Grado SR80i Headphones

The Grado SR80 is a classic headphone. It has a classic style, like a old radio ham. It has been around virtually unchanged for donkeys years. It is a superb entry to audiophile headphone listening.

Often overshadowed by the baby of the range, the SR60, which has won numerous awards. The SR80s can be had for only £20. When I auditioned for my first headphones, the first to go were the SR60s. The SR80s had more dynamics, detail, everything really. I preferred them to some similarly priced Sennheisers, which did not retrieve the same detail.

They are know as the rock headphones because of their dynamics and attack. Attack is the speed that a note is started. So if a track goes quiet and then starts again, the Grados can startle with how suddenly the new passage begins. This also creates strong dynamic swings, which work well for rock and orchestral music. Their open backed design makes for a wide sound stage, where instruments feel as if they are around you and not trapped inside your head.

Some may find them too bright and not a relaxing mellow listen. I think that they do acoustic and vocals in such a way that you feel you are there, with the singer.

The only, issue and it is for some is the foam pads sitting on the ears. There are two types, bowl with an open centre and flat, like Mickey Mouse ears. I prefer the latter. They also leak a lot of sound and let in a lot as well. So they are no use as portable headphones to be used on public transport.

The cable is fixed and goes into both sides and is prone to twisting. I hang mine upside down every so often, so the weight of the headphones (which is not much) helps to pull out any twists.

By the SR80s with confidence that you are already 90% of they way to serious audiophile headphones. Classic.

As someone already had stated- the Grado SR80i gets left in the shadow of its less costly sibling- the SR60i. For me the choice was quite easy- I had a hundred bucks to burn for my first serious headphone, so SR80i was the best thing that I got in my sights. I had heard that the SR60i is a great performer and the SR80i should be all that plus more- the choice was easy.

First thing that I liked about them even before listening was the cable- it was nice and thick about the same diameter as a normal AC cable. When I looked at the grills it was apparent that if needed the resoldering should be a breeze. The 1/4 to 1/8 adapter is the most solid I've ever seen- when plugged on it seems like a natural extension to the plug. Other than the wire build quality seems sufficiently well, construction is light so these headphones won't break if dropped. Just try not to step on them. When reading about the Prestige Series Grados one thing did upset me- many people complained about the comfort. For my average sized head the clamping isn't too much though sometimes after longer (4+ hour) listening sessions my pinnae seem to press through the stock foam pads. But after a little rest it's all good again. I don't have very thick hair but the metal band pressing on top of my head was never a problem.

Now about the sound. First of all these headphones do benefit from burn in for about 50-100 hours. When listening for the first time my jaw positively fell in my lap but now I'm confident to say that at first they sounded a bit thin and harsh. After the burn-in they get a bit more gentle and the bass blooms too a little. Bass wise they are a little too tame though you can hear the stated 20Hz low end and it will be more than enough to get that great PRAT for rock and jazz. One thing you must keep in mind when feeding these phones- as higher end headphones sound terrible when not properly amped, these sound terrible when fed with the wrong records. The SR80i absolutely hates the loudness war. If you dare to listen something compressed you WILL feel like in a war! Your teeth will clench and you will tire and think about running to the hills. When I first listened to some of recent pop-rock I felt like fighting. Since then I've listened to just about everything Steve Hoffman has laid his hands and ears on. For some time I thought that from now on I won't be searching music by artists but by audio engineers. But there are many others who aren't sacrificing dynamic range for fast sales. And those are the ones a Grado listener must have. You must keep in mind that Grado is (in)famous for tuning his products to his ear, so in some sense your taste must match to his. The SR80i does not have the wide genre bandwidth of some closed phones or IEM's but when at it's best it sure does not sound like 99$.

The SR80i is a higher fidelity headphone in sense that it does not try to cater everyone. It IS a highly polarising headphone and that is visible to anyone who has read more than a few reviews. If you like to listen to 60's rock, blues, jazz, funk these might be all that you need. The sensation is closest to using a guitar amp for a pillow.

I've had these headphones for about a week and a half now, and all I can say is wow. These have doubled or tripled my amount of time spent listening to music. I came from a pair of Klipsch Image Ones, and the Grados blow them out of the water in nearly every respect. My first thoughts on unboxing were the nice long, thick sturdy cable that comes with these. At first I thought it would be too long, but when wearing the phones, it's just the right length that I don't trip on it, but it's still able to reach my amp/phono combo.

Let me say, I'm not exactly an audiophile, but these headphones have definitely got me moving on that course. Coming from the Klipsches where the bass was sometimes very muddy and had a tendency to ruin other frequency ranges, these feel extremely accurate. I hear sounds in songs that I never heard before, despite repeat listenings. My current source is a Technics SL-BD22 turntable connected to a Technics SU-G75 amp. Just recently got into the vinyl scene, but I can say that these headphones accurately represent music across such a wide spectrum of genres. The majority of what I listen to is punk music, so I'd say that the most distinct thing I notice about that is the clarity of the vocals and especially the hi-hats and cymbals are very clear and crisp. Phil Collins and Elton John both sounded great through these as well. The sound stage on these is very robust, and I feel a huge difference from the closed environment of the Klipsch headphones. Definitely never going back to closed headphones again.

One thing that I have to say about these phones, is that if you listen to a lot of dubstep or Skrillex or similar artists, these headphones may be bass lacking for your tastes. As I'm writing this review, I'm listening to Glitch Mob's "Drink the Sea" album. The mids and highs are extremely accurate, and the bass is accurate as well but it's just not the boom that you really need for this type of music. For everything else though, including other techno artists, I've found the bass to be more than adequate for my needs. Was listening to Discovery by Daft Punk yesterday and can't remember the last time I've heard it sound so good.

Another complaint I have is that I can't listen to these for more than maybe 3 hours at a time without discomfort. If I take them off for an hour, though, I can go right back to listening without any issues. Should also note I wear glasses and this seems to affect this also.

I'm a poor guy in my mid-20s, so for me, these headphones absolutely cannot be beat for the price. I'd say anyone looking for headphones in the 100 and under price range, don't even bat an eye, grab these Grados in a second. I'm EXTREMELY pleased with my purchase and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Got these a few years ago after hearing about them here on Head-Fi and listening to them on a couple of occasions. They are unfortunately not such a bargain here in Germany as they seem to be in USA - I paid 175 Euro for mine.

They need break-in for both sound and comfort, and after 2-3 years I still find them a bit tight to wear but at least they´re not falling off.

They don´t work at all with my amps - the sound becomes too hot and it´s a relief to take them off. Where they shine is with "lesser" sources, I plug them into my iPod or especially my laptop and i sounds great, full and clear - no wish for an external DAC when I´ve got these so that saves some money and space on the table. The Grado "excitement" seems to be valued by its owners and they´re not boring to listen to. I think there are headphones that are truer to instrumental timbre when listening to acoustic recordings but they seem to be considered rock phones anyway so maybe not the first choice for collectors of string quartets. In the great Sennheiser/Grado divide I´m probably more of a Sennheiser person but it´s good to have an alternative.