Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › grado sr60 / sr60i newbie questions
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

grado sr60 / sr60i newbie questions

post #1 of 5
3/9/09 at 11:01am
Thread Starter 
I am looking to buy a set of nice headphones for work. I recently moved to a different department and lost my small yet cushy/comfy office... now i am in a larger office with 5 cubicles. No longer can I pump my music via my 5.1 system. I have to don headphones... Sadly, I only have a pair of V-Moda Vibes for my iPhone and iPods.

Originally, I was going to just buy a set of $120 Bose headphones, but thank goodness I read reviews. Please note Im not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination. But I do like to buy the best I can, with a budget I can afford.

So, somewhere along the line I stumbled upon a review of Grado headphones (honestly never heard of them). The review seems to be very concise and the reviewer stated that one would be hard pressed to find a better set of cans for $60. They also mentioned that the SR60's sounded much better than Bose and other more expensive headphones. So I continued my research, each review exemplified the others.

So, I noticed that there are two sets of SR60s available (SR60 and SR60i) sadly I haven't really been able to ascertain the differences. Maybe you all could help with this...

Also, I have read that Grado's are not known for the comfort level. This kind of worries me as I would be wearing the headphones 3 to 5+hrs a day. Although some people noted that the pads that the SR60s come with are pretty comfortable.

So here are the questions:

1. In laymans speak whats are the differences with the SR60 / SR60i?

2. Are these as good as the 3-4 reviews I read about them?

3. Will I need to be concerned about comfort? and if so, any way to make them more comfy?

4. I read about various mods that can be done to Grados, would any apply to me?

5. Any recommendations for the best deal on buying these? Im going in blind as I have never physically seen/held/listened to a pair of Grados...

Any other info you could provide would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance...
Reply
post #2 of 5
3/9/09 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
Oh one more thing, in a semi noisy office will sound leakage be a huge problem?
Reply
post #3 of 5
3/9/09 at 12:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by withoutink View Post
Oh one more thing, in a semi noisy office will sound leakage be a huge problem?
Yes!
Grado's are very open and leak a lot of sound in both directions. You will find you need to pump the volume to overcome outside noise which also pumps your music out to those around you. Perhaps seek out a closed pair of phones for this use.

Regarding comfort, this depends on your sensitivity to pressure on your ears, but this will be the case with most any super-aural (on-the-ear) phones compared to circum-aural (around-the-ear). Also depends upon your sensitivity to high frequency as many find them to be a bit fatiguing.
Reply
post #4 of 5
3/9/09 at 12:40pm
1. In laymans speak whats are the differences with the SR60 / SR60i?
practically speaking for the use you have in mind - none.

2. Are these as good as the 3-4 reviews I read about them?
yes.... and no. majority of folks will like them. with some tweaking, will adore them. there are a few that do not get along with grados.

3. Will I need to be concerned about comfort? and if so, any way to make them more comfy?
with the pads that come with sr60s, comfort is fair. it can be a little scratchy for some. nothing that cant be worked around. HD414 pads are more comfortable if the standard pads arent doing it for you. eg. Headphonedeals.org ยป HD414 pads

4. I read about various mods that can be done to Grados, would any apply to me?
yes, they can. but dont see why. they work well enough as is. anything more, is your perogative.

5. Any recommendations for the best deal on buying these? Im going in blind as I have never physically seen/held/listened to a pair of Grados...
most reputable stores carry them for the same price.

note:
- grados have a very bright presentaton. (think lots of treble), personally, i have to turn up the bass (via EQ) to appreciate them.
- grado sr60 is an open pair of phones, they will leak sound. ie- folks around you will hear what you hear. if you look a them, you will note they're nothing more than a round tube with speakers at one end.

if some isolation, less sound leakage and more comfort is of importance, i would suggest you look at the denon d1001. Denon AH-D1001 Advanced On-Ear Headphones in Corded Headphones at JR.com
can be had for 80+ from amazon, but warranty is questionable - authorized vs non authorized dealers.

hope this helps.

regards,
asmd.
Reply
post #5 of 5
3/9/09 at 1:49pm
Here's a couple of thoughts and suggestions about what you might need in your situation:
1) If you need to hear some of the stuff going on around you (your phone ringing, boss hollering at you across the room, etc), and you want others around you to hear some of your music, AND you want to be obvious that you are wearing big old phones, then the Grado SR60i will do you fine.
2) If you need to hear outside stuff, but you don't want anyone to hear your music, and you don't want it so obvious you are listening, then I would suggest some earbuds like the Yuin PK3. ($40)
3) If you want isolation from outside noise, and no one to hear your music, then, with a non-obvious appearance, I would suggest ear-canal phones (IEM) like NuForce NE-7M ($50).
4) If you want isolation, and no one to hear your music, and big old phones on your head & ears, the the Denon 1001 will do fine, I'm guessing -- don't own them.

At my office, I prefer the minimal look so I use the PK3 or NE-7M, depending on when I want isolation. My Grado SR80 is for home use.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › grado sr60 / sr60i newbie questions