38 MAY2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE387
GRADOSR80e
★★★★★
£84•From http://www.amazon.co.uk
WIREDON-EARHEADPHONES
VERDICT
Aslongasyoukeepthemathome,thesedynamicand
detailed-soundingheadphonesareajoytolistento
HEADPHONESSUBTYPEOn-ear•PLUGTYPE3.5mm•
WEIGHT231g•CABLELENGTH1.7m•WARRANTY
OneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.gradolabs.com•
PARTCODESR80e
SPECIFICATIONS
HERE’SSOMETHINGOFananomalyin
today’sheadphonesmarket:notonlyare
theGradoSR80ehand-builtinBrooklyn,
New York, but they’re proudly non-techy.
There’s no Bluetooth connectivity,noin-line
microphone or active noise-cancelling and,
thanks to their open-backed design, they’re
hopelessly impractical foruse on the
commuteorinthe office.
Forall those flaws, however,the Grado
SR80e offer apeerless listeningexperienceat
their price and represent unbeatable value,
providing youknowwhatyou’re getting.
HOUSE BOUND
The SR80e are the latestiteration in aline of
headphones, following on from the SR80i and
the legendary SR80 before them. Compared to
their predecessors, theSR80e have anew
driver (although Gradohasn’tspecified its
size) and anew cable,and use anew plastic
thatdamps resonant distortioninthe driver
housing. TheSR80e have an impedanceof32
ohms, which means you’ll have no problems
driving them with asmartphone or laptop.
Naturally,however,they’llsound better when
powered by adedicatedheadphone amp.
Sadly,the SR80e comewith no carrycase
andthe design is non-collapsible,further
making thembestsuited to homelistening
sessions rather than lifeonthe road. They
comewitha3.5-to-6.5mm adaptor for
professional use, butotherwisehaveno
additional accessoriesinthe bo
Grado’sPrestigeserieshas
aroundformorethan 25 years
that’simmediatelyevidentint
designoftheSR80e.Intended
onyour ears rather than overt
theysimply consist of two chu
plastic earcupsjoined via meta
to asimplevinyl headband.
Instead of theplush earpad
found on manyover-ear headp
the SR80e userather coarse,
lightweight foam. These are
deceptively comfortable forth
mostpart,but after an hour or
two of listening,weusually
found our ears growinga
little warm. That’snot
altogethersurprising or
otherwise unusualfor on-ear
headphones, but still worth
thinking aboutifyou’re
looking forsomethingthat
can handle all-daylistening.
Whilethepared-down,retrolooook
is pretty trendy,the flipside is thattt
theheadphonesdon’tfeelrobustor
especially practical.The cord, for
instance, is achunkynon-detachaaable
wirethatattachesdirectlytoeachhh
earcupand,althoughtheearcups
canswivelthroughthefull 360 °,
there’snowaytofoldthese
headphones forpackingaway.
BLAST RADIUS
The fact there’s no wireless
connectivity or microphone isn’t
adeal-breaker forthisparticular
style of headphones, butwhat
ought to be topofyourlist of
considerations before buying themmmis
their open-backed design.Whilettthis playsa
significant roleinhow goodtheysssound,
crucially it means theyleak asigniiificant
amountofsound,evenatmoderaaatevolumes,
andblockoutverylittleambientnnnoise.
That rules them out foragreatttnumber
of scenarios where youmightopt to listen
to headphones, from aeroplane flights to
working in ashared office,and even walking
downthe street. In fact, unless you intend to
listentotheminaquietroom on your own,
you’re best lookingelsewhere.Closed-back
alternatives suchasthe Audio-Technica
ATH-M40x or ATH-M50X aremuch more
practicalforgeneral listening.
idthat,listening in aquiet
tlythereasonyoushouldbuy
R80e,because theydeliver
in this regard.It’snot an
to saytheseheadphones
das models that costthree
the price.
ar, the SR80e offer asparkling
il throughthe mid-range and
encies –acommon trait of
phones –but their open-
gnalsoenables them to
asound that’sasenergetic
lively as it is compelling.
To our ears, theheadphones
sound excellentwith all
manner of musical genres,
whetherthat’s rock,
electronic or classical,
and they deliver ahealthy
doseofcontrolledbass
osupplement those
ominent upper registers.
sound isn’tasexpansive as
someopen-backedover-earheadphones,but
there’sanenergyandsenseofspaceyou
simppplyyywon’tfind on most closed-back
models, even at lowervolumes.
In fact,the only criticismyou can level
at these headphones is the prominence of
those mid and treble frequencies.Although it
makes foracaptivating listen, it’s asound
signaturethat can be fatiguingwithsome
types of music at times. TheSR80e certainly
don’t make forrelaxed listening,but then
they’re notsupposed to.
HEAD OFTHE CLASS
There’s no denyingthe SR80e’s sonic
capabilities; the question is,should you buy
apair? If you’re looking forasetof
headphones foryour daily commute or
forentertainment on long flights,then the
answer is an emphaticno. There’s not enough
sound isolation andtoo much leakage.
Nonetheless, these arenot everyday
headphones and, if you listentomusic
throughyourheadphones mainly at home,
thenthey’re absolutely worth considering.
There’s simply nothing else –speakers or
headphones –that can deliver thesame level
of audioexcellencefor so little money.
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