The In-Ear Monitor Quest, Part 4: Grado iGi

31XpksoajlL._SL500_AA280_[1]What can I say?  I couldn’t resist!  In the past several months, I’ve tried three different (albeit lower cost) in-ear monitors.  None were perfect, but each had strengths and weaknesses.  In my last installment, I had tried the Koss in-ear monitor and was pleased by its performance.  No, it wasn’t anything that would slay a $250+ set of Etymotics, but for the money, it was my favorite of the three I’d tried.  The ear tips have turned out to be mediocre–I still have a problem with them slipping out after about an hour of use, and they fall out even faster under moderate activity.  Still, I picked up a second set since they were on clearance, as they’ll be great for outdoor or “active” use.  Poking around online, I discovered that Grado now offers in-ear monitors.  One of them looked interesting, and the price was right.

The Grado GR8 is Grado’s upper-end in-ear monitor but, at $299, was well outside my budget.  Their less expensive iGi was within my budget, and having located a slightly used pair for $69 (normally $89 list price), I decided to give them a try.

One thing that attracted me was the ear tips.  As you can see in the photo, the white silicone ear tips (made of a proprietary blend of silicone) are a dual-seal design.  The seal closer to the body of the monitor doesn’t really seal much at all, but the outer one goes further into the ear canal.  The white set turned out to be a bit too large, but in the photo, the black set of tips in the rear center turned out to have a better fit.  How much better?  They are the most comfortable I’ve tried so far, and I can wear them literally for hours without them moving at all, and without any discomfort.  They also seal well.  So these one set of tips are a winner!

The other tips include a cone-shaped silicone tip which, for me, did not stay in at all.  And the final set are actually memory-foam tips like the ones I had on my JVC: hard as a rock, but they soften up substantially when warmed to body temperature.  Given my past experience with memory foam, I didn’t even bother trying them.  Since there is only one set of each style, I’m inquiring with Grado to see if I can order extras of my favorite tips.  Not just for these, but the tips also fit my Koss sets.

Both ends of the wire are protected with rubber strain reliefs.  The wire exits the plug at a 45 degree angle, and the cords coming out of the earpieces are also protected by about 3/4″ of rubber.  The ends of the earpieces are bullet-shaped.  They feel a bit more substantial than the cheaper sets I tried.  To keep foreign matter out of the transducers, the ends of the monitors have a small perforated metal screen.

The big question: how do they sound?  Out of the box, I immediately noticed a sharp peak in the treble that gave it an odd sound, almost as bad as the first Sony set I had tried (which had a very similar peak).  The bass and midrange seemed OK–the bass was probably on par with the Koss set, maybe a bit more.  Turned up a bit, they just seemed to lack dynamics.  They sounded “stiff”.  And I wasn’t very happy–the Koss actually sounded better overall (even if they are a bit soft on the top end).

What I discovered over the course of a few weeks was that they needed a break-in period.  After a week of constant and varied use (several hours per day, with different types of music, at all different volumes, per Grado’s recommendation to me), I notice the sound had changed.  After two weeks, it was even better.  Beyond two weeks, the sound hasn’t changed all that much, but was still improving in tiny steps.  Indeed, Grado’s later follow-up to me indicated that the transducers were stiff when first manufactured, and required as much as 100 hours of run-in time.   Within a month’s time, I believe I’ve already reached the 100 hour mark.

No longer do they sound “stiff”.  Dynamics are much better now–the sound isn’t so “squished” and the music has impact.  The bass has decent impact to it as well, and blends nicely with the midrange, which is the cleanest of all the in-ear monitors I’ve tried.  The treble peak is still there but not as pronounced, and the upper treble range seems to have more definition now.  The response has flattened out.  Before break-in, you could hear only the treble peak, and not much beyond that. I also attribute the change to my ears getting used to the sound of these:  I don’t notice the treble peak as much after I’ve listened for a few minutes, but with particularly silibant material, you can still hear that peak a bit, but not to distraction like when I first listened to these.  The smoothness of the midrange really makes this set, which is why I can wear them throughout most of an afternoon while working and get no urge to take them out due to listener fatigue or physical discomfort.

Overall I’m pleased with the Grado iGi.  The only shortcoming is that treble peak.  I am wondering if it is caused by the metal screen that protects the drivers, causing some sort of resonance peak.  I did notice that with the shorter conical silicone ear tips that the peak was not as pronounced–the sound does change when you swap ear tips.  Still, you need to choose ear tips based on their comfort, their holding ability, and the shape of your ear canal.  And I’m very happy to say that I’ve found the best ear tips I’ve tried with these Grados.

I still want to try some of the upper-end in-ear monitors, as well as similar sets in this price range (such as the Klipsch S4),  but these will do nicely.  Given their long-term comfort and respectable sound, I have no problem using these as my main in-ear monitors for the forseeable future.

Click on the following link to view these at Amazon:  Grado iGi In-Ear Earphones.