On
the occasions when I’m unable to listen to music on my home stereo, in
the perfect world which exists only in my imagination I use a pair of
large, fully sealed stereo cans built with the largest drivers available
for use in a pair of headphones. These ‘phones are sealed, and block
out every last bit of environmental noise. They are driven by a battery
operated high-power outboard headphone amp connected to a battery
operated component stereo system, and I use my mobile device to remotely
choose from my full library of full-resolution FLAC files stored on
portable hard-drives. As I travel by foot, train, and plane all this
gear is carried at my side by my team of assistants. Then there is
reality: where I cannot even muster the energy to use my outboard
headphone amp other than when on a long plane ride. I rarely even use it
while at home. And when on the go, in-ear headphones are used to block
out as much noise as possible, but not too much because I’d prefer not
get run over by a bus when crossing the street.

There is also the reality of cost considerations, although you know
as well as I do that we (that is, audiophiles) tend to spend more on
audio and its software much more than the average citizen, yet is often a
consideration nonetheless. These in-ears are hooked up to my mobile
device which plays mostly compressed files, a large portion of which are
guilty pleasures in the rock and pop genres. Only occasionally do I
load a full-rez file on the player, only because the material demands
it, which is usually orchestral or jazz in nature. But I don’t load too
many of these large files because the dynamic shifts jazz and classical
make it less enjoyable in noisy environments, and especially because of
drive space limitations – I like to have as much material loaded onto
the player, and smaller files means more selection. Of course I’ve tried
to listen to Internet radio through my mobile devise, but the less said
about the sound quality of these broadcasts, the better.

Day-To-Day

I’ve used a number of sub-$500 in-ear headphones over the years. One of
the best that I’ve found, that is, the best sound for the least amount
of money are the Grado GR8 that I reviewed in the October 2010 issue.
They are what I have been using on a day-to-day basis ever since then.
They have just about everything I could want in an in-ear design,
especially because they fit my ears. I’m not the most unique individual
when it comes to the size of my head or ears, but for some reason I’ve
had a bit of trouble using most brands of off-the-shelf in-ear models.
The Grado GR10 fit right out of the box with the Medium silicon/rubber
inserts, or ear-tips as Grado calls them. The GR10s are also provided
with Large and Small, for those with ears unlike mine, which I
previously thought included just about everyone else on the planet. I’m
aware that there are many brands that are able to take advantage of
custom-molded ear tips that are made from a cast taken by an audiologist
(in other words, a hearing-aid center) that will not only fit anyone
perfectly, but can be ordered with the customer’s need for the amount of
seal, that is, how much noise can or cannot seep through from the
outside world. But I’ve misplaced or simply lost, sometimes very soon
after I’ve acquired some very nice sets of portable headphones. And even
if they come with a handy carrying case I’m not sure I’d be willing to
take a chance anymore toting the high-priced spread wherever I go.
That’s just me, and of course your mileage might vary. The Grado ear-tip
not only fit my ear, but was rather comfortable. I wore the GR10 for
many hours at a time on a number of occasions, and often became weary of
the musical program long before the headphones became uncomfortable.

As with the GR8, Grado does not provide a wealth of technical
information regarding the GR10. That’s really ok, I’d rather a company
concentrate on making a good product then spending the money assembling
fancy literature or a website, and Grado rarely disappoints in the
good-product department. From their website I found that Grado claims
that the raison d’etre of the GR10 is from their desire to improve upon
the already successful design of the GR8. They took this older design
and built the new one with a higher level of manufacturing precision and
incorporated new materials. This ended up not only in increasing the
frequency extension in the bass and treble, but also lowering the amount
of distortion. The GR10 also uses only a single driver, Grado calls it a
"proprietary single armature design", which as I humbly learned from my
time with the similarly designed GR8 one should not write off this
approach on just principle and assume that an in-ear headphone made from
a single driver is inherently inferior to one made with multiple
drivers. Referencing the specifications on their website one will note
that the biggest difference between the GR8 and the new GR10 is their
impedance ratings. The new ‘phones 32 Ohm rating is more in line with
others in-ear headphones of this ilk, as opposed the older model’s 120
Ohms. I have to admit though, I really didn’t hear anything that would
indicate that the older model’s impedance negatively affected the sound
of the headphones, and I’m not about to admit that the newer GR10’s
improved sound is due to its "improved" impedance rating. Plus, the
"sensitivity" of the GR10, that is, how high I had to turn up the volume
and whether it could be set sufficiently low enough for background
listening was fine. Yes, when trying out the dreadful standard issue
Apple ear-buds I didn’t have to raise the volume on the iPod as much
with them, and when using the GR10 the volume had to be turned up less
than if I was using a pair of Grado or Sennheiser over-the-ear cans. But
so what? The low-level background hiss of the iPod is very difficult to
hear when using in-ear headphones in an environment that is likely to
encounter when in a public space.

