Grado GS100i headphones by Tim Smith $995 www.gradolabs.com Review sample courtesy of High End Audio Exchange Components used in this review: Headphones: Grado GS1000i; HiFiMan HE-400; Beyerdynamic DT880 (600 Ohm); Beyerdynamic DT770 (32 Ohm). DACs: Resonessence Labs Herus, Concero, and Concero HP; Audiolab M-DAC; Marantz SA-8003 Amplification: Resonessence Labs Herus and Concero HP (headphone amp/DAC); Musical Paradise MP-301 MK3 2013 Deluxe Edition; Bottlehead Crack with Tungsol 5998 and Mullard CV4003; Audiolab M-DAC; Naim Supernait 2 headphone section If you are in the market to spend $800 to $1400 on a set of world-class headphones, you should consider the $995 USD Grado GS1000i. They are smooth, comfortable, and eminently listenable. They offer up a massive soundstage. They can keep pace with fast, rhythmic music. They will make you forget you are wearing headphones. They create a wonderful sense of air and ambience. These 32 Ohm headphones are easy to drive–no need for an uber-powerful headphone amplifier. They have no major flaws; their sins are few, and are of omission, not commission. They do everything very well, and their only ‘weakness’ is that they do not dig down to the lowest octave. But really, who needs the aural fatigue that comes from heavy, [...]
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