Audio-Technica ATH-AD900 vs Grado SR325e (2014)

The Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X and Grado SR325e (2014) make for good, if unremarkable, Open-Back Headphones at their respective budgets.

With that said, while they both should serve reasonably well, you might want to look into other options at the $190 and $390 price points - it's likely that there are some better alternatives available.

If you want to learn more about the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X and the Grado SR325e (2014), however, we prepared a summary of the information that we have:

The Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X was loved by reviewers at SoundGuys, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "Best Audio-Technica headphones" roundup where it was named its "Best open-back", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

As for the Grado SR325e (2014), it wasn't able to earn a top spot in any roundups from trusted sources that conduct their own hands-on testing. Nevertheless, it managed to impress reviewers at What Hi-Fi?, Head-fi, CNET, and Rtings enough to make it onto their respective shortlists.

We conducted an analysis of all of the review data that we could find on these two products. First, we focused on sources that tested and rated both of them, like What Hi-Fi? and Head-fi, and learned that they all showed a preference for the Grado SR325e (2014).

Then we took a look at the highest review scores that these two Open-Back Headphones received. We found that the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X managed to earn a rating of 8.8 from Head-fi, whereas the Grado SR325e (2014) got its highest, 10, score from reviewers at What Hi-Fi?.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Open-Back Headphones on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Open-Back Headphones being 7.8 out of 10, whereas the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X and Grado SR325e (2014) managed averages of 8.2 and 8.1 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X vs. Grado SR325e (2014) comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.