Grado SR325 Classic review

If you know much about wired open-back headphones, you’ll probably be familiar with the talents of the Grado SR325x. The rugged over-ears have been scooping What Hi-Fi? Awards since their 2021 release, delighting us with their exceptional musicality and hugely entertaining presentation. In fact, the SR325x are already a pair of bona fide classics.

Even the all-time greats must move with the times, though, with Grado reimagining the SR325x as the SR325 Classic as part of the brand’s overhaul of some of its most established wired headphones. The new Classic range brings together many of its most recognisable headphones under the same banner, all united by the addition of a new 'X2' driver, with the newer models set to replace all of the ‘x’ versions currently available.

That’s a big deal. With the SR325x soon heading off for a well-earned retirement, they’ve left their successors with awfully big shoes to fill – are the new SR325 Classic up to the challenge?

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Price

The Grado SR325 Classic cost £349 / $350, making them a little more expensive at launch than the original SR325x, which came into the world at £330 / $295. The latter pair have dropped considerably in the UK since then, however, tending to hover around the £200-250 mark.

Wired competition at this price is hardly scarce. For less money, you can grab the exceptionally talented Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X open-backs for £219 / $299, or spend a little more for the five-star Austrian Audio Hi-X65 for $400 in the US and £300 in the UK at the time of writing.

If you want to spend a bit more, the smooth-sounding Sennheiser HD 660S2 can be yours for £399 / $599.

Build & comfort

Classic name, classic Grado look. The new SR325X Classic sport the industrial, hard-edge aesthetic so familiar to fans of Grado’s established roster of wired headphones, typified by small rounded earcups, aluminium speaker grilles and lean, minimalist construction.

Those aluminium housings are now all black as opposed to the previous silver finish of the SR325x, but this is still the classic Grado design language with which we’re familiar. Nothing here screams luxury, but we’d be confident that, as we’ve found with the established SR325x, these are headphones that will last and last.

While general levels of construction are high, we do have to raise our usual concerns about the cans’ rather unforgiving foam earpads. Grado has never been particularly generous with the padding it provides across its extensive roster of on-ear and over-ear cans, but when you could buy a pair of ultra-luxurious DT 900 Pro X for a similar price, it’s hard not to feel a little short-changed when dealing with the somewhat coarse, slightly scratchy cushions provided with the new SR325.

Yes, the Grados’ light weight helps to offset any potential discomfort, but when the relative leanness of the ear cushions means there’s not a huge barrier between the driver housing and your precious ears, we can imagine that some users will find the SR325 Classic to be more unforgiving than the headphones they’re used to.

Plus, it might just be a bad batch, but the Classics’ removable ear pads do seem to come off incredibly easily on our review sample, so much so that we can remove them from the main body of our test pair with a single finger. That can become a real issue, especially when you’re spending half of your time fiddling to try to reattach the cushions to their housings rather than actually listening to your headphones.

Thankfully, we don’t find too many other gripes concerning usability. Adjusting the headband is done via a simple vertical slider mechanism that responds to a firm push or pull, and we find that the SR325 Classic will clamp firmly – but not too firmly – to your head without too much trouble.

Grado has given other structural elements of the Classic headphones a refresh, such as re-engineering the height rod, junction block and gimbal system for better stability around the headband and earcups. The headband also has more padding than before, while the braided cable has been updated to be lighter and more flexible.

Sound

Improving upon the SR325x was never going to be easy. We’re talking about headphones that have scooped award after shiny award while laying down a sonic benchmark for musicality and verve – improving upon that particular recipe is a bit like trying to add a bonus track to Sergeant Pepper’s.

Yet improvements have been made, that much is for certain. Grado describes the implementation of its new X2 driver as delivering "improved consistency, control, and refinement" alongside "greater clarity, extension, and balance". We couldn’t have put it much better ourselves.

Those 44mm X2 dynamic drivers, built using a Mylar diaphragm and a copper voice call, bring levels of clarity and composure to these Classic cans that the established SR325x can’t match. The Classic are rich, powerful yet precise in their presentation, handling a hi-res recording of Agnes Obel’s Fuel To Fire without a hint of freneticism or fuss.

Such a sparse, delicate and carefully curated composition plays perfectly into the Classics’ hands, exhibiting the over-ears’ talents for overall control and organisation. Instrumental textures blend delicacy and weight beautifully, granting insight and real personality to the dark, mysterious strings on Obel’s The Curse.

Much as we’d like to, we can't listen exclusively to super-talented Danish singer-songwriters all day, so it’s time to kick things up a notch with The Smiths’ How Soon Is Now?. The Grados’ smooth yet open presentation gives the tune a fittingly cinematic presence, while the thudding drums are presented with a satisfying balance of control and brute force.

We spend a great deal of time listening to the SR325 Classic, be it via our trusted Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 hi-res player or plugged directly into a laptop, and there’s no question they benefit from notable improvements over their predecessors, particularly in terms of greater precision, detail and clarity.

So why, then, do we feel increasingly frustrated the more and more we listen? In the back of our minds, we can’t shake the feeling that this ‘Classic’ spin on the SR325 isn’t hitting the spot in the same way as the SR325x.

Much of that owes to a poorer sense of rhythmic drive. The SR325x are far better in this regard, propelling tracks forward with their sparkier, more propulsive temperament. The established Award-winners are more agile and energetic, too, with a brio and enthusiasm which has been somewhat muted on the newer iteration.

Much as we’re impressed with how clean and well-ordered the SR325 Classic are, too often we find ourselves willing them on, like a jockey trying to kick more life into a tiring racehorse. The Classic cans don’t have such a forward feeling of momentum, while the SR325x have a carefree skip in their step that we continue to find utterly irresistible on tracks such as Hans Zimmer’s pulsating Supermarine or Stevie Wonder’s relentlessly funky Higher Ground.

Ultimately, the SR325 Classic seem to have sacrificed verve and excitement for composure and clarity, and to our ears, that’s a shame. Grados are all about fun and panache, but there’s a seriousness – dare we say a standoffish quality – to the SR325 Classic that we can’t help but find slightly disappointing.

Verdict

In some ways, the SR325 Classic are an improvement over their predecessors. They’re undeniably clearer, more rounded sounding headphones, bringing new levels of poise and maturity to an Award-winning Grado recipe.

Yet during our side-by-side testing, we find ourselves yearning more for the SR325x than their newer counterparts. They may be less forgiving and less refined, but the SR325x are simply more entertaining than their slightly po-faced successors.

The Classics will have their fans, but if we had to pick a pair to live with, we’d snap up a deal on the older Grado SR325x before they run out.

Review published: 22nd June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Comfort 4
• Build 4

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Read our review of the Grado SR325x

Also consider the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X

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