The world of music has many fans; Grado LABS GS1000E is a product that does not leave indifferent. It is one of those accessories that every professional knows well and marks the boundary between music and noise.
Many, who are not right to define superficial but simply skeptical, do not believe that investing in a pair of headphones of a certain level can be important for listening; it is quite so. Hearing is so sensitive that it perceives much more than an electronic synthesizer can emit, so sensitive as to be annoyed by any superfluous sound and delighted by every note close to perfection.
The world of music is Grado, the New York company specializing in the highest quality headphones.
Grado LABS GS1000E – Design
It cannot be said that Grado headphones are the usual ones that we are used to seeing in the shop window or supermarkets; the company offers completely handcrafted models with attention to the smallest details.
Grado headphones present in almost all earphones models built mainly in mahogany; this wood and being elegant and precious give them an at the same time robust, functional, and classy appearance.
The small and performance speakers work inside the mahogany supports, giving exceptional sound warmth and a very high-level image.
The Grado LABS GS1000E headphones consist of a wideband in soft and comfortable leather that joins the two earphones, with an amber-brown color, typical of mahogany.
Overall, this beautiful component denotes a retro aesthetic but makes sublime technology clear: the 70s-style construction lets the most discerning hide one of the most beautiful sounds you can hear, powerful and warm, detailed and never annoying.
Features
The Grado LABS GS1000E headphones use two 50mm dynamic transducers connected via a 12-filament cable, designed to give the listener unique emotions.
These features allow the musical message to arrive without any dispersion to the ear and produce exceptional and quality bass, perfectly damped by the earphones’ mahogany case.
The resulting dynamic is something unique that undoubtedly deserves to be heard; not surprisingly, the component’s frequency response starts from 8 Hz and reaches 35 Khz.
Even if the acoustic spectrum that perceives the human ear is between 20Hz and 20 Khz, every time you come across a product capable of abundantly exceeding these limits, you will perceive a sound image of a much better level. This speaks volumes about the human ear’s real sensitivity, which manages to go beyond the currently known physical-mathematical details.
No less important for the acoustic results is the particular cushion that the earphones manage to form on the listener’s ear; it has exceptional properties and gives the musical message a stereophony and spatiality difficult to find in any other environment.
The model in question belongs to Grado’s Statement series, which among other things, is not the best according to the company’s quality standards, which includes a higher series called professional; the other two series are, in descending order, the Reference and the Prestige.
Another interesting technical data is the sensitivity. The house declares these headphones 8 dB measured on a 1 mW; most commercial products declare a value equal to 105 dB, while the Grado headphones tested and measured in the laboratory slightly exceed 91 dB.
Sensitivity is not a quality index but a real characteristic, which measures the speakers’ ability to react to the signal’s electrical impulse; the higher the value, the more the music volume will be greater with the same power applied.
The legitimate question is why the Grade opted for a lower sensitivity; the answer is related to the magnets’ ability to absorb power and return it with the utmost fidelity.
In this sense, low sensitivity allows the restitution of a musical message with a great dynamic reserve, expressing the concrete possibility of being able to raise the volume out of all proportions without feeling any mechanical limit, let alone distortion. Applying great power to very sensitive speakers is equivalent to bringing the latter to the physical and mechanical limit of the component, with the membranes’ risk of rupture.
Furthermore, the higher the sensitivity, the more the signal sharpness is compromised; a high value is convenient for systems with little power from which there is a real need to obtain watts.
The Grado LABS GS1000E sound quality improves more than anything else with the increase in impedance, which is generally 4 ohms in-car hi-fi and 8 ohms in-home systems; in some cases, it reaches 16 ohms. This stereo headphones model works with an impedance of 32 ohms, an exemplary business card on the subject.
Sound Quality
As anticipated, we speak of high-level quality standards; the sound produced by these headphones is extraordinary in body and space, becoming extremely engaging and reminiscent of the warm reproduction of vinyl, still appreciated by many audiophiles and professionals.
The very precise but somewhat metallic reproduction typical of the new digital sources is lost, but this is not a defect; rather, the exaltation of a status quo of reproduction capable of moving, thanks also to stratospheric dynamics an incredible frequency extension.
The tone is excellent, but it is the only point where criticism can move, which matures from some professionals in the sector, who consider it rigged and falsely extended towards frequencies that the instruments are not used to reproduce; the Grado headphones are unbalanced, perhaps a little more in favor of emotion, turning more to the audiophile than to the sound professional.
Pros and Cons
In summary, Grado is undoubtedly a company that addresses its products to those who make music a real reason for living. It is no coincidence that the prices are appropriate for devices of the absolute reference. In this regard, it is clear that the few cons that can be listed refer to a decidedly high level; in short, it is not true to make a comparison between these headphones and other more commercial ones.
- Warm sound and extended frequency.
- Impeccable construction.
- Use of precious materials (such as mahogany).
- Use of a 12-filament cable sized for the input of high powers.
- Exceptional aesthetics.
- Excellent timbre but enhanced in frequency.
- Price not popular.
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