Summary
The iGrado headphones aren't the most comfortable headphones we've reviewed. The hard plastic band squeezed our heads a bit too much, especially over an extended period of time. We would've liked the ability to customize the wear experience a bit, if only by tilting the ear pads or extending the band. The iGrado headphones also aren't very portable, and cleaning or replacing broken parts are both hard to do.
Comfort (4.00)
We measure comfort by fully customizing the headphones to fit our fat heads, then wear them for an hour. In this case, there wasn't a lot to customize: we just threw them over our ears and the unflinching plastic band squeezed the cups over our ears. While not the most comfortable fit ever, the iGrados weren't bad. The padding didn't irritate or warm our ears as much as the similar stuff on the SR60s cups. We did, however, notice the plastic band squeezing our head, just behind the top of our ear lobes. Though uncomfortable, the pressure wasn't unbearable. Overall, it wasn't a terrible 60 minutes.
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The padding was comfortable.
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Extended Use (2.00)
Wow. We definitely thought the iGrado headphones got to be a burden after a few hours, let alone the full six we tested them for. Though not outright painful, the pressure of the plastic band against the sides of our head was definitely uncomfortable. We felt the urge to take them off at about the three hour mark, but we pressed on for the sake of science. Perhaps we really do have big heads. Regardless, we definitely didn't think the iGrados maintained a comfortable wear experience very well; these aren't going to feel comfortable on a transatlantic flight.
Connectivity (cable / wireless) (3.13)
The cord on the iGrados measures 33.5 inches from cord guard to neck split, and 13.5 inches from neck split to ear cup. In total, this is (approximately) 47 inches in total, or 3 feet, 11 inches. This should be fine for their purpose, which is for use with media players.
The connector is a 3.5mm (1/4 inch) plug. While the plug is thin enough to work with some recessed jacks, it won't work with the iPhone, unfortunately. Actually, if you manually hold the plug in an iPhone's jack, you will get stereo playback, but doing so is very annoying; if you let go, they stop working. So, despite they i-name, they aren't iPhone friendly.
Portability (3.30)
For a pair of headphones that are supposed to be used with a media player, the iGrado headphones aren't all that portable. First of all, even though they're a very light, very compact on-ear set, the ear pieces still displace a lot of volume. Further, the iGrados don't have a collapsible band. That means you'll have to fit them into a pocket as a bulky hoop. The lack of collapsibility also means that, as the part that rests on your ear is fairly big, they are going to take a lot of space in your bag.
Customizability (0.0)
There is literally nothing you can do to customize the iGrados without making additional purchases or breaking them. The hard plastic band doesn't extend or move at all, and the ear pieces don't twist or tilt at all. There isn't even one of those adjustible neck split bands.
Maintenance (1.80)
The iGrado headphones are also relatively hard to clean or maintain. You can remove the padding, which is nice. You can't, however, easily get at the sound elements. This is a bit more of a problem for open-backed headphones as opposed to closed-backed, since dust can very easily drift through the hole-filled grating. Just about your only option is to use pressurized air, or blow in through the grates.
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| This is the open back. You can see the headphones' innards, but you can't get at them easily. |
Underneath the pads is a fine mesh, followed by a plastic shield that's full of holes. It seems very hard to clean.
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Other Features (5.00)
Battery Dependency
The iGrado headphones don't require a battery to work. Batteries are annoying, so we award points whenever we don't have to deal with them; they will keep going as long as the battery in your media player keeps going.
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