Grado expands its Signature audiophile headphone line with a surprisingly affordable pair

Grado Labs is renowned for its audiophilic attention to detail when producing headphones and turntable cartridges, and its Signature line sits at the top of the tree.

The Signature wired headphones are usually priced from around the £1,000 / $1,000 mark though, so haven't been truly accessible... until now.

The Grado Signature S150 are its most affordable pair in this range yet. Priced at just £295 / $295, they maintain the brand's quality standards, yet in a more presentable form.

You get Grado's proprietary 44mm S driver in each ear, which utilises the same paper-composite diaphragm design used for the 52mm drivers in the S950 and HP100 SE flagships – and those run into the thousands.

This ensures the S150 open-back headphones exhibit similar clarity and precision, with natural presentation of the original source material. There is also a clean handling of bass, with more balanced delivery than, say, many closed-back equivalants.

The Grado Signature S150 pair also feature the company's detachable cable system and a new Signature Bronze cable in the box. This connects to each ear through a 3.5mm jack for true stereo spacing, with another at the end for device use. A 6.3mm adapter can also be found in the box for connection to a music system at the other end.

The headphones weigh just 220g and a padded leather strap is provided for comfort over long listening sessions. Grado's F cushions are provided for each ear.

Audio specifications include a frequency response of 16Hz to 34kHz, nominal impedance of 38ohms, THD of 0.3% @100dB, and SPL (1mW) of 104 dB.

The Grado Signature S150 headphones are available to pre-order for £295 / $295 from select independent retailers and Grado's own website. There you can also find out more about the Signature range, including the high-end models further up the food chain.