Verdict
Taking the Lord’s name in vain is rarely appropriate, but the Grado Signature S750 make restraint difficult. This unapologetically premium open-back headphone specialises in revelation, stripping recordings back to their raw truth, leaving you feeling as if you’re right there in the studio. The irony? You might seek absolution for your blasphemy — but it’s the S750 that refuses to forgive
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Highly detailed and engaging sound
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Expansive soundstage
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Hand-assembled build
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Adjustable leather headband
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Open-back design means sound leakage
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Premium price
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No balanced cable included
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Comfort is subjective
Key Features
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Sound
New S2 50mm dynamic driver design
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Comfort
High-airflow B foam cushion system
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Design
Adjustable spring-steel reinforced leather headband
Introduction
The S750 is the entry point into Grado’s God-tier Signature Series, following the award-winning HP100 SE and S950. If you were ascending the stairway to heaven, these open-back headphones would sit on the first step — already far above the earthly concerns of ordinary cans.
Grado has always assumed a divine right to design headphones on its terms. Founded in Brooklyn in 1953, the family-run company continues to hand-assemble its headphones at its New York headquarters and makes no apology for sound reproduction that can leave songs sounding, well, rather exposed.
Having spoken to music producers making songs that deliberately sound great on smartphone speakers, the idea that a pair of headphones can unravel the recording process and tell the real truth about a track is unnerving. For the end user, it risks ruining the listening experience altogether. That’s a big risk for a £1,695 outlay.
The S750 enters a competitive segment of the open-back market with the likes of Beyerdynamic, Audeze, Sennheiser, Meze Audio and Focal all in the mix. To swing things in its favour, Grado has paired a newly developed 50mm S2 driver with a revised B cushion designed to fine-tune airflow and staging. The question is whether Grado’s unique character and craftsmanship are to your taste.
Design
- Classic Grado open-back aesthetic
- All-aluminium construction
- Adjustable leather headband
For the uninitiated, the S750 looks unmistakably Grado. The open-back earcups proudly reveal their acoustic architecture, while the overall silhouette retains the brand’s familiar retro-industrial aesthetic.
Materials feel appropriately premium for the price. The combination of all-aluminium components, machined detailing and a leather headband lends a reassuring sense of durability without feeling ostentatious.
Comfort is addressed through a new B cushion profile. The foam is specifically selected for its acoustic permeability, allowing air to move freely through the open-back design. This not only influences tonal balance and staging but also reduces the sense of pressure on the ear.
Integrated within the leather headband is a flexible metal support. This can be gently adjusted to refine clamp force and fit over time. The idea being it allows listeners to personalise comfort depending on head shape and listening habits. In practice, I found the fit too loose for my liking, but comfort is subjective after all.
There’s a 6ft detachable 6.3mm terminated headphone cable, just don’t expect a carry case to store everything in, because you don’t get one.
Specification
- Newly engineered 50mm S2 driver
- Revised B cushion for airflow and staging
- Signature Gold 12-conductor cable
The centrepiece of the S750 is a new 50mm S2 driver, designed from the ground up for this model. Grado describes it as optimised for detail retrieval and dynamic expression, aiming to capture the nuance and character of each performance.
Open-back architecture remains fundamental to the S750’s presentation. Unlike closed-back designs that prioritise isolation, open-back headphones allow air and sound to move more freely. The trade-off is sound leakage, but the benefit is typically a wider and more natural soundstage.
There are no onboard controls, wireless options or digital features here. This is a purely wired, analogue headphone built for dedicated listening sessions with a quality source and amplifier.
Unlike fixed-cable models, the S750 supports a variety of modular connectivity options. Because it uses the mini XLR system, users can swap the standard Signature Gold 12-conductor cable for different lengths, as well as balanced terminations such as a four-pin XLR or 4.4mm jack. It all really depends on your preferred setup and source equipment.
