Grado SR60i Review

Unless you’re an insurance claims investigator or someone similarly eagle-eyed, you might find it tricky to tell the difference between these brand-new Grado SR60is and the outgoing SR60s.

Look closely and you’ll see that there’s a reworked plastic housing for the drivers, and the cable’s been beefed-up, too. Otherwise, it’s a familiar design: the SR60is continue the tradition of looking like something your granddad might keep locked in a drawer along with his waxed ’tache and monocle.

Music to your ears
What’s also traditionally Grado about the SR60is is how great they sound. The price might have increase by a whole tenner over the old SR60s, but it’s money well spent.

Playing anything from Wire’s Strange to Common’s Heat, the Grados are exciting and impartial – low frequencies punch heftily, yet stop punctually, while voices in the midrange are as loaded with character as you’re likely to hear. Treble is deft and fast.

Crank the volume up, and they leak sound like a sonic colander – so they’re sure to attract a few quizzical glances if you wear them in public. But these are as good as any cans in their class.