A nice touch is the raised dot on the left earphone for quick
identification of the proper orientation of the earpieces, thus
eliminating the need to struggle to figure out which earpiece is which
in low light. The GR10’s rather thin 51" cable uses oxygen-free copper,
which is good, but what concerned me was that with a cable so thin there
would transfer the rustling sound from the cable hitting the clothing,
interfering with the music. My worries were for naught. Although one
might think the cable length a bit short, it reached from the mobile
music source to the earpieces with only a bit of slack. The GR10’s
appearance is rather nondescript, they’re a pair of in-ear headphones
for Pete’s sake. But one shouldn’t be fooled by their mild mannered
appearance. So, enough of the technical side of things. I will attempt
not to compare the GR10s to their lower cost, and quite fine by the way,
little brother the GR8, and judge them on their own merits.

Mighty

The first thing I noticed during my time with the GR10 was the quality
of their bass response, which was mighty impressive. Please don’t
suppose this remark is because the low-end was just drawing attention to
itself. I’ve heard more bass from a set of in-ear headphones, some
priced much lower than the GR10. But the bass on these lesser headphones
is invariably goosed-up, and hardly resembles the original program
material. The lumpy, mid-bass heavy low-end of these less than reputable
representatives of the genre are voiced to give the impression that
they have a super low-end, but if transparency is one’s first concern
(and of course it is) than one will surely appreciate the GR10 and their
honest, yet deep reaching low-end frequency response. Obviously, the
bass provided by in-ear headphones provides one with a different
experience than a tricked out home rig. Sub-sonic information from a
pair of speakers will rattle one’s bones and pressurize a room; the low
end of an in-ear piece of jewelry cannot accomplish this simply because
it cannot defy the laws of physics. Yet there were times when the GR10
was able to set off the part of my brain (and the part of my ear canal)
that responds to low-end thunder. The GR10 would do this, thankfully,
only when demanded due to it being present on the recording in the first
place. This was especially true on well recorded rock records when the
kick drum and bass guitar were locked in.

This was true whether this was on a 70s gem such as tracks from the
latest mastering of Free’s Fire and Water album with Andy Fraser laying
down the bass lines with Simon Kirke on the drum kit, or newer offerings
such as Grinderman 2 where any of the members of the band, Nick Cave,
Jim Sclavunos, Maryn Casey, or Warren Ellis could have been playing any
of the instruments at any given time. This gave the recordings the
requisite low-end thump that was needed to drive the music forward, and
gave me at least a taste of what I could look forward to when I arrived
home to spin the record on the big-rig in the main listening room. But
it would be foolish of me to imply that these ‘phones can plumb the
depths of the sub-sonic netherworld. They can’t. And the bass’ (as well
as other characteristics that we’ll get to in a moment) family
resemblance to Grado’s over-the-ear headphones is probably more than
just coincidental – they are voiced very much like the SR-125i’s (and
even their lower priced SR-60i and 80i) in that the bass has a warmth
that gives the bass a human touch, and actually compensates, if that is
the correct term, for the bass not being able to reach down below what
would be rather impossible for such a miniscule driver. I think that
Grado was also conscious of the bass overpowering the other frequencies
of the small driver, and thankfully voiced it so this does not occur.
Again, we’re considering a pair of miniscule in-ears – they don’t have
the whomp-factor that a pair of floorstanding four-way dynamic speakers
possess, nor do they attempt to defy the laws of science that prevent
this.

I have some slight regrets not starting off with a description of the
midrange of the GR10. Yes, it was the bass that first drew my attention,
but I think that might have only been because I was listening through
reviewer’s ears. Or, perhaps because I grew up listening to too much
seventies rock and roll? Who knows? But objectively, it is the midrange
of the GR10 that is the most noteworthy because of its patently lifelike
rendering of these frequencies that are so important to the overall
sound of the headphones. If a pair of headphones can’t get the midrange
right, why bother with them at all? And by "right" of course I mean
transparent, as I’ve heard many in-ear headphones that cost much more
than the GR10 that didn’t come anywhere near their level of not only
transparency, but the lifelike rendering of instruments and voices. At
the same time the GR10 was able to separate these instruments and voices
when they were contained within a complex mix. And sort of in regards
to that last comment, I can’t think of any tunes that I played through
the GR10 that weren’t well served if they were recorded well in the
first place. Come to think of it, even if they weren’t very good
recordings, the GR10s seemed to "know" how to correctly reproduce the
vocals and instruments that were passing through them.

