Grado RS 2i

I paid more than the US price as I live in Germany but to me are worth every penny as this is the sound I love and was trying to achieve through extensive modding of my SR60i. 

BUILD:

Pretty similar story to most Grados. Plastic parts seem cheap but they don't look bad and it works. The cable is double the thickness of the SR60i cable - upon inspection inside the cans, it seems that instead of designing a new thicker cable, they just double up the core cables and use 8 core cables instead of the standard 4 featured in cheaper models. The cable is very heavy and thick, and at times seems to have a mind of it's own. 

COMFORT:
I've got smaller than average ears, so the bowl pads behave like very small, tight circum-aural pads as the bowl edge makes an enclosure around my ears touching my head all the way round. Therefore I experience very little of the much discussed discomfort issues experienced by others. This is obviously a massive advantage for someone who loves the Grado sound as I don't need to 'upgrade' to G-cushions or modify them in any way. I find the clamping force out of the box perfect for my comfort and needs, and I also find them very light-weight. I've had them on my head for over 3 hours at times without any major discomfort or irritation. I have not even tried to wash the pads yet to improve 'softness', although I may give that a try soon.

SOUND 

The sound is still opening up today (a week after purchase), but is already a different beast after about 30 hours (and counting) of burn in. 

When I bought them and first listened, the peaks at 100Hz and 2000Hz were extremely noticeable, making the music very over-emphasized, too punchy, super-excitable and at moments literally physically painful even at fairly moderate volumes.

After about 20 hours these peaks became much more tame, especially the trebles became smoother and more satisfying like a polished diamond gem, rather than a diamond edged blade. The bass extension improved radically and the 'kick' in the bass became more tame, natural sounding and for lack of a better word, 'musical'.

The separation even out of the box was simply epic. Everything is fully present and details can be picked out even in complex rock and classical music.

Bass extension is a massive improvement over the SR60i's even after excessive modding (holes punched, better vent/grill, dampening material).

Through modding the SR60i bass volume and punch improved, but the extension, natural ability and volume of the RS2i was worth paying for. 

To describe the sound in just a few words it would have to be: fun and punchy but REAL - I find the sound on these very natural. It has the most satisfying sounding cymbals and brass instruments I've ever heard. 
The only downside is the lack of volume in the lower bass, so these don't perform well on any electronic music without a bass boost. Fortunately at home I use an old stereo amp for my headphones and have handy bass and treble knobs on my desktop amp and can easily tweak each song without much thought or effort.

Bought these as demo's here in the Netherlands for 430 Euro (list price 595 Euro which is a bloody rip-off compared to the $495 they cost you in the US (= approx. 375 Euro).

What I like most of these is their live-like, open sound character. They are easy to drive which is great as they can be used directly with an ipod. However, you will not get to their full potential that way. Switching to a Cowon J3 was a big step forward in sound and using a better amp like the Rudistor RPX-100 will give you another boost, especially in the treble, which can sound a bit harsh without good amplification.

Bass is very solid and dry although it does not reach extremely low, mids and mid/treble are superb.

The overall sound is very coherent and I really like the (micro) dynamics and their resolution.

Only bummer was their listing comfort. I don't like pads pressing on my ears. So I upgraded them with the GS1000 pads. That did not only improve their listening comfort, it also improved significantly their spaceousness. A poor mans GS1000? Only drawback is that they need to be used now at higher volumes, which makes them a bit more leaky.

Anyway, with these pads it's a great sounding headphone for a reasonable price. With the GS1000 pads they have a great sound for the buck (especially when bought in the US)