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Member Reviews: Grado SR325is Headphones

Positive Reviews

marvinong

Soul Food for Hungry Ears

Posted
By marvinong

Pros: Musicality, Emotion, Heart and Soul

Cons: Great with SOME types of music and mediocre with others , HEAVY and hardly portable, wire management is a dilemma

  Hi everyone, Just wanted to give my two cents re: the Grado 325is!     [b]AN INTRODUCTION[/b]   I was on a head-fi poison hiatus for a while because I thought I'd already spent too much on this hobby by acquiring a high end IEM (JH16 Pro) and a good PMP (Cowon J3 - which I unfortunately lost). In the case of IEMs, I think I already achieved audio nirvana, but then this itch of  wanting to try what full-sized cans could offer was always bothering me.    I knew I didn't want "brand name" cans like Senns, AKGs or ATHs (though their cans are very good). I wanted to try something more alternative and "organic" and I found it in the...
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Negative Reviews

Dicetrain

Brilliant sound, but some real design issues.

Posted
By Dicetrain

Pros: Bright, lively, good separation of ranges.

Cons: Uncomfortable pads and headband, design flaw on cup holder, heavy.

When I first got these the sound was rather tinny, but over the initial 50 hours they really, really opened up and grew to have a very natural sound. I have them paired with an HRT MS2+ and a Schiit Asgard, which is apparently a good match for Grados. That sound became more warm and round when I switched out the normal pads for quarter-cut softies. I did lose some soundstage with that, but the tradeoff for a more natural and full sound is totally worth it and it also took some sibilance out of the highs so they are very sweet.   Overall, after doing this, I truly love the sound. Every now and then I want a bit more punch, a bit more depth, and a bit more clarity to the bass,...
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More Reviews

headbase

Darned good headphones

Posted
By headbase

Pros: Better than anything else for the money, well built

Cons: I now realize how many low quality recordings there are!

Long story short, they're fantastic.  I bought my headphones from a display/test setup at a Magnolia hi-fi, I didn't want to wait and I got a great discount on them.  I'm sure the salesman still turned a profit of course. (I work retail, I have an idea of the markup levels.)  They're comfortable to me, and I don't intend to own many other headphones.   Only other minor issue is the reduced bass, but the clarity was the greatest on this model, short of spending another $600+ on some headphones.  The other models that had less clarity had a lot more bass, but were fatiguing and disproportionate.  And all the others were too tight for my head.  These...
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Cybrsrch1

New Grado 8 conductor cables

Posted
By Cybrsrch1

Pros: Better Resolution

Cons: Heavy

After 4 years of regular use, my cables were looking a little rugged, the plastic cover over the cables that split to each ear were cracking at the Y splitter . I called Grado and they quoted me $45 (includes return shipping)for a new cable plus an additional $15 to upgrade to the newest 8 conductor UHPLC copper connecting cord. The new cable is stout and heavy, with 8 conductors its my guess grado is using varied size cables to better handle the full spectrum with as little loss as possible, similar to Audioquests Spread Spectrum Technology. http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_cable_theory.pdf The new cable is more revealing, digging deeper into the finer details,...
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maverickronin

Fun but Fatiguing

Posted
By maverickronin

Pros: Perfect for rock and metal.

Cons: Too bright for long listening sessions

Introduction:   I listen to a lot of music.  Whether I’m working or relaxing I usually have some sort of music in the background.  It relaxes me before bed or keeps me pumped up while working.  It is essentially my mind altering drug of choice.  Different headphones with different presentations an affect my mood in different ways and I though a ‘phone with pumped up treble like the SR325is would be good to keep my energy up when I was stuck with boring tasks at work.  I was correct, but other drawbacks kept me from holding on to my pair.   Style and Build:   I love the look of the SR325is.  They’re slightly retro looking but the...
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sparktography

Great, musical headphones

Posted
By sparktography

Pros: Great sound, very clear bass, mids, and highs

Cons: Slightly fatiguing, uncomfortable if not properly adjusted

A great set of 'phones for general music listening. Not terribly portable without a case, and can cause fatigue when listening to treble-heavy music due to very crisp reproduction.   You could use the cable on these babies to tow a car. Kind of impossible to deal with for on-the-go use, very oriented to seated listening.   I love my 325s!
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Siftah

Old school look but a cutting edge sound.

Posted
By Siftah

Pros: Sound quality

Cons: Ergononics

These were my first pair of good headphones, having previously only had Shure E2C in-ear phones that were anything better than the usual iPod earbuds that (I guess) most of us start with.   It was a nice surprise to listen to music with them at first - going through that process of re-discovering music again - now I can't listen to music on anything less, certainly can't bring myself to listen on the iPod ear-buds again.   I drive these from an Aune MKii which in turn is fed via digital coax from a RealTek 888 running iTunes with lossless AAC or 320kbps MP3 files. I also have occasionally used them with an iPhone 4 and a 4S, both seem to drive them well, though the...
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Zuqi

Exciting Cans

Posted
By Zuqi

Pros: Slightly treble boost, agressive, detailed

Cons: genere specific, too bright with some recordings

Bass-lite, treble-happy. One of the most enjoyable cans for rock and metal, also do jazz and pop well, but sound bright when play some genres such as hip hop &RnB.
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dibbler67

My First Headphone Review: Grado SR325is

Posted
By dibbler67

Pros: Very detailed, bright, and very involving. Guitars. QUALITY of bass.

Cons: QUANTITY of bass. Comfort, at first. Weight, too.

These are the first higher-end heaphones I've ever purchased, and I was very impressed right out of the box. Being a novice, I found the bass a little lacking in impact, especially unamplified. Eventually (80 hrs of music and pink noise) they loosened up and gained the ability to tickle my ears. Amplification (Little Dot 1+) helped as well.   These are very fast and very detailed, and as Maxtcc says the sound only improves with amplification. They bring out every detail, in all its glory or filth. Separation is good, not stellar (improved a lot with the OPA2107AP installed in my Little Dot 1+, see below.)   Comfort is fine for me, though they are heavy and can...
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hjteq

Initial Review

Posted
By hjteq

Pros: Detail

Cons: None so far

Comfort-I adjusted the headband so for over head headphone they are fine. I've even worn them to sleep.   Source-Using the VDAC VCAN combo right now an I've found my sweet spot.   Longevity/durability - I know years down the line I will get the RSis or something like it but I don't foresee letting these go. I didn't give them higher value because the SR80i's could last for 15 years and so can these but the price point makes it kind of hard to argue. The SR80i's give so much for the price point.
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Where to Buy It

EarphoneSolutionsGrado SR325is Headphones at EarphoneSolutions$295.00See It »
Amazon.comGrado Prestige Series SR325is Headphones at Amazon.com$295.00See It »
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