I just spent a little over a week with the Grado GH2 headphones, provided graciously by TTVJ Audio, and I begin my writeup with them sitting on my head – I’m actually listening to rock on them for the first time – perhaps blasphemy for Grados, but I had to get one rock session in before sending them back!
In short – if not for a recent pet related emergency coming on the heels of a kitchen remodel and an overseas vacation, all during the Christmas season – I’d be buying them right now. As it stands, my wife would probably have grounds for divorce if I did
But before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a moment to review my usage of them:
I tried to use a variety of sources, and compare them mainly to an elder big brother, the original Grado PS1000 headphones – my personal flagships. But I also did a bit of comparison to my Sony MDR-1ABT headphones (fed from my phone via LDAC – so it’s high quality Bluetooth).
Sources used were: directly out of the phone (Google Pixel XL – first generation), at my desk from a Schiit Valhalla 2 (DAC used is a Behringer UCA-222), my HiFiman 801, and my Sony ZX1.
For listening material, I used my rocking Grados mainly to listen to pop and jazz. A lot of Renee Olstead, Norah Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis together, a bit of Sonny Stitt, The Hot Sardines, Macy Gray, Beck, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. Right now I’m using them to listen to a bit of AC/DC to redeem myself. These are generally who I listen to when I work, and that’s where I did a lot of listening. I also did some critical listening while in bed.
My sources include a mix of lossy and lossless, and quite a bit of Google Play Music – streaming at 320kbps (MP3).
The Good
Overall, I love these headphones. What first caught my eye is that they’re quite beautiful, and in person they do not disappoint. They’re also the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. I have a pretty big dome – I wear a little north of 7.5 in fitted hats. It’s a big head. And I have an 18 inch neck, so it’s not like I can’t hold up a heavy set of cans. I wear the PS1000 headphones – which are pretty heavy – for hours at a time and really don’t mind. A lot of headphones are tight on my head (my MDR-1ABT’s that my wife shares don’t fit that well – they squeeze a bit).
Grados can be adjusted to not squeeze, and both these and the PS1000’s fit nicely. The difference, though, is the weight. These weigh virtually nothing. I barely notice them on my head at all. They can just sit up there on my head and I don’t have to ever take them off. I even listened to a football game while I worked on helping cook dinner at the in-laws house for Thanksgiving. They just disappear on your head. Love that. Since most of my listening is while I work and I leave them on for long hours this is a huge plus for me.
Past the physical, there’s the sound. In short, they sound great. They’re not a set of cans for a bass head, but I’m not one. I love the stand up bass, it’s probably my favorite instrument, but that’s not the house shaking sub-bass that bass heads look for. The bass is tight, but not earth shattering. My 801 is running Rockbox, of course, and I did bump the bass with the EQ, and it helped a bit. But if you’re looking for something that shakes you – well then why are you in a Grado thread any way? Go away!
The mids and treble are where Grado’s shine, and these aren’t an exception. Plenty of detail, I love female vocalists, and they all sound glorious from these. Norah, Ella, they rarely sound better than they do here.
In comparison to the PS1000’s, they really are right there. The PS1000’s I believe have a bigger driver (50mm vs 44mm – correct me if I’m wrong here) and that does make a difference when it comes to bass response. While still not the basshead’s dream, the PS1000’s can produce a rumble that these just can’t. Again, that’s even with the help of some EQ. But for the right source, these sound great.
There’s more contrast to the Sony MDR-1ABT than comparison. These are more comfortable to me, and provide a ton of detail at the mids and highs, while leaving a bit at the low end, and the Sony is the opposite, lots down low offset by a bit less detail at the mids and highs. They complement each other well. The Sony cans also offer a bit more isolation than these open cans can.
The Bad
Back to the bass (this is the last time I’ll mention it – I promise). Less rumble, though it’s tight and well controlled, than some others. But they’re Grado’s, what do you expect?
They’re also not super sensitive. Everything I threw at them could drive them, but I had to push the volume way up with some of my sources. My phone was almost maxed out driving them. The ZX1 can drive them just fine though, and that isn’t very powerful. As an example, I know from experience that they just barely can’t drive the AKG Q701. Some loud tracks worked, but overall the ZX1 couldn’t handle those, and it can drive these Grados without issue. Still, If you have a really low power phone it’s possible it won’t drive them. Any dedicated amp or DAP should be fine.
Also, they’re cabled by Grado. That means they have Grado cables. If you’ve ever owned Grados, you’ll understand why I am putting this under “The Bad.” They’re a bit annoying. This particular pair have been well cared for and not used for years, so they’re still OK. But they exhibit the same qualities that cause the cables to twist a bit over time and make you wonder why Grado can’t figure out cables like every other manufacturer ever.
The Ugly
These are a beautiful, comfortable pair of headphones that can almost run with the flagship cans of Grado from just a few years (fine, 8) ago. Those cans cost what was then considered staggeringly expensive for a pair of headphones ($1,700), which is still more than 2.5x what these cost. I won’t go so far so to say that they’re a great “Value,” but I do think they’re worth the cost of admission.
