The new flagship Grado Statement GS3000x is described by the company as "the best sounding headphone Grado has released in their seven-decade history." The largest driver to be placed in a Grado headphone yet, the new 52mm units are specifically tuned to embrace the tenacity of cocobolo and precision of metal. This dynamic speaker design features a more powerful magnetic circuit, a voice coil with decreased effective mass, and a reconfigured diaphragm, being rated for 38 ohms nominal impedance and very tight pair matching (.05dB).
Teeming with texture and emotion, Grado explored the cocobolo wood’s sonic properties and innate mass, which makes for a perfect combination with the new drivers. Cocobolo wood has striking patterns and color that tend to vary from pair to pair, making each headphones unique. And the wood earcups are paired with a metal inner chamber to add even more mass, which allows improved control of the rigidity for the largest Grade driver yet. This is important also given the open air design principles, generating an extended frequency response, balanced even at higher SPL levels.
Along with the new drivers, the cables and headband have been redesigned for the Grado GS3000x headphones. Housed in a more durable exterior, the now super annealed copper 12-conductor cable reveals even more of the music with improved purity, and the new black leather headband features a white-stitched accent.
The Statement X series also includes the Grado Statement GS1000x, continuing over two decades of one of Grado’s most important headphone designs. The now hybrid GS1000x sees mahogany and ipê wood come together for the first time. Mahogany has been a long-standing material in almost all of Grado’s wooden headphones and phono cartridges, so combining it with a wood not yet used in a Grado called for a delicate balance. Mahogany still exudes warmth and texture, while ipê improves the structural integrity of the sound passing through the grains of the housing.
"I remember trying on the first GS1000 decades ago when my dad (John Grado) brought the first pair upstairs from the workbench," says Jonathan Grado. "I was seven or eight and they swallowed my head. The fact that they are in their fourth generation today is a testament to the design of the original GS1000. And I’m sure my mom has that photo somewhere."
In thirty years Grado Labs has only released four generations of headphone drivers. Avoiding yearly update cycles "just because," Grado has made sure to only place new drivers inside their headphones when there is a significant upgrade. The X Drivers bring a completely redesigned speaker and new harmony to the inner workings of the latest GS3000x and GS1000x models. Each one is specifically tuned for the wooden enclosure they’re in.
The Grado Statement X Series will be available from September 2022. The Grado Statement GS1000x retails for US $1,195 ($1,365 with balanced XLR connectors), while the new Grado Statement GS3000x sells for US $1,995 ($2,165 with balanced XLRs).
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