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ICYMI: We test the pricey and problematic ThinkPad X1 Fold
A roundup of this week's tech reviews on Engadget, including the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, the Anova Precision Oven and the Grado GT220 earbuds.
Grado GT220 review: Stellar sounding wireless earbuds that cover the basics
Grado promises its trademark sound in the GT220, the company’s first true wireless earbuds -- and it delivers.
Grado's first true wireless earbuds promise the brand's 'signature sound'
Grado has unveiled its first true wireless earbuds, the GT220, and claims they'll maintain a 'signature sound' in a highly portable form.
Tell us: How good are Grado Labs’ first wireless headphones?
Senior Editor Billy Steele knew it was only a matter of time before Grado Labs released a pair of wireless headphones showcasing the company's distinct open backed design and stellar sound quality. When the GW100 was released in March, he approved of how light and comfortable the set was, as well as its better-than-expected battery life. However, he was less thrilled by the build quality and reliance on micro-USB charging. He also saw very little need for headphones that were both wireless and open-backed. Despite delivering solid audio quality across musical genres and a great fit, the GW100 was unable to earn a score higher than 80.
Grado Labs GW100 review: A blessing and a curse
Grado Labs was late to the wireless game. The company knows it, and it has good reasons for not jumping in sooner. "Wireless technology has never been very good, so just like closed-back, we could make them, but people would expect them to sound like our wired headphones," John Grado told me in 2017. "And they won't." Grado did say that the technology was improving and that the company planned to dabble in wireless soon. Fast forward to October 2018. Grado Labs announced its first wireless model: the GW100. The $249 headphones look similar to the company's Prestige Series, with a mostly black design and silver accents. What's most intriguing about the GW100, though, is not only the trademark Grado sound, but that these are supposedly the first open-back wireless headphones which can deliver great audio quality, but has its drawbacks.
Grado's first wireless headphones are the open-back GW100
During my visit to Brooklyn's Grado Labs last year, CEO John Grado explained why the company hadn't yet made wireless headphones. "I still don't think it will sound as good as the wired stuff," he said. "But we feel the technology has gotten to the point where we feel it would be worth it for use to start getting our feet wet." Well, the time as come. This week Grado Labs revealed the GW100: the company's first wireless headphones that just happen to be the first open-back wireless headphones, too.
Ascape Audio and the economics of making headphones in America
Ascape Audio's home page proudly proclaims "Designed in Detroit," but at this point it's not helping business. "It hasn't made any goddamn impact," marketing director Dean Clancy said. "I want to put that in as many places as possible, because regardless of how it impacts our sales, I just want people to know we're doing it here," he said. "Designed in Detroit" they may be, but economics makes manufacturing Ascape's earbuds in the Motor City impossible. President Paul Schrems estimated it'd take at least $5 million to build a factory and staff it, so the company has offshore-manufacturing contracts for the wireless earbuds it designs in the D. "These things I wanna make are not made here," Schrems told me recently.
Inside Grado Labs: A legacy of hand-built headphones
Grado Labs is a special place. That sounds hyperbolic, but allow me to explain. Behind a graffiti-covered Brooklyn facade, there's a small factory where the family's namesake headphones and turntable cartridges are assembled. When you step inside the door off of Seventh Avenue into what used to be the family's fruit market and home, a history lesson awaits. And it's not just about this particular company, but of the audio industry as a whole. It just happens to be told through the lens of one New York City family.
The best open-back headphones under $500
By Brent Butterworth This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. If a serious music lover who wanted to spend less than $500 were to ask us what open-back audiophile headphones to buy, we'd recommend the HiFiMan HE400S. This pair isn't cheap, yet it emerged as the favorite after our panel of audio professionals spent 60 hours evaluating 29 open-back and semi-open-back headphones—nearly every model available for less than $500. Among those, the HE400S headphones were the only ones that we all agreed deserved a high ranking.
Grado takes on the earbud with the GR8
After years of shunning that most common of headphone styles, the earbud, Grado has at last taken a break from its over-the-ear, vented diaphragm purism (if you don't count the China-built iGrado) and created an in-ear pair for the kiddies. The GR8 doesn't really look like anything special, but the couple of reviews that have trickled in sound promising. The headphones are being built in Japan, but have some proprietary Grado magic in there to at least make them interesting -- and it certainly should, at $300 a pop. Read - Grado GR8 unboxing Read - Grado GR8 product page
Grado Labs releases $49 iGrado headphones
We can't say we blame the company for trying to get some while the getting's good, and Grado certainly isn't the first high-end headphone producer to cater to the iMarket. Still, it is a tad strange to see the lux brand out of character as they are here. Their normal offerings range from $69 to over $1,000, but their new iGrado "streetstyle" headphones wrap around the rear of your head, presumably to appeal to trendy youngsters, but even at $49 still manage to use the same drivers as the well-respected SR60. The design is most likely tailored for portable use, but it's impossible to ignore the undeniable "Grado look" that somehow managed to stay in tact. Described as "the high-end sound in the low-end market," the iGrado should be available in September, and if you can appreciate the style, looks to be a solid offering for the money.
