Grado SR80x

The clearest point of agreement: quick, punchy and energetic, with the pace and bite that make rock, punk and live recordings feel alive. Critics of the tuning still grant it this; it is what owners mean when they call it 'fun'.

“these drivers are quick, capable, and have great dynamic abilities”

Matty Graham, Headfonia

“It’s punchy and never boring to listen to.”

Ian White, eCoustics

Forward and present, and for most reviewers the heart of the sound: vocals and guitars pushed up front with natural texture. Two caveats recur. The big 2 kHz peak can make it slightly shouty or resonant at volume, and one reviewer finds the midrange tamed next to the even louder treble.

“The star of the show on the SR80x is its wonderful mid-range presentation that makes instrumental and vocal tones and texture feel entirely natural.”

Matty Graham, Headfonia

“the mid-range sounds a bit more tamed especially compared to the treble”

DMS, The Headphone Show

Sources split: most hear the X driver's treble as smoother and more refined than old Grados — bright and detailed but not harsh — while a steady minority find it sibilant, piercing and fatiguing. The measured lift is real on every rig; the split tracks treble sensitivity, the recording, loudness and the pads.

Sources split on the same measured shape. Most hear a tight, punchy, articulate mid-bass that is enough for rock and acoustic music and fuller than the SR80e's. Others hear it as lean and thin, with no sub-bass. Nobody calls it bass-heavy. The split tracks genre and pads, and on some amplifiers the output impedance adds bass.

Bright of neutral — the measurements are unambiguous — but the X driver added enough low-end weight that reviewers disagree on how to label it. Some call it more balanced and a touch warmer than the old Grados; others insist it is still forward, clinical and lean. Both are describing the same presence-forward tilt, just from different starting points.

“The SR80x is warmer sounding than its predecessor but not overly so; the presentation is still slightly clinical”

Ian White, eCoustics

“These are far from rich or even warm in tone”

What Hi-Fi?

Sources split on size. Most hear an open, airy stage that is wide for the money. A minority hear the up-close, intimate Grado presentation — narrower than open-back rivals like the HE400se. The stock foam pads keep it closer; bigger pads widen it and thin the bass.

Sources split. Owners and a retailer review hear clean separation and easy left-right placement. Two video reviewers call the imaging vague and below average, with the 'three-blob' left/centre/right presentation even fans concede.

Widely praised as clear, crisp and insightful for the price — a step up from the SR80e — though part of that detail rides on the elevated treble. Next to better headphones it gives ground: eCoustics hears less resolution than the HE400se and one owner notes a slight graininess.

“clearer, cleaner and more detailed than their predecessor”

What Hi-Fi?

“The HiFiMan HE400se has better resolution than the SR80x”

Ian White, eCoustics

Sources split, and the split is physical. It is very light with a modest clamp; many reviewers and owners wear it for hours, glasses included. Others find the thin foam 'S-cush' pads press, heat up and itch within the hour. Amazon owners who mention comfort now lean negative. Swapping pads is the usual fix, and it changes the sound too.

Sources split. Reviewers find the all-plastic build basic but rugged; the braided cable and padded headband improve on the SR80e. Owners report a failure tail: left-channel cable faults within two or three months, a broken gimbal, a driver dying at three years. The thick, stiff, non-detachable cable draws complaints even from fans.

None, by design. It leaks in both directions, so people nearby hear your music and you hear them. This rules it out for offices, commutes and shared rooms.

“they don’t attenuate any outside noise whatsoever. Nada.”

Matty Graham, Headfonia

“The passive isolation of the Grado SR80x is not good.”

Jasper Lastoria, SoundGuys

Sources split. Most called it a bargain at $125: lively, detailed and driven from a phone. The dissent is specific. SoundGuys and The Headphone Show argue the cheaper SR60x sounds the same or better, and critics point to better-tuned rivals like the K361. With the SR80x discontinued and its successor at $175, the value case now rests on remaining stock and the used market.