Grado Signature HP100 SE Open-Back Headphones

The Grado Signature HP100 SE is the most expensive headphone Grado builds, a 52mm driver in a housing individually machined from treated aluminum with the model name engraved on its face. It is the model that brought detachable cables to Grado, connecting to each cup through a four-pin mini XLR, and it ships with both G and F cushions, so the tuning is set by the listener rather than the factory.

Key Features of the Grado Signature HP100 SE

• 52mm Dynamic Driver: A paper composite cone, a high-flux magnetic circuit built from rare earth alloys and a lightweight copper-plated aluminum voice coil.
• Individually Machined Aluminum Housing: Each cup machined from specially treated aluminum in a space grey finish, with the model name engraved on the face.
• 12-Conductor Detachable Cable: Terminated in 6.3mm at the source and a four-pin mini XLR at each cup, so length and termination can be changed without touching the headphone.
• 117 dB at 1mW: Against a 38 ohm nominal load, which is an easy enough drive that a phone or a laptop jack takes it to full volume.
• 3.5Hz to 51.5kHz, Distortion Below 0.1 Percent: The widest bandwidth Grado publishes for a headphone, measured at 100 dB.
• G and F Cushions Both Supplied: Two cushion sets in the box. Moving the driver closer to or further from the ear changes the tonal balance, and Grado treats that as a tuning control.
• Signature Headband Assembly: Fifty percent more padding than earlier Grado designs, a stainless steel band, adjustable height rods, engraved aluminum alloy gimbals and rotation limited to 105 degrees.
• Hand-Assembled in Brooklyn, New York: Built at Grado's own headquarters, like every Grado headphone.

The 52mm Driver Behind the HP100 SE

The HP100 SE runs a 52mm dynamic driver Grado designed from nothing rather than scaling up an existing one. The cone is a paper composite, the magnetic circuit is a high-flux design using rare earth alloys, and the voice coil is copper-plated aluminum chosen for low mass. Grado's stated target was high-frequency resolution, midrange smoothness and bass energy at low distortion.

Three of those claims carry numbers. Distortion is quoted below 0.1 percent at 100 dB, the response runs from 3.5Hz to 51.5kHz, and the two channels are matched to within 0.04 dB of each other, the tightest tolerance Grado publishes. Channel matching is what holds a center image steady as the music changes level.

Why the HP100 SE Uses a Machined Aluminum Housing

Every HP100 SE cup is individually machined from specially treated aluminum and finished in space grey, with the model name engraved into the face. Grado's own positioning is that this is the analytical end of the Signature Line: the walnut-bodied S950 was introduced as a contrast to the machined aluminum HP100 SE, so the housing material is the deliberate fork in the range.

The First Grado With a Detachable Cable

The HP100 SE is the model that put a detachable cable on a Grado headphone. The supplied cable is a 12-conductor design with a braided finish, softer and more flexible than the fixed cables Grado had been using, and lighter because of the insulation change. It terminates in a 6.3mm plug at the source end.

At the headphone end each side connects through a four-pin mini XLR. That connector is now standard across the Signature Line, so cable length and source termination can be changed later rather than locked in at purchase. Grado builds 4.4mm balanced, four-pin XLR balanced and longer runs against the same connector.

G and F Cushions, and What Each One Does

The HP100 SE arrives with two cushion sets rather than one. G cushions are the largest Grado makes and set the driver farthest from the ear, the geometry Grado uses to open up width and dimensionality. F cushions bring the driver in close, which tightens the bass and pushes the midrange forward.

Grado treats cushions as a tuning element, not a comfort part, and swapping them is the largest change you can make to a Grado without changing the headphone. Both in the box means the HP100 SE ships with its two main voicings covered, and the wider Grado cushion range fits if you want to go further.

The Signature Headband Assembly

The headband on the HP100 SE was a redesign, and it is the assembly the rest of the Signature Line now uses. It carries fifty percent more padding than earlier Grado designs, on a stainless steel band with height rods that adjust for fit.

The engineering underneath targets the parts that wear: engraved aluminum alloy gimbals, a stainless steel height rod stiffening the gimbal-to-block junction, and rotation limited to 105 degrees.

A Contemporary Take on the Signature HP1

Joseph Grado's Signature HP1 is widely credited with creating the high-end headphone market, and the HP100 SE is Grado's contemporary answer to it: the same idea rebuilt with a new driver, a new headband and a cable you can remove. Grado Labs is still a family-owned American company working out of its original Brooklyn building, and the HP100 SE is hand-assembled there.

Where the Grado Signature HP100 SE fits in the Grado Signature Line

The Listening Room Difference

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Grado Signature HP100 SE Specifications