Наушники — Grado Labs Signature HP100 SE

The Signature HP100 SE is a Grado Labs open-air headphone with dynamic drivers, hand-assembled in Brooklyn, New York, and created to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of founder Joseph Grado. It looks back to his HP1 model of the early 1990s, which Grado credits with establishing the high-end headphone market, while taking a new design direction for the company, and it is the first Grado headphone with detachable cables. The list price is USD 2,495.

Key specs that matter

Grado quotes a frequency response of 3.5 Hz to 51.5 kHz, distortion below 0.1% at 100 dB, and an output of 117 dB SPL from 1 mW. Nominal impedance is 38 ohms. The drivers are 52 mm in diameter and are matched between channels to 0.04 dB. Without cable and cushions, the headphone weighs 520 g.

Engineering and use context

The newly engineered driver combines a cone of paper composite with a magnet system of high flux built from rare-earth alloys and a voice coil of copper-plated aluminium wire. The round housings are hand-machined from aluminium and finished in space grey, with tightly woven grilles over the drivers. A stainless-steel band with adjustable height rods carries a headband that has 50% more padding than earlier Grado designs, and aluminium alloy gimbals limit housing rotation to 105 degrees. The 12-conductor braided cable plugs into each earcup through a 4-pin mini XLR connector and comes in 1.8 m or 3.7 m lengths, terminated in 6.3 mm, balanced 4.4 mm or balanced 4-pin XLR with a 6.3 mm adapter. Both G and F style cushions are supplied, so the wearer can choose between the two pad shapes.

Pairing

Low impedance and high efficiency mean even modest headphone outputs reach full level, so the choice of amplifier rests more on noise floor and output impedance than on power. Ordering a balanced cable makes sense with an amplifier that has a true balanced output, and the longer cable suits a listening chair placed away from the rack. The open-air housings leak sound in both directions, which makes this a model for quiet private rooms rather than shared spaces or travel. The shorter cable with the single-ended plug suits a desk amplifier with a full-size socket.

Alternatives

Within the same Grado Signature line, the Signature S950 is another open-air dynamic model to compare against the HP100 SE.