[mulletman13]

Ooooh noooooo...

I ordered a pair of SR-325i's last week, and was under the impression that I did not need an amp for them. Now when I hear that they smooth out under the right circumstances, with the right amp, I'm getting a little scared that they're going to be super bright and sound awful :-X

People were complaining a bit that the HF-1's were too bright, but I absolutely loved those (and used them unamped). Should I worry this much, I just don't want to spend another $200 to get these headphones to sound how they should....

 

[Jahn]

They look COOL.

 

[milkpowder]

Here are the pictures! Just took them now. I've resized them to 800x600 using Microsoft Powertools Image Resizer, which isn't the most hi-end option available, but the quickest.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Very nice looking headphones. Is that the same plastic driver housing used in the lower end models, though? Because if so, that's lame

 

[milkpowder]

Yup. They're plastic. We're not talking PS-1, HP-1000, etc here.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder Yup. They're plastic. We're not talking PS-1, HP-1000, etc here.

It only upsets me because of the insanely high profit margin extant anyway. It would be a negligable expense to make a metal enclosure that screws in (line the screws with teflon tape for practical permanence) instead of the same plastic piece of crap that all the other low end models use. When you're talking about paying that much money for headphones, you'd like to see a little bit of a kickback in terms of build quality, you know?

Ah, well.

 

[Jahn]

Well, they have to keep something from the Prestige Line, don't they?

It's the top of the Prestige line tho, and sounds very nice - and plastic really isn't that bad for driver housing - most Senns (if not all) are like that too. In fact, that's what made the HF-1 so special, that it had wood housings like the RS-2 and RS-1, housings usually kept for Reference Series cans.

 

[granodemostasa]

if they have plastic housing, then why all the metal?

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by granodemostasa if they have plastic housing, then why all the metal?

well if it was all metal then it would be the $1500 PS-1

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by granodemostasa if they have plastic housing, then why all the metal?

Looks nice, feels nice, gives it a good weight.

Don't get me wrong; the plastic enclosure isn't a problem in any sense of the word, and tuned properly does very little to alter the sonics of the driver, especially in an acoustically open enclosure. I just wish it were, you know, nicer.

And the Sennheiser HD650 and 600 do use a plastic housing, as well, although it's a carbon fiber impregnated housing (not woven, as the product description may or may not imply) with potential durability benefits over the Grado "just plastic." In practice, there's no working difference between them since neither is going to be subjected to even remotely testing circumstances. It's just the matter of nicety.

 

[kin0kin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Well, they have to keep something from the Prestige Line, don't they? It's the top of the Prestige line tho, and sounds very nice - and plastic really isn't that bad for driver housing - most Senns (if not all) are like that too. In fact, that's what made the HF-1 so special, that it had wood housings like the RS-2 and RS-1, housings usually kept for Reference Series cans.

thank god it was the plastic housing that they kept....I definietly wouldn't want the vinyl headband/plastic grills.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about with the housing.

The SR325i have the same housing as the HF-1, except the SR325i have a metal external housing instead of wood.

-Matt

 

[swmtnbiker]

Nice pics milkpowder!

My favorite thing about the 325/325i/MS2/MS2i?

NO GLUE!!!

It's been a while since i've heard the SR325, but I truly liked the MS2i. Great sounding can. Just too heavy. They always felt like they were about to slip off of my head.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotJeffBuckley It only upsets me because of the insanely high profit margin extant anyway. It would be a negligable expense to make a metal enclosure that screws in (line the screws with teflon tape for practical permanence) instead of the same plastic piece of crap that all the other low end models use. When you're talking about paying that much money for headphones, you'd like to see a little bit of a kickback in terms of build quality, you know? Ah, well.

Your last comment says it all. Most Grado headphones are made with cheap materials and often suffer from questionable or sloppy build quality. BUT, once you get sucked in and become a drooling slave to their signature sound you (try to) stop thinking about such things and just enjoy them for what they are. The fact that people do this is the only reason Grado is still able to get away with it!

 

[cheechoz]

You know, I never really paid it any mind, but come to think of it, it does kinda suck that they have to use plastic driver housings instead of metal!

Does it really require $1400 to get an all metal set! That is a bit ridiculous, no!