Grado GT220 review | Laptop Mag
Our Verdict
The Grado GT220 delivers premium sound and stable battery life, just its high price tag should warrant more features and functionality
For
- Spacious and accurate sound
- Longer bombardment life than whatsoever AirPods model
- Secure fit
- Stable connectivity
Against
- Lacks special features
- Poor controls
- Expensive
Laptop Mag Verdict
The Grado GT220 delivers premium sound and stable battery life, but its loftier price tag should warrant more features and functionality
Pros
- +
Spacious and accurate sound
- +
Longer battery life than whatever AirPods model
- +
Secure fit
- +
Stable connectivity
Cons
- -
Lacks special features
- -
Poor controls
- -
Expensive
While non as commercially popular as Sennheiser or Sony, Grado Labs is a honey audiophile make best known for its superior sound and retro-designed, open-back wired headphones. The visitor has progressively transitioned into the wireless audio space, releasing the GW100 headphones to universal acclaim. Now comes its starting time-ever truthful wireless creation: the GT220.
- Our expert picks for the all-time wireless earbuds, per budget and style
- Cheque out our Apple AirPods Pro review
- …and our Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 review
These buds evangelize some of the best audio performance in the category, pumping out an first-class mix of energetic lows, crisp mids, and detailed highs. Battery life is acceptable, plus you can expect reliable connectivity from Bluetooth v.0. Nevertheless, the $259 GT220 isn't competitively priced, nor does information technology have the feature set to match its high MSRP.
- Grado GT220 at Amazon for $259
Grado GT220 review: Availability and price
The Grado GT220 is available for $259 at major online retailers, including Amazon and Crutchfield. It is but sold in ane color: Black. In the box are a wireless charging instance, a USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable, three sets of ear tips, and an owner'due south guide.
This model targets avid audiophiles and is listed higher than some of the marketplace's acme performers, including the AirPods Pro ($250), Samsung Milky way Buds Pro ($199), and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 ($248).
Grado GT220: Pattern
Two adjectives best describe Grado's design pedigree: clean and minimalist. The GT220 is the company'south nigh bare-looking audio product to date. Cosmetically, it's painted in blackness and has a white logo, which is a bit plain for my taste, just I can run into how some would find its monochrome appearance to exist charming. At least it pops more the AirPods' bland porcelain design.
What I would really love to meet is the buds offered in white with a blackness logo, a colorway that Grado should seriously consider if plans are to release a express edition or 2d-gen version of the GT220.
Adroitness is likewise a stride downwardly from what has been displayed on the Prestige Series headphones, which have unique design elements such as metal grilles and imprints that show the name of the company, model, and serial. One positive is that the all-plastic casing is sturdy and comes with IPX4 water resistance to protect the internals from sweat and heavy splashing. If only it didn't concenter scuffs and scratches like crazy.
The charging case adds very fiddling to the GT220's presentation. The embossed logo on the tiptop and LEDs on the forepart to indicate battery levels are dainty touches. It is bulky, but also lightweight, which doesn't make information technology such a burden to bear around. I just wouldn't try squeezing it into a tight pair of denim pockets unless you want an unflattering burl. The soft-matte finish feels corking. And while the exterior isn't as luxe every bit some of the other cases in the market (the Momentum True Wireless 2'southward woven material example looks hot), it gets the job done of storing and charging the buds safely when on the go.
Grado GT220: Condolement and fit
The GT220 is neither the least nor near comfortable model in the category. You lot shouldn't have any issues wearing the buds on commutes or when killing time at the doctor'due south office. Whether they will stay in your ears for long stretches really depends on your pain threshold. I felt some soreness afterward about 1 hour of use, but my wife was OK after using them for 2 hours.
For such a bulky frame, I was surprised by the GT220's pleasant fit. The extended sound port allowed for seamless insertion into the ear, while the tips created a very tight seal for optimal stability. This is impressive, especially since the rear crenel sticks out instead of resting straight on the ear. I figured this would take made the buds slip out with every head turn, but to my surprise, they remained put.
Grado GT220: Touch controls and digital assistant
For buds with large existent estate on the front, I thought the bear upon sensors would operate flawlessly. I was disappointed. There was a bad input delay whenever performing tap and hold gestures; it took virtually 2 seconds for the buds to acknowledge and execute commands. The controls performed ameliorate the longer I used buds, almost as if they needed to warm upwardly before working accurately. Also, the lack of on-ear detection didn't sit well with me.
On the plus side, Grado did a fantastic job of programming as many functions as possible into the GT220. The one standout is on-board volume, which is conveniently manageable and requires nothing more than a long press on the left/right bud to lower/enhance sound. You lot just have to get the buds to accept the command.
Digital assistant support was an even bigger letdown. Google Assistant misinterpreted almost everything I threw at it, even the almost basic inquires. On macOS, Siri understood and executed vocalisation commands well, but demonstrated latency when returning results.
