GradoSR80
headphones
New retail price (MSRP)
$175
Used market: $135*
Specifications
2 of 8 values have a recorded sourceExpert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal profile
Grado is one of the few makers who label the sensitivity line itself — 'SPL 1mW' — so there is nothing to guess. Note that their own store page lists the model as SR80 with a 20 Hz–20 kHz response, which does not match the SR80x datasheet; the numbers here are the ones on that page.
What the datasheet actually says
Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.
«SPL 1mW: 98»
Grado is the only manufacturer in this catalogue that labels the scale inside the specification row itself. That label is worth 14.2 dB. Taken as published — per milliwatt — a DragonFly Cobalt reaches 118.6 dB on these, comfortably above a 110 dB peak. Read the same 98 as dB/V and the identical chain yields 104.4 dB, i.e. too quiet. This is why «Grados need an amp» and «Grados run off anything» coexist in the same forum thread: two readings of one number.
checked 8/5/2026Setups using this gear
* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~77% retained value).