Grado SR225i Headphones

My favorite in the Prestige series, the Grado SR225i is a superb sub$200 headphone. The SR225i is much more controlled than the SR125i and a bit smoother than the SR325i. Retaining the excellent Grado midrange and intensity, the SR225i also adds a bit more space to its presentation than the lower models. Comfort wise, the SR225i can be quite stiff and tight on the head when first worn, but they loosen over time. The build is sturdy without being overwhelming. The SR225i sounds great unamped, but when paired with just a simple hybrid tube amp, they really blossom in the bass department without muddying up the sound.

 

Overall, the SR225i is a great introduction to the Grado sound and an excellent addition to any headphone collection.

I was searching for a "fun" headphone that I would enjoy listening to. I started looking at the SR80i's and the SR60i's, until I tried the SR225i and couldn't go back. There was a big difference in sound and comfort for me. Perhaps it was only the bowls (I didn't try the lower models with the bowl pads) but there was enough of a noticeable difference for me to opt for the higher model. What I noticed was a great increase in instrument separation, slightly increased soundstage, and improved clarity. Additionally, I found the bowls to be much more comfortable than the "comfies", which made my ears warm after only 15 minutes of listening. The vinyl headband was not a big problem for me. I found the clamping pressure to be perfect, and not as strong as the Sennheiser 558/598's I tried.

For $200, these are not the most balanced or do-it-all headphone out on the market in the price range. There are obvious flaws with the headphone, mostly with the lack of neutrality, build quality, and comfort for some (though I had no problems with this). There may be a lack of "oomph" in the bass for some people, and the soundstage is nothing to brag about. However, these were never meant to, I think, be serious reference or studio quality headphones. They were meant to make you enjoy your music, and to get your feet tapping. If you are looking for a complimentary headphone or a rock centric headphone, look no further.

I got to hand it to Grado, The SR-225s are the best, the experience worth more than the $200.00 retail price. As you move up the Grado chain of headphones, one thing is familiar; the company lowers the overall bass response, giving you a more open vocal performance, and detailed bass/viola/cello tunes.

 

Nowhere is this case so true than the SR-225s. Bass is strong and the highs are very open and detail, but you don't hear any nasties in the upper end.  In one word, these cans are supremo. One word about the price I paid. I bought them on consignment for 60 clams at Audio Studio in Cambridge.

Another good thing is costumer service. If anything happens to any grado, just ship them back to the Brooklyn address w/ a note of what's wrong, and they will fix and and ship the repaired cans back to you. t will come with a bill, but it's far better getting any grados fixed than to buy the same pair.      

I purchased these headphones for my birthday of this year to replace my Logitech G930 headset. I've never had an "audiophile" or very high quality pair of headphones, but have heard very great things about them. I am a person who makes sure my music is in FLAC or other lossless (Or from original CD to lossless) so this isn't your average person who listens to MP3's on their Ipod.

 

To start when I got the headphones, the design was terrible. Looked tiny like it would break and actually DID break on the second day of usage. The left connector to the cup broke off, I do not have a big head and I never mistreated them, but it's most likely manufacture defect. The next thing I noticed was the comfort, they use foam pads that are itchy to my ears, and their not very sensitive. It can really get on your nerves and you have to take them off for a while after a couple hours of music listening because of their ear irritating fatigue. 

 

But the most important aspect of this is the sound. When first used, there was no bass. NONE, not a single bit of bass could be felt from these headphones, my G930's surpass these Grado's 10x over in bass production, which I find quite sad. Although I do have to praise the reproduction of high frequencies. From listening to a couple high-string heavy songs from Red and a couple of solo/chorus high singings it seem's VERY nice to listen to. It will make you be able to feel some of the highs, if you know what I mean.

 

Lastly, the mid's we're turned up way too high on these. I don't have an equalizer running from my motherboard audio source (Realtek audio stuff) and neither in any applications, so this is pure headphones.  The mid drowns out any sort of highs and makes it sound quite muddy, not defined. And no matter how I equalized, it would sound bad.

 

The combination of the no bass, oversized mids and headphones breaking pretty much sealed the deal for me to return them to amazon along with my FiiO E9 (And 6.3 to 3.5MM jack) that I bought along side the headphones. (Not even the FiiO E9's Bass boost would make the bass any better!)

 

So right now i'm stuck with my G930 headset, that I have no major gripe about since I got the software to work and have the headphones equalized to my liking, and they are closed headphones, so I don't have to worry about waking anybody up anytime soon (And are wireless!). Grado's are not my audio reproduction style, although they might be for you. 

 

So my journey for my perfect headphones moves on!