Grado GT220: Audio quality
Despite losing some of the airiness that comes from the brand's open-back headphones, Grado's signature audio is brilliantly represented on the GT220. These buds deliver impactful bass and striking highs, resulting in some of the all-time and virtually well-balanced sound in the category.
Jazz classics like Miles Davis' "All of Y'all" were breathtaking to hear. I was enamored with the definition displayed past the GT220'southward wide soundstage, non only capturing subtle nuances but too making them more pronounced and authentic. The double bass sounded surreal, near to the point where information technology felt like I was plucking each cord on the instrument. Every horn blow was compelling and vibrant. Even the hi-hats had a prissy ting effect that yous wouldn't hear with such precision on other loftier-end models similar the AirPods Pro or Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro.
The GT220 also showed out on gimmicky selections and low-fi recordings, which was what really sold me on audio quality. When a vocal similar Wu-Tang Clan's "Bring the Ruckus," which sounds like it was mixed in a sewer and is every bit raw of a recording as y'all could request, has a hi-fi presence to it, that's all you co-sign you need. The muddy kick-drums never sounded and then clean, plus they maintained a boomy resonance that stimulated emphatic head-nodding.
The sound on video clips and podcasts was stellar likewise. Vocal clarity was incredibility crisp when hearing sports analysts argue dorsum and forth. I also liked how loud and precipitous athletes sounded when speaking into the mic during post-game interviews and lots of background distractions.
Isolation isn't exactly a strength for the GT220, as external noises practise sneak onto the soundstage. Wearing the buds on car rides, I could hear what my married woman was playing on the radio, the automobile Air conditioning humming, and my newborn crying in the backseat. Indoors, I was able to hush much of the family chatter that surrounded me in the living room to relish the total sound, but it required listening at loftier volume.
Where competitors like the Momentum Truthful Wireless 2 and Galaxy Buds Pro come up with companion apps to enhance the listening experience, the GT220 is strictly vanilla. No EQ, presets, listening modes, or even the ability to customize the control scheme. The AirPods Pro doesn't have an app either, but at least Apple grants admission to a number of special features that let y'all personalize sound or raise performance in several other means via iPhone settings.
Grado GT220: Battery life and charging case
At total charge, the GT200 advertises 6 hours of battery life. Be mindful that Grado has based this on using the buds at 50% volume. Realistically, you'll get almost 5.five hours when listening at higher volumes and factoring in other battery drainers similar heavy streaming and phone calls. This is sufficient for nearly 3 to 4 days of moderate listening. I guess the real win here is that the GT220 lasts longer than the AirPods (v hours) and AirPods Pro (iv.5 hours).
Grado didn't cheap out on the amount of portable power its charging case holds. You get an additional xxx hours and 36 hours when fully charged. Grado states online that the GT220 supports quick charging, though no charging times are shared. Something else the GT220'southward charging case offers that nigh others don't: wireless charging. Place information technology on a uniform Qi-enabled charging pad and you can juice upwardly the buds without beingness tethered to any wires or wall outlet.
Grado GT220: Call quality and connectivity
If y'all're looking for something to utilise for daily Zoom conferences, the GT220 will suffice. Much of the feedback I got from clients was positive, many stating how clear I sounded. Y'all'll want to be careful with book levels because voices on the contrary end can become harmfully loud. Quality does drib when jumping on phone calls. The missus noticed muffling whenever I spoke indoors, though it was much worse outside with groundwork noises being more transparent.
Bluetooth 5.0 is dependable and gets you lot an adequate range (up to thirty feet) to wirelessly stream music from your audio source. There wasn't any dropout during phone calls and Skype chats. The initial pairing procedure was too one of the fastest I've experienced in the category, instantly pulling upward the model on the available devices list one time in Pairing Mode. Re-pairing to known devices was even quicker. My but gripe is that I wished the buds came with multipoint technology to pair them to two devices simultaneously.
Grado GT220: Verdict
The Grado GT220 is strictly designed for audiophiles who prioritize audio over everything else. What you'll hear coming out of the 8mm drivers is pure fidelity that makes listening to all types of audio content (east.g., music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks) enjoyable. Battery life slightly edges out the AirPods and the charging case is clutch for extending playtimes. The secure fit these buds provide is also satisfying.
As pleasantly sonic equally the GT220 is, the rough controls are a pain to deal with. Yous go no extra functionality either with its expensive price tag, which is as well pretty high for a model looking to stay competitive against market savants like the AirPods Pro and Momentum True Wireless.
And so again, Grado isn't trying to sell its consumer base of operations on feature-laden wireless earbuds, nor a fashion accompaniment to accompany their fancy iPhone. It's all about the listening experience, something the GT220 executes with precision, even if the request cost is steeper than it should be.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/grado-gt220
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