Grad’s Signature range has a new pair of headphones, and for an audio brand usually associated with high-end efforts, the Signature S150 achieves an affordable asking price.
Priced at £295 / $295, the Signature S150 serves as the entry-level model in the company’s Signature series, bringing the asking price down further than the S550 that launched in early 2026, and it’s certainly a lot cheaper than the S750 we reviewed earlier this year.
What do you get for that affordable price? The S150 features a newly developed 44mm S driver that incorporates technology from the higher-end HP100 SE and S950, and Grado claims the S150 can deliver “exceptional clarity and detail while retaining a full, musical presentation.”
The new driver design marks Grad’s “continuous research” into materials, magnetic design, and the impact of these aspects on music reproduction. Grado believes the headphone tuning is able to deliver a level of clarity and detail that “challenges expectations for headphones in its class,” while still preserving the “natural body and musical character” of the music you’re listening to.
It’s an open-back pair of headphones, which have some limitations when it comes to bass frequencies, but Grado reckons the S150’s driver design makes up for it with clean, articulate bass and a “satisfying sense of presence”. The headphone tuning is designed to achieve balance across the frequency range, bringing out detail without sacrificing “fullness or musical engagement.”
The aesthetic has seen an overhaul of sorts with the S150, which features an “all-new one-piece case design” that Grado believes modernizes the brand’s classic feel. The Signature Bronze cables that come with the headphones are detachable (great if they get tangled). However, the headband uses leather that vegans may not like.
Bronze cables have a lighter, softer and more flexible construction with a 3.5mm termination and an included 6.3mm adapter for connecting headphones to a wide range of portable audio devices, headphone amplifiers and hi-fi equipment. You can order the S150 with alternative cable terminations so you can connect headphones that match the equipment you have.
