Today, Grado, a company revered for its handmade open-back audiophile headphones, revealed their first true wireless earbud, the $259 GT220. The new earphones sport a sleek minimalist design with touch controls on the earpieces, six-hour playback time, and a case capable of wireless charging (Qi standard). Once fully charged, the case can charge the earphones five times over, for a total of 36 hours playback. Wired charging is handled via USB-C with a claimed charge time of two hours.
Other features include Bluetooth 5.0 along with the apt-X codec for CD-Quality playback, and they also use AAC for those with Apple devices. Inside each earbud, there is an 8mm dynamic driver, and Grado claims they deliver rich, accurate bass, detailed midrange, and clear, precise treble. If they sound anything like the GW100, which is their on-ear wireless model, then they should be a treat. The $259 price tag puts them in the premium TWS earphone market alongside models from Sennheiser and Bang & Olufsen, however, at a slightly lower price. It will be interesting to see how they matchup once out in the wild.
The GT220 is available for pre-order today via the Official Grado Store at 4OurEars.net. The product is scheduled to ship around Oct. 15.
I’m an audio writer who started as a young audio salesman/consumer electronics professional back in the late 90s. That’s where I discovered the magic of 2-Channel sound. My thirst for great sound has led me on a delightful music quest that continues today.
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