Amp for Grado SR80

Here is what I would do, skip the amp and move further up the Grado ladder, if you like the sound.

unamped SR225>ampedSR80

Other than that, the SR80s will be fine un-amped. Save your money.

excellent advise

I don't completely agree. I've listened to them both and an amped SR80 can compete with a 225.

Thank you for good advice....

But now, I'm using SR80i (new model), Should I buy amp with this model? Or un-amp is good enough? If I have to buy the amp, which model is the best, iBasso T1, Fiio E5, Yuilong mini RA-1?

Thanks in advance

I agree. The "better headphone" route may be premature. If you have an SR-80, you already have a "better headphone." But without a better amp, you're not getting everything out of your SR-80.

I've been down the "better headphone" path. I started out with an SR-80 (Why not get the "better headphone" for a few more dollars?) then continued upgrading - to an SR325i, then an RS-1, then a GS-1000. Along the way, I also bought the bottom Grados: iGrado and SR-60. I even took an SR-60 I bought used and took the back off (on the principle that the plastic was producing resonance I didn't need) and, together with a swap of cushions (doughnuts instead of the L-Cush) - saw a major improvement in sound quality.

But that was nothing like the jump I saw when I got some decent amping. I started low, with a slightly enhanced Cmoy ($50). As headphone amps go, the Cmoy gets no respect but it provided amazing bang for the buck. Then I went with two pimetas - a standard (but portable) rig and a "maxed out" version. I experienced a wider soundstage and slightly better bass, but I was still hungry for more. When the time was right, I moved up to AMB's M^3, with a variable bass boost and high/low crossfeed controls. That was a major step up. Until the M^3, my GS-1000s were vulnerable to sibilance. With my M^3, there was so much warmth (and cavernous bass) that the sibilance issue solved itself.

The principles are reciprocal. Your amp is only as good as the cans you pump it through, but your cans are only as good as the amp you're using with them. The SR-80 is not the end-all, be-all of sound reproduction but it's an amazing set of cans, one whose full value I did not discover until I got a decent amp. Knowing what I know now, if I had a choice between upgrading to a 325i (which is basically a woody without the wood, and a choice that gets more respect now that the flagship PS-1000 sports an aluminum outer air chamber) or getting the best amp I could, I'd spend my money on a better amp. Of course, it depends on how much money you have to work with. You can get an SR-225 cheaper than you can buy a decent amp, especially if you do it after you've sold off your SR-80s. Still, I think the amp is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. While the best amp in the world will not make much difference with a $5 pair of Kosses you bought at Walmart, you'd be amazed at how much headphone you already have with an SR-80.

I had a similar decision to make when Grado came out with the PS-1000, which is supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Given a choice between spending nearly two grand on "a better headphone" and building a three-board B22, I'll go with the B22. I'll leave the silver-can bragging rights to someone else, at least till next year.

Bilavideo i definitely agree with what you are saying in principle, i would even go as far as to say you might want to miss getting a portable amp and get the best desktop amp you can afford. You will definitely notice an improvement in your headphones, in general they sound tighter and more controlled.

However the amps i have used with my SR-80's have not blown me away, i notice an improvement but nothing to write home about so to speak. Out of curiosity what amp(s) do you use with your SR-80's

I haven't heard a huge upgrade in sound using Grados with portables. I have a CMoy and used to have a HeadSix. They're OK, but not a huge improvement over running my Grados straight out of my iPod. That is, by the way, what I travel with. Just the RS-1 with the iPod or iPhone works fine. I hear a significan improvement with every desktop amp I've used, so I run with those at home. Besides, portable turntables and SACD players aren't easy to come by.

If you consider that a used RS-1 costs the same as some portable amps, you're better off with a better headphone. You'll get good to great sound righ from an iPod at first, then can save up for a really good home rig.

This is where so many things are so subjective. I felt when I had the 80s my potrable amp made a significant improvement in SQ. This includes both the 225 and the 325is also. To be fair, I didn't use the 325is with a Total Airhead, but the AE-1 I use makes a difference. I am a hardy advocate of using a portable amp with Grado. YMMV

The cheaper amps won't blow you away. At the lower end, you're mostly getting more volume, which is helpful when the sound card on your computer is pure crap and you're trying to watch an instant film on Netflix.

The Shangri La of amplification is a "flat" one-to-one amplification of all frequencies simultaneously, which is why so many purists denigrate any pretended coloration of the sound, including bass boost, as distortion by design. But amplification is not equal across the frequency spectrum. It's not flat to begin with. The cheap amps, like the cheap headphones, amplify what they want to amplify. In many instances, the mere use of an input capacitor acts as a high-pass filter, affecting amplification of bass. This is not unlike the use of capacitors in passive crossovers on many sound systems. Not surprisingly, you get high frequencies, but the bass feels tinny, and that's before you pick up dc offset, etc.

While the sky is not the limit - and this is an industry permeated by a mixture of fanboy lust and predatory hype - amplification is, at root, a form of sound processing. Without care to such things as buffering, the end result is far from ideal. Reliable resistors and capacitors, and sufficiently complex signal processing, you get uncontrolled and botched amplification.

Grados don't attempt to provide a "flat" response. The trademark sound - which varies across the product line - emphasizes certain frequencies. Grados are known for the emphasis on midrange, which is nice once you get used to the sound. It's where so much detail hides. But that's precisely why amplification needs to focus, as much, on what you don't want to amplify as well as what may drop out of the picture without a little help.

On my SR-80s (which I listen to less now that I have the woodies: RS-1 and GS-1000), I went for a good while without any amp at all. Then I used the Cmoy, which wasn't spectacular using either the Opa 2227 or the LM4562 chips (too boring). I got into opamp rolling, started buying SOIC 8s and, after much effort, finally learned to solder those tiny ticks onto Brown Dog adapters (Thank you, Radio Shack, for the magnifying glass and alligator-clip work station). Even though it seemed counterintuitive to do so, I found the Analog Devices chips more interesting (bright on bright?) - so, while I admit the sonic merits of the 627BP, I actually prefer the AD8599, which is not just cheaper; it exposes details that are truly cool.

I didn't get the bass I was looking for till I got my M^3, which is not so portable, which is why I've held onto my portable Pimeta.

The one that upgrades you to a SR225i.

If you want to "futureproof," then the Little Dot I+ amp is great for headphones up to SR225. I only say that limit because by then I would assume you would want even better sound to pair up with your SR325i and beyond.

Unless you have a source with little power, you don't really need an amplifier for now.
Main stream portable player nowadays should have enough power to drive SR-80.
Most of portable amplifiers can definitely make your SR-80 louder, but not better.
Even if you go for good amplifier, chances are, the change on your SR-80 are marginal.

Back to years while the main stream mp3 player are merely 512mb to 1gb, I do find my PA2V2 is somewhat useful on my SR-80 since the output from those players is weak)
However, after I got my Cowon D2 which can power SR-80 without much trouble, I found that going through PA2V2 is not worth the hassle. (I still need PA2V2 in my portable set up for AKG 271s anyway.)
Grados are known by their forward sound (besided GS-1000), simply make it louder may not be very pleasant especially when your source is already analytical or simply lousy.
In other words, if your sources has background noise, good amplification won't mute it for you, it just does its job -- make the noise louder.

So just enjoy your current setting.
This is one good thing about Grado.
You don't have to go for an amp to get an acceptable sound.

I would just go for the SR80, amp or no amp. They are great headphones and you will never regret it. I have other Grados but it's so good to have a pair of SR80 around-plug them into the laptop; the ipod and enjoy your music. Even if you upgrade to other headphones or amps later, the SR80 will still be a keeper.