Ratings: 5/5
Price: $1500
No
other pair of in-ears offers this level of sound quality – these are simply
stunning
If we were
left pondering the validity of expensive in-ears when the $540 Grado GR10s came
in for review, imagine the quandary we found ourselves in when these arrived.
Even if they could sound good enough to warrant that price, we thought,
presumably there’s no portable that could even do them justice. Is there?
We were right on one point: there is no
portable that we’re aware of that can show off the K3003is at their best, which
means you’re going to need to listen at home if you really want to hear the
sound your $1500 has bought you.
Make the effort with the source kit,
though, and the results are stunning. It’s the bass that strikes you – not just
because it’s precise and articulate, but because its authority is breathtaking
to an extent that even the majority of full-size headphones can’t match. Treble
is treated equally well, being delivered with exceptional definition, although
below-par recordings will be ripped to shreds by the AKGs’ transparency.
You’ll need to take time to find that
almost transcendental sound quality, mind you – after running-in you need to
try the buds and decide whether you want a flat response or one that favours
bass or treble (hint: go for flat).
Caveats abound, then, but if you want to be
at the cutting edge of design and sound quality, those are the sacrifices
you’re going to have to make.
Best for blowing your mind – Grado PS1000
Ratings: 5/5
Price: $2550
The
PS1000s destroy all other high-end cans for insight, dynamics and timing
$2550 for a
pair of headphones? And they get five stars? No, we haven’t lost our minds –
these Grados really are worth every pound of that price tag. In fact, you’d
have to spend a vast amount more to get a pair of speakers that sound even
nearly as good.
Impeccable in every way
The resemblance to the rest of the Grado
range is obvious, but instead of plastic or wood on the ear-cups, you get an
alloy housing that helps take the weight up to a beefy 500g. (Achieve the
almost impossible and crack open one of those earcups and you’ll discover a
mahogany core.) Oh, and as you’d expect from a pair of Grado on-ears, the
PS1000s leak sound like the Titanic leaked water.
But who cares about little details like
that when you can get a sound as exceptional as this? Simply put, the PS1000s
destroy all other high-end cans for insight, dynamics and timing, and boast a
level of transparency that – given the right kit and a quality recording – is
nothing short of spellbinding.
Finding and expressing the tiniest details
is one of the PS1000s’ strongest qualities, but the ability then to organize
them all into a wonderfully cohesive whole is yet more impressive – and it
means that as well as being revealing, these cans are just thrillingly,
naturally musical. Sonically flaweless and brimming with raw talent, then, as
you’d hope at this price.
Best for cushion-like comfort – Sennheiser HD 700
Ratings: 4/5
Price: $900
They
have an appealingly warm and balanced tone
These might look like they’ve been inspired
by TIE Fighters from Star Wars, but if we were to judge headphones on comfort
alone, they’d win by a mile. They have an appealingly warm and balanced tone,
too, with the refined midrange working well with vocal- or piano-heavy tracks.
Only a slight lack of attack holds them back from five stars.
The ‘Goldilocks’ of headphones – Shure SRH1840
Ratings: 5/5
Price: $900
Shure
SRH1840
It’s not often that we invoke fairy tales,
but so natural is the sound from these Shures that all we could think of when
testing was that they sounded ‘just right’. Composed and refined, yet with
plenty of agility, they’re the perfect foil for any genre of music. You’ll be
amazed at how little sound they leak, too.
Best for at-home listening – Grado SR325is
Ratings: 5/5
Price: $472.5
Grado
SR325is
As will be clear from this Top 50, Grado
has a pretty incredible track record with headphones. However, of all the pairs
here, the SR325is are perhaps the best on a performance-per-pound basis.
Offering the kind of open, detailed, dynamic and rich sound that many rivals
twice the price can’t match, they’re truly stunning.
Best closed-back design – Audio-Technica ATH-W1000X
Ratings: 5/5
Price: $825
Audio-Technica
ATH-W1000X
There’s something a little
synthetic-looking about the real American Black Cherry housing of the
ATH-W1000Xs. The fit isn’t perfect, either. But none of that matters when you
listen to them. These are fast and balanced, and they boast serious bass grunt,
too. In fact, sonically there’s nothing to fault.
