The Grado SR125e are sub-par headphones for everyday casual use but have an above-average and open sound reproduction. They're comfortable and lightweight but will easily fall off your head. Their open-back design also doesn't block much noise and leaks a lot, which is distracting to the people around you even at moderate volumes.
Our Verdict
The Grado SR125e are designed for critical listening. They're not versatile enough for everyday headphones.
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Lightweight and comfortable.
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Above-average and open sound quality.
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Easily fall off your head.
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Flimsy, plasticky build.
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Poor noise isolation, by design.
The Grado SR125e deliver decent sound quality and a wide, open soundstage that's great for neutral listening. They lack a little bass and sound slightly sharp at times, but they reproduce the detail in high-res audio with above-average accuracy.
The Grado SR125 aren't good for commuting. They're very open and don't block any noise, which isn't ideal for frequent commuters.
The Grado 125e aren't intended for sports. They're unstable and the thick cable is bothersome. They're also a little uncomfortable.
Not designed for the office. They don't block any office chatter and also leak enough to be distracting.
The Grado SR125 aren't intended for wireless gaming.
The Grado 125e aren't intended for phone calls.
- 5.1 Mixed Usage
- 7.3 Neutral Sound
- 4.1 Commute/Travel
- 5.4 Sports/Fitness
- 4.6 Office
- 4.4 Wireless Gaming
- 6.2 Wired Gaming
- 1.5 Phone Call
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated May 30, 2016: Review published.
- Updated May 28, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Apr 29, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Grado SR80e/SR80 are pretty much identical to the Grado SR125e/SR125. The SR125e have slightly thicker and more durable cables, but have the same design and build quality as the rest of the budget Grado line up. The SR80 are, therefore, a better value for your money since they have the same performance at a cheaper price point. They also do a bit better in the treble range, although both headphones are a bit too sharp and may sound piercing on already bright tracks. Also, the difference in the treble is within the margin of error for our sound test, since its consistency varies from person to person.
Test Results
These headphones have the same retro appeal as the Grado SR60e/SR60 and Grado SR80e/SR80. They share the same open-back design, but they have slightly larger ear cups. They have an all-black color scheme, and they look decent overall. However, the plastic used in their build looks a little cheap.
They're comfortable for an on-ear design. They're lightweight and don't apply too much pressure on the ears. They lack padding on the headband, although it's not too noticeable because of the lightweight design. Unfortunately, the padding used on the ear cups is a cushion-like material that's susceptible to wear and tear and doesn't feel as good on the skin as faux leather padding would.
These are moderately portable headphones. Like the Grado SR80e/SR80, they'll easily fit in a backpack, and the ear cups lay flat to take up less space. Unfortunately, they don't fold up into a more compact format and the thick cable is also a bit cumbersome. They also don't come with a carrying case or pouch, which is disappointing.
Build quality is subpar. They're lightweight, and their ear cups are dense enough not to get damaged by a few falls. However, they feel cheaply built and not as durable as some other on-ear models. Sadly, the plastic used for the ear cups and joints feels cheap. The joints look poorly glued together and very susceptible to moderate physical stress. The cushion-like padding on the ear cups is prone to wear and tear.
These headphones like the Grado SR60e/SR60 and the Grado SR80e/SR80 don't have enough tension in the headband to provide a tight, stable fit. They will quickly fall off your head while jogging and the thick, and long cable can easily get hooked on something, yanking them off your head. They're somewhat stable during casual listening sessions, but leaning or tilting your head while listening will make them slide and potentially slip off your ears.
These headphones have poor isolation. Due to the open-back design, isolation is poor. They don't isolate below 1kHz, and the isolation provided above 1kHz is negligible.
Poor leakage. Being open, these headphones are loud and leak a lot of sound. A significant portion of leakage is between 100Hz and 20kHz which is a very broad range. The leakage sounds loud, full, and present, and therefore could bother the people around you.
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