To me, the Grado SR-80is are too bright, what's next?

maybe sennheiser cans next?

(warm, dark house sound.  laid back.  virtually opposite of grado)

If you're going to run your headphones unamped, you should look at headphones with low impedance.  As you've noticed, Grados are easy to drive.  That's because their drivers have only 32 ohms of resistance.  If you're not amping, you'll want to stay away from headphones that have much higher impedance, such as 300-ohm Sennheisers.

Ironically, I was going to suggest you look at Sennheiser, which has a "house sound" that is more polite.  Some would say it's "more refined," but I think it's really just more "laid back."  Sennheisers typically roll-off the upper-mids and low treble.  This means you can crank them louder and not feel overstimulated by the treble.  The problem is that many Sennheisers have a higher impedance.

If you like the Grados but find the SR80s just too bright, there are Grados that have a mellower response.  The SR80s have a reputation, even among Grados, of being a bit bright.  I loved mine but I know exactly what you're talking about.  There are ways to tweak your SR80s to mellow them out - short of having to buy a new pair of headphones - but if you're not interested in changing or modifying your existing headphones, there are better choices, even from among Grados.  The Alessandro MS1 is the rough equivalent of the SR125.  Many like both cans better than the SR80.  Among the lower-priced Grados, the SR225 is considered the best choice by far.   My favorite is the HF2, which is extremely mellow.  It has plenty of thump and a restrained high-end, enough to make it a killer can for rock.

HD555

simple solution. buy ttvj flats for the sr80i. They will remain sounding forward but will stop sounding bright with them on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo 

 

If you like the Grados but find the SR80s just too bright, there are Grados that have a mellower response.  The SR80s have a reputation, even among Grados, of being a bit bright.  I loved mine but I know exactly what you're talking about.  There are ways to tweak your SR80s to mellow them out - short of having to buy a new pair of headphones - but if you're not interested in changing or modifying your existing headphones, there are better choices, even from among Grados.  The Alessandro MS1 is the rough equivalent of the SR125.  Many like both cans better than the SR80.  Among the lower-priced Grados, the SR225 is considered the best choice by far.   My favorite is the HF2, which is extremely mellow.  It has plenty of thump and a restrained high-end, enough to make it a killer can for rock.

I'm very interested in this too. I have an SR60i and really like the Grado sound but I have two complaints. One I'd like a bit more bass and two the treble absolutely kills me. Comfort I can deal with if it sounds good. I've been considering selling off some of my cans to fund an HF2 or making a woodied MS1. How does the HF2 handle trance and the like?

Tell me what you listen to and I'll listen to it on the HF2 and give you a fresh and (hopefully) accurate report.

I listen to artists like: ATB, Daft Punk, DJ Splash, Darude, Pendulum, and Basshunter.

Sample Songs:

Daft Punk: Crescendolls, Aerodynamic

DJ Splash: Flying High, Bass is Kicking 

Darude: Sandstorm, Ecstacy  

ATB: Justify, Ecstacy

Alex Megane: Little Lies

Basshunter: I'm your Basscreator, Welcome to Rainbow 

Thanks a lot!

guys, pads make as much a difference as the model of the grado you are using. For example an sr80i using flats is more similarly balanced to an hf2 with bowls than both of them using the same pads. Of course the hf2 will have the edge in refinement and whatever is using flats will have more bass. The good thing about the lower end grados though is that when you use flats, the bass wont be overpowering like using flats on the higher model grados. By the way, in case some people do not know and get confused, flat pads and comfy pads are two different things altogether.

maybe the ms1i might fix your dilemma.  i have both the ms1i and the sr80, and i've noticed that the alessandro does have a more subtle treble compared to the grado's. 

the ms1i is more bass-y as well and somewhat has a better soundstage, i'm personally starting to like the sr80 a bit more though, because i lovez me some treble.

but in your case, the ms1i might be the way to go, but i'm a newbie and i lie a lot, so whoop there it is.

Gogo MS-1 rangers!

... my SR80i were very bright too... especially out of my uDac (since it cleaned up the signal and made it seem brighter).  I then picked up a tube amp... and though it's still forward, I was able to tone it down a bit.  Plus, I can roll my tubes to change the sound more if I wanted.  I hear good things about the Bravo V2 Amp... might be worth a look.

Use lower quality MP3s, WTC. That should tone down the harshness.

I'd advise staying away from the MS1's as well if you thought the SR80's were bright.

I never had the SR80's, but I did have the MS1's.  I found them too bright.  I imagine they don't differ all that much from the SR80.  Then I had the sennheiser hd555, too much of an upside down smiley face freq curve for me - all midrange.  Now I have HD600 - just right...

If you are looking for a cheaper closed alternate, I would suggest the ATH-M50 - I had them for a while - they are pretty well balanced with a slight emphasis on bass and treble.