Wireless headphones have come a long way, but if you genuinely care about how your music sounds, there’s still a strong argument for going back to wires — and the Grado SR325x make that argument better than almost anything in their class.
First launched in May 2021, the SR325x are open-back, dynamic-driver headphones built around 44mm drivers. The spec sheet reads like a love letter to old-school hi-fi: an open-air operating principle, a frequency response of 18–24kHz, an SPL of 98dB at 1mW, and an impedance of 38 ohms. Grado wires them up with an 8-conductor cable using super annealed copper, the kind of detail that tells you exactly where the company’s priorities lie.
Let’s be clear about what these are — and aren’t. Open-back design means they leak sound generously in both directions, so these are emphatically not commuter cans you’d throw in a bag to drown out a train carriage. They’re home-listening tools, designed to be sat down with and savoured. And ergonomics aren’t really the headline here either: the industrial, no-nonsense aesthetic won’t be to everyone’s taste, and comfort takes a back seat to ruggedness and audio quality.
What you get in return is sound that genuinely earns the hyperbole. Reviewers have praised the SR325x for being wonderfully expressive dynamically, with agile, tuneful lows and a fast, sparky yet authoritative signature. The trade-off — and there’s always one with open-backs — is that they don’t deliver the outright weight and low-end punch you’d get from a closed design. If you want walls of bass, look elsewhere; if you want insight and timing, you’re in the right place.
Crucially, the SR325x reward good company. Plug them straight into a phone and you’ll hear something good; pair them with a proper DAC or a capable portable music player and they snap into focus, revealing just how revealing and articulate they really are. These are headphones that scale with the system around them.
One thing worth flagging if you’re shopping today: the SR325x are being gradually phased out in favour of the newer SR325 Classic, though they remain available to buy. In the US, the SR325x carry a price of US$295.
For a pair of headphones that have collected award after award and continue to set a benchmark at their price point, that’s a serious slice of high-fidelity heritage. If you’re tired of pairing menus, firmware updates and battery anxiety, the SR325x are a reminder that sometimes the simplest connection is still the best one.