The treble, too, was well served by the GR10. Its characteristic echoed
not only the fine traits of the bass and midrange, but also reflected
well on the Grado engineers’ decision not to overtax the driver. The
treble was well integrated into the rest of the sound of the GR10, never
drawing undue attention to itself, but at the same time demonstrating
its ability to render any instrument that contained significant amounts
of treble energy as very lifelike. The natural sibilance of both male
and female vocals, cymbals, and other treble sounds whether natural or
synthetic never became spitty or otherwise unnatural (or annoying)
because of this. I’ve spent a good part of my life listening to The
Who’s Live at Leeds album, and I’ve seen no indication that I’m going to
slow down any time soon. The best thing that has happened in quite a
while is that the powers that be saw fit to release the next day’s show
as Live at Hull, and not only does it give one the pleasure of reveling
in the differences between the two shows, the Hull version improves upon
the Leeds already great sound quality.

Ok, the Leed’s show’s quality is slightly flawed (which live rock
recording from 1970 isn’t?) and the "doctoring" of the bass guitar on
the first few songs on the Hull show is at least subliminally
disquieting, but hey, it is a classic recording of a classic show and I
have no doubt that will stand the test of time, just as Leeds set has.
Anyway, the upper mids and treble are as important as any other
frequency on this album. Keith Moon’s manic cymbal playing never becomes
less than defined other than the times he wants it not to, as he often
rides the beat between two crash cymbals where he is able to create a
wall-of-cymbals sound. The GR10 was able to sort this out and his other
explosive tendencies that occur throughout not only each song, but
throughout the entire two-CD set. When the headphones are set at a
comfortably loud volume and Pete Townshend unleashes his fuzztone upon
the maelstrom where it joins Keith’s pandemonium, his guitar is still
able to cut through the mix, but never overwhelms the sounds emitting
from the rest of the The Who’s accoutrements. This is in no part due to
the remaining frequencies being unaffected by the din in the upper
registers.

The question often arises as whether listening to music through in-ear
headphones should even be considered "high-end". This issue is
compounded by the fact by people like me, who sometimes might not even
be listening to this music at full-resolution. But it is safe to say
that our breed are music lovers first and foremost, and in-ears such as
the GR10 bring the mobile listening experience to a level certainly not
as great as a high-end system might bring us, but elevates the sound of
the music above what one can expect from average digital portable
listening. It should be fairly obvious that listening to an iPod or
other mobile device through relatively inexpensive (that is, when
compared to components in our home systems) in-ear headphones does not
enable one to get that close to finding the holy sonic grail as
listening to a maxed-out home system. And I hope that this rave review
of the GR10 does not imply that a pair of affordable in-ears can. But if
one is as attached to listening to high-quality sound but doesn’t want
to go all out on a portable system, this is what we are "stuck" with.
But being stuck with the Grado GR10 as part of a portable system ain’t
so bad. It’s rather good, in fact. One also might have to deal with
material that is of lower bit and sample rate, and not only is the sound
less resolving, but there are artifacts that overlay the sound of the
music. This aliasing, as it is sometimes called, can be some of the most
annoying sound this side of, well, low resolution digital aliasing. I’m
not trying to say that the GR10 rolls off the upper mids and high
frequencies to accommodations for this, but the GR10’s lifelike upper
midrange and treble seem to emphasize the music over these synthetic
artifacts. Of course, if this crud is on the original recording the GR10
will reproduce it in all its glory. Garbage in = garbage out. So the
GR10 was able to revel in its source, and as such it makes perfect sense
that the GR10 delivered better sound when playing material with a
resolution 16-bit/44.1kHz or higher uncompressed lossless files versus
lossy files @ 320 kbps or, heaven forbid, lower.

Significant

The Grado GR10 is a significant advancement over the already fine Grado
GR8 in-ear headphone. The GR8 is very reasonably priced and quite a fine
product, but for only a C-note more one can experience even greater
pleasure from a medium that all music lovers and audiophiles on-the-go
will surely appreciate. I look forward to the day when Grado puts the
pedal to the medal and designs an all-out assault on the
state-of-the-art in in-ear headphone design, but in the meantime Grado
makes available the GR10 — an outstanding, relatively affordable in-ear
headphone that audiophiles can enjoy while listening to our music
during those challenging times when we are away from our systems. Thanks
again Mr. Grado.