The GT220 true wireless headphones from Grado Labs are a great option for anyone looking for excellent sound quality. They’re not as expensive as some of the other options, and they come with a great design.
Grado’s headphones are known for their high-quality sound and vintage-styled design. They also come with a built-in amplifier to give them a boost in sound quality. 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
Grado has been struggling to find a truly wireless in-ear headphone design for years, and the GT220 is one of its most successful models. However, since no one was producing truly wireless 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?
Grado’s GT220 wireless earbuds are designed to be inconspicuous and affordable. The polycarbonate shell is completely nondescript, and the earbuds weigh only 5g each.
The Shure GT220s are designed with a secure fit and passive noise cancellation in mind, making them perfect for anyone who wants the best sound quality possible. 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.
Grado GT220 review: Comfort
The Grados GT220 earbuds are lightweight and compact, but their stiff polycarbonate shell does not give them the premium feel that their pricing suggests. It was difficult to get the GT220 earbuds into place, and they did not fit well. ..
The three sizes of eartips that are offered in the packing are 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 are 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 Grado GT220 wireless headphones come with 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 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. ..
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 Grado GT220 headphones are a great choice for anyone who wants an accurate and detailed rendition of music. They fit well and are durable, making them a good choice for fair-weather runners.
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
The Grado GT220 wireless headset is a great option for anyone looking for a quality call experience. The audio is clear and the voices are easy to understand, even when we’re out of range of our phone. The Grado GT220 is also very stable when we’re using it with our Bluetooth connection.
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
The Grado GT220 true wireless in-ear headphones are currently available for $259, £250, or AU$365. They are pitted against some highly rated rivals, the majority of which have superior specifications on paper than the Grados. 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
The GT220 is a truly wireless earphone that uses Bluetooth 4.2 to communicate with your phone. It also has an inline remote control for controlling music playback, voice commands, and other functions. The earphones are made of metal, wood, and leather and come in black or brown. They retail for $129.99.
