Grado is renaming and refreshing its core wired open-back line. The old “x” suffix — SR80x, SR325x, and the rest — gives way to a single banner: Classic Series. Every model in that lineup gets the same new engine: the X2 driver. Cables and headbands get a pass too, borrowing tricks from the pricier Signature tier.
I’m telling you this now because the news is real and the spreadsheet is useful. I’m not telling you the X2 is automatically better until someone puts hours on these — that’s the Slow HiFi line in one sentence.
What actually changed
Grado isn’t launching one headphone. It’s rebadging the whole familiar stack under Classic Series and swapping in a shared driver platform. The SR325x-class models that have been review staples for years — those SKUs morph into Classic names without the trailing x.
So if you’re shopping used, the market will be messy for a while: x vs Classic, same silhouette, different guts. Check the box label before you assume you know which driver is inside.
The X2 driver
On paper the story is coherence. Grado says each housing gets its own tuning relative to the cup material — wood, metal, hemp, whatever — but the X2 is the common starting point. They promise an open, dynamic presentation without kneecapping the forward, lively character people buy Grado for in the first place.
That last part matters. A “refined” Grado that sounds like everyone else’s neutral studio phone is a strategic mistake. I’ll be listening for whether X2 keeps the midrange honesty and speed or trades them for safe showroom politeness.
The seven Classics (and prices)
Figures below are UK / US list-style pricing as circulated with the Classic Series announcement — confirm before you buy; import, tax, and retailer discounts will vary.
| Model | Reported price |
|---|---|
| Grado Classic GS3000 | £1995 / $1995 |
| Grado Classic GS1000 | £1195 / $1195 |
| Grado Classic RS1 | £750 / $750 |
| Grado Classic Hemp | £495 / $495 |
| Grado Classic SR325 | £350 / $350 |
| Grado Classic SR80 | £175 / $175 |
| Grado Classic SR60 | £125 / $125 |
The SR60 and SR80 are still the on-ramps. The GS pairs are the statement wood cups. Hemp stays its own flavour. Nothing here surprises except how expensive “entry” wired open-backs have become — but that’s the market, not just Grado.
Cable and headband
The cable is supposedly lighter, more flexible, and tougher — developed from the Signature line. If true, that’s welcome: Grado’s stock leads have always been functional more than luxury, and the heavy hitters in this list deserve a lead that doesn’t feel like an afterthought.
Headbands across the range get refinements for comfort and longevity while keeping the industrial Brooklyn look. Translation: still not pillow-soft fashion cans. If you hated the old fit, try before you buy — the foam and geometry may have moved, but it’s still Grado.
Why I’m holding hype at arm’s length
Driver refreshes are easy to announce and hard to hear correctly. You need level-matched A/B, familiar tracks, and time — not a showroom playlist and a launch-day headline.
If X2 tightens imaging and top-end grain without shaving off the grunt that makes a 325-class Grado fun on rock and small-combo jazz, the Classic Series could be a quiet win. If it sandpapers personality for graph-friendly safety, long-time owners will notice — and they won’t be polite about it online.
I’ll report back when I’ve actually lived with a pair. Until then, treat this as useful shopping intel, not a sound quality verdict.
Shopping other brands? Our Marshall headphones guide (2026) covers a different slice of the market — mostly wireless, mostly lifestyle — but the “read the lineup before you click buy” logic is the same.
Official info: Specs, finishes, and regional availability for Classic Series models — Grado Labs.
