However, there aren’t many extras present, so the emphasis is largely on the audio quality. The GT220 earphones, thankfully, do indeed have excellent sound quality, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re a little expensive compared to the alternatives. The audio firm Grado is one that you can’t help but like. Grado Labs, based in Brooklyn, has been manufacturing headphones for more than 60 years, adapting at its own pace and deftly entering markets. The Grado GT220 true wireless headphones, which are strong and brilliant-sounding and pack a lot of sound into a small frame, are proof of this. Grado has long been a favorite among audiophiles thanks to its high-quality sounding, vintage-styled, open-back wired headphones. It also gets bonus points because it has been making many of its headphones by hand in Brooklyn, New York, for more than 60 years. However, as more people switch to wireless audio, the company has gradually entered the Bluetooth headphone market, first with its GW100 on-ear model and most recently with the GT220, its first truly wireless earbuds.
Design
Since no one was producing truly wireless in-ear headphones in the 1950s, this presents a challenge for Grado because that decade has appeared to be the company’s design touchstone for every set of over-ear headphones it has ever produced. How can the design of the GT220 be effectively described without a historical point of reference? First off, the appearance is unassuming. Bose and Sennheiser, for example, might be content to make their customers appear a little strange when wearing their genuine wireless in-ears, but that’s not how Grado does things. The polycarbonate shell of the GT220 is completely nondescript and weighs only 5g each earbud (and not exactly worth the money, either). However, the design encourages a secure fit, and anyone who has worn a pair of Shure in-ear monitors, for instance, will be familiar with the GT220s’ ‘twist/lock’ fitting action and the level of passive noise-cancellation it provides, will appreciate this feature. Each earbud has a large capacitive touch surface that changes color according on what the earbuds are doing and is adorned with the ‘G’ emblem. Volume up/down, play/pause, skip forward/backward, answer/end/reject calls, and invoke voice assistant are all supported both Google Assistant and Siri are available.
Grado GT220 review: Comfort
Not the best of starts, we must say. The Grados GT220 are compact and lightweight (just 5g each earbud), but their polycarbonate shell is stiff to the touch and doesn’t give them the premium feel that their pricing suggests. Despite fitting the GT220 according to the tried-and-true “twist and lock” design, it was difficult to get it into place. Only three sizes of eartips are offered in the packing, which is really insufficient. Even if one of them did fit correctly, it can be challenging to get the in-ears to sit firmly and pleasantly. But persistence pays off; once the GT220 is positioned to your liking, they become nice and stable. Given their absence of active noise-cancellation, the mechanics of the fit also offer some passive noise-cancellation, which is especially nice.
Connectivity
The Grados have a single 8mm polyethylene terephthalate driver installed inside each enclosure. The use of aptX Bluetooth 5 for connectivity is more than sufficient to ensure that high-resolution digital music files may be handled with ease. Compatibility with the AAC codec is also offered. It’s possible that we’re asking for the moon on a stick, but it’s odd that aptX HD, let alone aptX Adaptive, aren’t supported in a device of this price range from a company with Grado’s caliber of audio repute. you can read our article on Grado GT220 review
Grado GT220 review: Audio performance
The 8mm full-range driver delivers an incredibly high level of musical participation when used with an ear tip that is the right size to provide the optimum acoustical seal. Given the company’s audiophile background, we are disappointed that aptX HD isn’t supported for the highest quality Bluetooth transmissions, but the GT220 is truly outstanding in terms of sheer sound quality via ordinary aptX. It is immediately clear how much depth these buds provide to the song. The bass sound in Rudimental’s “Spoons (feat. MNEK & Syron)” is surprisingly deep without sounding overly bloated. The vocals have a lot of texture and detail, and we believe we are hearing Newton Faulkner’s rendition of “Teardrop” exactly as the performer and recording engineer intended. With certain earbuds, we frequently feel as though we are listening to a nuanced rendition of a song, but with the Grado, there are no compromises and every instrument is easily discernible in the mix. Any earphone that we use as a fair-weather cross-country runner must be durable and unable to come unplugged. We are happy to report that, when the running conditions permit, the tight fit maintains the GT220 in place. The Grado buds are ideal for showcasing the high-quality content from our Studio tier subscription because we stream the majority of our content utilizing Qobuz on an iPhone. We adore how much more immersed in the music we feel as a result of the additional detail we hear on songs like “Strong” by London Grammar and “I Do This All the Time” by Self Esteem. Even with a decreased data rate, Spotify streams perform admirably, and Billie Eilish’s bass-heavy “Bad Guy” still packs a punch. The lossy format’s artifacts may be revealed by the track’s finger clicks, causing a very slight loss of clarity, but it’s a very minor issue, and the GT220s sound remarkably at ease with everything we play.
Call performance
Any wireless headset that can handle incoming calls has a beneficial feature. The quality of the call’s audio is noticeably better than it was with our iPhone 8’s earpiece, with conversations coming through loud and clear and voices sounding cleaner and more understandable. Even when we leave our phone and enter a neighboring room, Bluetooth signal connectivity is reassuringly stable. also you will learn our article on Grado GT220 review.
Battery and charging
Wireless charging is possible with the GT220 TWS charging base. It is safe to use with wireless fast-charging stations because it has a QI certification. Use whatever USB type C charger you have if you don’t have a wireless charging station. The device has fast charging capabilities through the USB-C ports as well, charging quickly for us from empty to full in two hours. Once the earbuds give the low battery alert, the 500mah battery within the GT220 charging base can recharge them about five times. Grado promised 36 hours of enjoyment, however we only received 32 hours, which is still acceptable. Each earbud features a 50mah battery, according to Grado, which offers a 6 hour battery life. We may have gotten that slightly less or perfectly. We did occasionally receive time that was up to an hour shorter, but this is still perfectly adequate. Each of the four LEDs on the charging base represents a 25% charge. When charging inside the case, the earbuds glow red at the Grado G logo. When charging is complete, they turn blue, and when pairing mode is active, they blink a variety of colors.
Grado GT220 review: Price and availability
Priced at $259, £250, or AU$365, the Grado GT220 true wireless in-ear headphones are currently available. This pits them against some highly rated rivals, the majority of which have superior specifications on paper than the Grados (such as Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 2 and Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds). However, no company has a better reputation in the audio industry than Grado, not even Sennheiser or Bose. So it sort of evens out.
Conclusion
When you think about Grado, you probably image retro-style headphones with fully rounded looks that are constructed of metal, wood, and leather. But in 2020, the hip American business entered the rapidly expanding market for truly wireless earphones. Grado has taken a new step with the GT220, but rather than adopting the tech-first strategy used by so many other in-ears, Grado has chosen an audio-first strategy. As a result, there won’t be active noise cancellation (ANC), a fancy app to control features, or any real design ostentation.