Sound Quality
- Purposeful pace and rhythm
- Incredible dynamic contrast
- Spacious presentation
If the idea is to kick back in your favourite chair with a cup of hot Bovril and listen to BBC Radio 3 Unwind, then these aren’t the headphones you’re looking for. Instead, the alert, fast, and articulate nature of the S750 encourages more of a meerkat stance when consuming music.
Rhythm is delivered with conviction, Percussion snaps into focus, and vocals are scarily vivid, but also well-defined. In fact, midrange performance is a particular strength, teasing out the kind of micro-details that will have you reaching for acoustic tracks to see what the S750 uncover next.
Bass is tight and controlled rather than overwhelmingly heavy, meaning electronic and rock tracks retain impact without bleeding into the midrange. Treble detail is crisp yet generally well judged. Being open-back, the presentation feels as wide as the Hudson River, with every element getting plenty of breathing space across the soundstage,
There’s sparkle and openness just about everywhere, but the result will rely heavily on your source equipment and quality. Grado doesn’t endorse anything in this space, which is just as well, because the S750 can expose flaws in your setup as much as your music collection.
Trying everything from a simple smartphone to a high-quality portable player and even a flagship DJ controller with a 24-bit DAC, the difference is palpable. If you’re seeking I Ching levels of insight from your music — hidden meanings, buried textures, the faintest studio artefacts — you’ll find pleasure in experimenting.
So, where does the S750 sit? Sonically, it feels almost astronomical. Expansive enough to be a dedicated listening room, yet intimate enough to place you inside the recording itself. At times, it leaves nowhere to hide, but match them carefully with the right source, and you’ll be left awestruck time and again.
Should you buy it?
If you want home listening headphones that will dissect your music collection with forensic precision, the S750 deliver an experience that is thrilling, immersive and occasionally confrontational
If your listening is mostly mobile, shared or smartphone-driven, the S750 will feel impractical, and arguably wasted
Final Thoughts
The Grado Signature S750 is the first step on the path to divine audio righteousness. If Christian theology teaches the concept that one must ‘see the truth’ to reach heaven, how about headphones that could help you hear it first?
You could call this a confident continuation of the brand’s philosophy, but the S750 feel like something more, because the new S2 driver and revised cushion design subtly evolve the formula without diluting what makes Grado sound like Grado.
It is unapologetically specialist: open-back, wired and designed primarily for home listening. In return, it offers a richly textured and emotionally engaging performance that stands out in an increasingly feature-driven market.
At £1,695, it faces formidable competition, but for listeners who value craftsmanship, heritage and an unmistakable sonic identity, the S750 earns its place in the Signature line and puts them among the best wired over-ears money can buy.
How We Test
The Grado Signature S750 was evaluated across multiple listening sessions using both portable digital audio players and desktop DAC combinations. I even tried a flagship Rane System One DJ controller for the hell of it.
Music selection included high-resolution streaming and locally stored files spanning classical, electronic, hip-hop and guitar-driven rock. Particular attention was paid to dynamic contrast and long-term listening comfort
- Tested over two weeks
- Paired with portable headphone amps and DACs
- Wide range of genres including classical, electronic and rock
FAQs
Yes. The S750 uses a detachable Signature Gold cable with dual 4-pin balanced mini-XLR connectors, giving you the option of future cables with different terminations, such as 4.4 mm or full-size XLR.
Yes — the B cushions are removable. They shorten the driver-to-ear distance, introduce eight precision airflow slits and distribute pressure for long-listening comfort, enhancing both staging and balance.
No balanced cables are included in the box — the supplied cable terminates in a 6.3 mm plug — but the mini-XLR system allows you to use optional balanced cables available separately.
Full Specs
| Grado Signature S750 Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £1695 |
| USA RRP | $1695 |
| Manufacturer | Grado |
| IP rating | No |
| Weight | 460 G |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Driver (s) | 50 mm (S2 driver) |
| Connectivity | Wired |
| Frequency Range | 6 46000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | Over-ear |
