GRADO - SR80x - Prestige Series - Open Wired Stereo Headphones

TL;DR, if you've heard anything about these, you're going to go in with some trepidation. Give them a chance and they'll 100% win you over. A little disclaimer before I begin; I'm a relative newcomer to the world of audiophile gear. I'm perfectly happy with my Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, my Sony WH-CH700Ns, and the AKG earphones that come packaged with Samsung phones these days, but there's no time like the present to start actually caring about the music I listen to. BUILD: The good - As the second cheapest set of cans in Grado's arsenal, you're not exactly going to get something that will stand up to cannon-fire. That being said, there's very little on them that can break. No notched adjustment to wear out over time, a thick cable that'll put up with some punishment, and the earpads (although foam) can be replaced quite cheaply if you don't mind buying third-party. I wouldn't throw them haphazardly into my backpack, but I'm not too worried about them biting the dust through normal usage. The bad - The cable. I praise its ruggedness, but at the same time, it has its drawbacks. The thickness (coupled with the fact that the cups can rotate 360°) means that you're inevitably going to find yourself needing to untwist it with some regularity. The nylon braid around the cable is also a bit of a drawback; if it rubs against your clothes or - god forbid - against itself if it gets twisted, you're going to hear it. COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE: The good - These things are light! Properly adjusted, you'll be able to wear them for hours. I was worried about the foam getting a bit abrasive after a while, but I was pleasantly surprised on that front. The padded headband is a lovely touch, and the cable is just the right length for me; easy enough to thread through my hoodie to plug into my phone without too much length left over to flop around, but long enough to plug into my PC and recline for a listening session. If you wear glasses like I do, don't worry about it; they fit over those just fine without pressing them into the sides of your head. The bad - You're going to feel a bit icky about how you adjust these to fit your head. For the best fit, you're going to need to straighten the headband out almost fully, then bend the sides down so they fit /over/ your head rather than around. If you don't do it that way, the cups press almost painfully into your ears after a while. If you do, they're wonderfully comfortable. That might not sound like too much of an issue, but if you're a budget-minded buyer spending just under £100 on a set of cans, you're going to feel like you need to treat them with kid-gloves. Don't worry about it, I'm serious, they can handle it. Though there is a drawback; you can't look down without feeling like they're going to fall straight off. SOUND: The good - With the vast majority of my music library, these things sound absolutely spectacular. I'm hearing things I have never heard before in tracks I've listened to a thousand times. With big band jazz, acoustic, classical, a-capella, and even dubstep, EDM, and drum and bass, these things will blow you away. Get yourself in a quiet room, sit yourself down, and listen to your favourite song; I can guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised by something. I went into this having heard a lot about 'the Grado sound', and thinking I'd be left wanting more low-end as I'm a sucker for some silly bass, but... these handle it. Sure, they're not exactly going to rattle the fillings out of your teeth, but the low end on these is -wonderful-. And the high ends? Well, they're what the Grado sound is known for. Cymbals in metal, the timbre of violins and flutes, the fingering sounds of guitars, the reverb of live recordings... They're detailed. The bad - Mouth noises, I guess? You can hear what the vocalist had for lunch in any acoustic/a-capela track you listen to. Any other bad things I have to say about the sound of these is purely down to them being open-backs. They bleed, you can hear everything around you, but you're buying open-backs; what do you expect? You're trading isolation for soundscape. CONCLUSION: Buy these. If you don't like them, the likelihood is that someone you know will love them. Also, listen to Ain't That a Kick in the Head by Dean Martin; that's the song that made me realise how good these were.

Superb set of Headphones. Handmade in the US for under a hundred GB pounds. Whilst some moan about build quality you actually rarely hear of any material faults or headsets failing! Quite the contrary, many decade old ones, bashed about are still going strong and are usually loved by their owners. Yes, they are light weight but no, that is not a problem. Headphone fit is an individual thing, what is comfortable for me may not be for you so I won't say anything other than I can wear these for hours without issues. Now, the most important bit, sound; They sound alive where others can seem to just plod along. They make music exciting to listen to and make different recording qualities sound ... different. They have a slightly up tilted upper mid/lower treble but it is not a 'bright' headphone per se. Treble, on the whole, is actually quite refined and pristine and staging is lovely 'out of the head' whilst still preserving an excellent centre image. Are they 'giant killers'? In some ways, excitement, live staging and cost vs value ... yes they are. In others, ultimate sound and build quality, no, they are not but you'd have to spend considerably more to better them unless Grado's signature sound really offends you. Buy a piece of history and hopefully enjoy them. My other headsets; Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X, Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee, Hifiman Sundara. All through Chord Mojo 2.

These headphones are very bright sounding and lack sub-bass, so they are not suited for genres like edm, phonk, etc. However, they are absolutely amazing for rock, metal, classical and acoustic versions of songs. They still have very good bass for things like bass guitar, kickdrums, etc. The construction isn't the best it is incredibly simple but still feels quite robust, once they are broken in they are quite comfortable and I can wear them for hours. I also think they look unique and have a retro, industrial vibe to them. For the price to performance and the fact that their only 36 ohms meaning any device an drive them, mainly your mobile phone, is fantastic. Overall an excellent choice if you want an alternative option and your music preference aligns with the headphones forte.

