If you asked the What Hi-Fi? team to recommend the best audiophile headphones from Grado, then we'd probably say you should get the SR325x. We rated them a full five stars in our review, and they have won multiple What Hi-Fi? Awards.
But if you're after superior sound quality and a beautifully unique design, then we'd recommend the Grado RS1x instead.
That recommendation would come with even more conviction now that they've been discounted to just £695 at Peter Tyson, which is equal to their record-low price. They're also £55 cheaper than Amazon is currently selling them for.
If you’re looking for home headphones to plug into your hi-fi system or desktop DAC and are fortunate enough to have this kind of budget to spend on them, I would wholeheartedly recommend that this be the pair you treat your ears to.
A 14 per cent discount may not seem all that generous in the face of 'half-price this and have-this-for-free that' in our deal-persistent world, but premium Grado headphones such as these are rarely discounted by much.
The caveat to owning Grado headphones is that their retro look will not appeal to everyone; those trademark antenna-resembling adjustment sliders won’t suit everyone, nor will their foam earpads.
But the RS1x are arguably the nicest-looking we’ve seen from the Brooklyn-based brand, owing to their mix of maple sleeve, hemp core, and cocobolo wood – which doesn’t just look lovely but is essential to their warm tonal character.
Speaking of which, it’s their sound quality that really stands out. True to Grado’s signature sound, the RS1x are, to borrow our words from back in 2022, distinctly open, entertainingly lean and agile, and unfalteringly detailed.
There are far more premium-priced Grados, but the RS1x’s balance of performance and comfort (their frame is lightweight and the earcups sit on, rather than fully enclose, your ears) makes them a good go-to everyday pick to plug into, say, a laptop-connected Chord Hugo 2 DAC.
This would be a good time to mention that you'll need a good, quiet space in which to listen to these Grados, considering their open-back design, which inherently leaks a notable amount of sound both in and out.
So bear the open-back vs closed-back headphone discussion in mind when considering these, or any pair of audiophile headphones.
If they fit the bill on paper, you won’t regret making the Grado RS1x yours for the very reasonable discounted sum of £695 at Peter Tyson.
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