods on either side of the band. I thought this might cause some issues as there is no way to really lock it into position but once you have it in a comfy spot they seem to stay there no issue. The unboxing experience is lacklustre at best but again I didn’t get them for the box so I won’t hold that against them. Last but not least how about that cable, this is without a doubt the fattest headphone cable I have used in a long long time it is easily 4 -5 times thicker than a standard 3.5mm cable, it can get a bit heavy and twists a bit too easily but I know it is never going to fray on me that’s for sure.


Now for the most important part of the whole thing the sound.

How do I say this, the soundstage is amazing! Sitting in a room with my eye closed I could have sworn I was sitting in the middle of a recording session. The instrument separation is spot on, I was able to pin point where in the soundstage everything was coming from, all in all a great experience. One word or caution though if you are someone who loves over the top thumping bass, you better stop right now and look elsewhere as this will not be what you are looking for. These cans offer a very clear, detailed sound and it makes for a very enjoyable listening experience, but don’t have the over powering bass you would find with say a pair of beats headphones.

Overall I really love the sound of these headphones, the ear cups might not be for everyone but if you are looking for great, clear, balanced and dynamic sound then these are right up there with the best of them.

You can pick up a pair of these cans or any from the Grado Labs range online from Addicted To Audio (they also have stores in Sydney and Melbourne). They have also been amazing and given us a pair of the SR325e headphones to give away just in time for Christmas.

http://www.nova1069.com.au/nova-gaming/win-pair-grado-labs-sr325es