- Grado’s new Signature S550 has its 50mm S2 dynamic driver at its core
- …the same driver used in the twice the price Signature S750 which I love
- Brazilian walnut ear cups and they are priced at ‘only’ $995 / £995
If you’ve ever thought about equipping yourself with some of the best wired audiophile headphones, you’ve come across the name Grado – and you’ve probably also read our recent and glowing Grado Signature S750 review.
The Signature S550 seems to carry everything I love about Grado cans (proven driver technology, carefully selected materials, open-back design, unique aesthetic, and deliberate tuning choices to create a headphone with its own distinctive voice), but at a cheaper price than the S750 — and by cheaper, I mean almost half the price of $5.20 back in October. £1,695 (approx AU$3,400).
Grado says the new S550 is “designed for listeners seeking warmth, openness and clarity without fatigue”, promising a “more relaxed presentation while maintaining the speed, detail and immediacy that have long defined the Grado sound”.
So maybe a more forgiving performance than the S750? Yes, but still warm, spacious and detailed, says Grado – and I’m inclined to believe the venerable audio specialist.
The Signature S550 again features Grado’s 50mm S2 dynamic driver, (used in the aforementioned S750), but this time it’s been tuned specifically for its wooden cabinet – which is a new look I love. Grado tells me that engineers focused on optimizing the interaction between the S2 driver and the housing’s acoustic properties (certain wooden earcups have been shown to promote warmth as well as clarity—just look at the Sivga Oriole, FiiO FT1, and Audio-Technica ATH-AWKG), but that’s just the beginning.
Grado Signature S550 headphones: the details
In addition to the beautiful housings made entirely from Brazilian walnut (each housing is individually crafted, with natural variations in grain ensuring that no two pairs are exactly the same) the Signature S550 comes with Grado’s Silver detachable cable, designed to be lighter, softer and more flexible than previous Grado cables.
Each housing is terminated with a 4-pin balanced mini XLR, enabling compatibility with Grado’s expanding ecosystem of detachable cables, and the included cable is terminated with a 3.5mm mini jack at the source end and includes a 6.3mm adapter, for compatibility with a wide range of more unusual or legacy audio equipment.
The Signature S550 also comes with Grado’s new B pads for a comfortable fit, but they’re compatible with the entire Grado pad range, so you can tailor them to your liking (read: how cozy you prefer your ears to be).
As with all headphones in its now four-strong Signature Line, the S550 uses Grado’s Signature headband assembly; inside the leather headband is a flexible metal support. The S550 features the narrower leather headband strap used on the S750 and incorporates engraved metal hangers, stainless steel height bars, reinforced connecting blocks and controlled housing rotation.
The Grado Signature S550 will be available later in March for an MSRP of $995 / £995 (which is around AU$1,880, taking UK prices as a guide) and let me tell you, I’ll be very interested to hear them…
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