The sound quality is excellent. Some have said it’s overly bright on the treble but I have no issue with this. The separation and sound stage is great and with some amazing detail. Others have been critical of the noise that escapes when in a public area, such as the underground or on a train. Why would you buy open back headphones to use here? It’s a strange choice to annoy your fellow commuters although I don’t thinks it’s bad at lower volumes anyway. My only criticism is the build quality could be better. They do look a little cheap and I am worried how well they will last. The cords construction looks like it will be lasting. It’s an oddly constructed cable with a woven nylon sheath over it that gives is a sturdy presence that can get in the way and needs to be twisted and coiled to hey it lay right. Getting the cans on your head with the lead laying correctly is a bit a of an art. In all, as my first pair of open back headphones, I just love the sound without being totally shutoff from the world. At lower volumes I can still hear stuff when working in my home office and enjoy the music from my phone, my PC via a Cambridge Audio Damagic XS or my Fiio M7 hi-res player.

OK. So I used a Marantz PM 66 SE KI Signature amp and Rotel R CD950 for this test. I have always used Sennheiser headphones and always been very pleased with the sound until my last pair HD559. Look great but sound rubbish. Time for a change. I have never tried Grado before but I have read all the reviews on the SR80X about the true Grado sound. They look like something out of WW2 (which I like) but sound nothing like WW2. I found them light and very comfy. The highs are crisp and clear but won't give you a headache. The mids open and clear and very accurate. The bass is very accurate, punchy and solid though quite laid back... again as I like it. I don't like it over powering. One small fault is that the cable is too short (although it is that thick you could weld sheet metal with it) it needs to be at least a yard (1 meter) longer At less than £90 (sterling) about the same in US $ now I think these are highly recommended. You will not go far wrong with these. Please be mindful that these are open back so everyone can hear what you are playing but for home use they are great value. I hope you found this unbiased review helpful.

I bought the Grado’s in May 2025 . Great headphones, changed the ear pads maid a big deference both comfort and sound. But as most owners of Grado’s complain about the stiff cable so do I or did, what makes the cable stiff and awkward is the outer woven sleeve, so I got out my scalpel and took my time and removed it,( just the main part of the cable). I now have a very manageable cable and easy to coil and store.(it does not alter the sound quality) Would I recommend these headphones a very big yes, I highly recommend them, sound you hear a lot more detail and back ground on the recording.

For an entry level pair of open back headphones you can't go wrong with these... however for a pair of any sort of headphones for this price you certainly can. The look - really nice retro aesthetic with a simplistic yet elegant design. The build - actually felt quite cheap and plasticy which was disappointing. The part where the headband met ear cup adjustment was seemingly coming apart. Not confident that these could be used out and about as a result as feel they are too delicate. Good quality cable and jack with plenty of length. The feel - Very light and comfortable on the head. Could easily do hours of listening once adjusted headband properly. The sound - I usually use a pair of Sennheiser IE 100 Pros for everyday listening therefore a very even soundstage is what my ears are used to. I bought the Grados on the promise of open back headphones having a broad soundstage and as a result an affect of 'as if you have the band in the room with you'. This of course has issues with noise leak but I was willing if the headphones were good to have them as just for listening at home and not for use in other environments. Essentially if I could get an awesome soundstage sat in my living room I was sold. Unfortunately I didn't find this to be the case. The open back for me made no difference to the wideness of the sound at all and was in fact worse that my usual in ear monitors, the polar opposite of open backs. The sound was fine but didn't have a nice balanced richness which I prefer (hence the 100 Pros). The verdict - For the price these are an ok pair of headphones with alright sound. However the selling point for me was the open back and wide soundstage which I really wasn't able to appreciate with this pair. As it didn't deliver on its main selling point of soundstage they are simply an ok pair of headphones. However for the same price you can get pairs of wired headphones with a better build and are better sounding than just ok.

SR 80 X’s are fantastic budget headphones & can be improved a little with deeper, open centred pads. Base is punchy without being overbearing & simply selecting the “Base booster” EQ profile gives you more of a closed back sound, mid’s (where most of the instruments & vocals are) are super clean & crisp, so well presented & the somewhat boosted high end is super crisp. Wade of DankPods described the high end on SR 60 E’s as “sparkly” with the boosted high end & that sums up audio from SR 80 X’s too. These are my goto headphones because, in addition to the sound quality these headphones are fantastically comfortable to wear, even for long sessions & very adjustable to fit. The only caveat would be that these are fully open-backed, meaning you can hear everything around you & everyone around you can hear what you’re listening to. Some people don’t seem to understand the point of open-backs but that’s the reason the sound staging is so wide, bass isn’t overbearing & sound is so crisp but they’re not for listening to your guilty pleasure trashy pop music on the bus.